-Will fight back
20.05.2011
Pål Varhaug will fight back tomorrow.
Romain Grosjean and DAMS will start from the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s main GP2 Series race on the Montmelo circuit.
Things got off to a good start this morning in spring-like conditions when Romain set the quickest time in the free session with more than 6/10s in hand over his nearest rival. It was a very encouraging debut, especially as Pal Varhaug showed his pace with the eight-fastest lap in the session.
But unfortunately, in the qualifying session on a much hotter track, DAMS did not have the same success. Grosjean was unable to repeat his brilliant performance in the morning practice, and finished in a slightly-disappointing fifth place behind his rivals in the title chase. It was the same story for his Norwegian team-mate who did not manage to confirm the promise shown in the free session.
Loïc David, General Manager: “For once, despite the sun, we’ve got glum faces! We felt very confident after the first session, but the track got a lot hotter before qualifying and that probably had an influence on our result. We just lacked that little extra. However, the fact that Romain is starting from the third row on the clean side of the track bodes well for the race.”
Romain Grosjean: P5 (1m 30.807s)
“Today’s qualifying was a bit more difficult than the last one, but I think we know where we had problems. However, I’m feeling confident for the race tomorrow and I know it’ll be long and full of upsets. It’s up to us to learn from our small mistakes and continue our encouraging start to the season. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s battle!”
Pal Varhaug: P20 (1m 31.779s)
“I was very happy after the free session but the car wasn’t handling in the same way in qualifying. So I’m not very happy with my position. I’ll do my utmost to fight my way back up through the field during tomorrow’s race.”
First race tomorrow 21st May at 15h40
Second race on Sunday 22nd May at 10h55
Results:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Jules Bianchi ART 1m30.369s
2. Giedo van der Garde Addax 1m30.473s + 0.104s
3. Sam Bird iSport 1m30.488s + 0.119s
4. Charles Pic Addax 1m30.616s + 0.247s
5. Romain Grosjean DAMS 1m30.807s + 0.438s
6. Davide Valsecchi AirAsia 1m30.820s + 0.451s
7. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1m30.927s + 0.558s
8. Marcus Ericsson iSport 1m30.935s + 0.566s
9. Stefano Coletti Trident 1m30.974s + 0.605s
10. Luca Filippi Super Nova 1m31.084s + 0.715s
11. Max Chilton Carlin 1m31.192s + 0.823s
12. Josef Kral Arden 1m31.447s + 1.078s
13. Luiz Razia AirAsia 1m31.513s + 1.144s
14. Michael Herck Coloni 1m31.527s + 1.158s
15. Alvaro Parente Racing Engineering 1m31.636s + 1.267s
16. Esteban Gutierrez ART 1m31.645s + 1.276s
17. Kevin Ceccon Coloni 1m31.670s + 1.301s
18. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident 1m31.694s + 1.325s
19. Kevin Mirocha Ocean 1m31.757s + 1.388s
20. Pal Varhaug DAMS 1m31.779s + 1.410s
21. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova 1m31.821s + 1.452s
22. Jolyon Palmer Arden 1m31.822s + 1.453s
23. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin 1m31.977s + 1.608s
24. Julian Leal Rapax 1m32.934s + 2.565s
25. Johnny Cecotto Ocean 1m33.246s + 2.877s
26. Fabio Leimer Rapax
