04/05/2009
NEWS STORY
This week-end, DAMS will start its fifth season in the GP2 Series Championship, one of the top feeder series for Formula 1, for drivers who make their mark in it. For the second year in succession the team will run Kamui Kobayashi and Jerome d'Ambrosio, two drivers who are as quick as they are reliable. They proved their worth this winter in the Asian GP2 Series as the Japanese won the drivers' championship title and his Belgian team-mate filled the runner-up spot. They will kick off their season in Barcelona (8th - 10th May) aiming for the top!
DAMS is well prepared, well structured from a human point of view and more motivated than ever. The French squad is determined to fight at the front this season, and add new successes to the teams' title won in the Asian GP2 Series last week.
Jean-Paul Driot, DAMS Team Principal: "The mutual trust that is built up over time between a team and its drivers is crucial to achieve the very high technical and mental levels necessary for success. The stability with Jerome d'Ambrosio and Kamui Kobayashi for the GP2 Main Series Championship is great news for DAMS, whose aim is to fight for the title in 2009."
Yoshi Arimatsu, Toyota Drivers Program (TDP) Manager: 'I'm delighted to continue our involvement with DAMS for the fourth year in succession. I was particularly thrilled at the first Asian GP2 Series race in Bahrain in 2009, when DAMS scored a double rostrum finish with Kamui first and Jerome second. In the nineties, when I was involved in F3000 in Japan, DAMS's successes in the International F3000 Championship were particularly impressive. Today, I'm very happy to be working with this team that's still as dynamic as ever. The form DAMS has shown recently, especially last week when it won the Asian GP2 Series title in style, makes me very optimistic for the coming season. Performances in the GP2 Series are closer than ever, and we're going to have a very exciting year with, I hope, as competitive races from DAMS as in GP2 Asia."
Brigitte Schmitz, Gravity Sport Management: "Gravity backs talented drivers and our core involvement is based on a simple element - success on the racetrack. We're sure we've made the best possible choice with Jerome d'Ambrosio and DAMS to shine in the GP2 Series, one of the top-level championships in the world. We hope we're going to have a very exciting season and we wish the team every success."
Kamui Kobayashi: "2008 was a learning season. Today, we're getting down to the nitty gritty. In the light of my performances in the Asian GP2 Series this winter, I've got great hopes and I want to fight for the title this year. DAMS's professionalism makes it the ideal squad to orchestrate such a campaign. The fact that we've been together for over a year is an additional strength."
Jerome d'Ambrosio: "I'm champing at the bit to race in the main series after finishing the Asian GP2 Championship in second place in the drivers' ratings. I've got a year's experience under my belt; I know the circuits and how to use the set-ups that work on the car as well as the team's working methods. It looks like we've put together the right package to make the 2009 season a really great one!"