23/11/2007
NEWS STORY
The DAMS GP2 team has announced that Kamui Kobayashi has signed as one of its official drivers for the 2008 GP2 season.
Jean-Paul Driot, CEO: "It is a pleasure and a great honour to continue with Toyota Drivers Program (TDP) for the third season. We really did enjoy a great year sportingly and humanly, with the move up to Formula 1 of Kazuki Nakajima. I would like to particularly thank Yoshinori Arimatsu for his fantastic work behind all the talented TDP drivers, this task is not easy, and without the confidence he always showed to us at DAMS, we would not have achieved these good results. Finally, we are more than pleased to welcome Kamui Kobayashi in the team, not only for his driver’s talent, but also for his great character we have already much appreciated in and out of the car."
Kamui Kobayashi, says: "I am excited to race in GP2 with DAMS. We have already worked together in Jerez and Paul Ricard to build up the relation, and they have tried various set ups to find out my style. It will be a busy season for me since Asia series will start soon, and main series testing will be start during Asia series is on. Having said this, I would like to welcome these kinds of challenges. And finally my thankness goes to DAMS for the trust of my potential and continuous support from Toyota Drivers Program to make this happen."
Yoshinori Arimatsu, Manager TDP program, Motorsport GmbH, says: "It is my pleasure to continue our partnership with DAMS to develop our young drivers in 3 consecutive seasons. We have shared the joy of watching Kazuki Nakajima stepping into F1 together in second half of 2007 season. However, I have to point out that it would never be happened without DAMS's commitment. It will be another new season with DAMS, and regarding Kamui Kobayashi, as a matter of fact, we have been discussing the possible tie as early as 2005 when he was driving Formula Renault 2.0. Now, that brief discussion comes to a reality through Kobayashi's steady progress in couple of F3 seasons, and looking forward to seeing further progress in GP2 with DAMS."