Press release from DAMS
22.05.2011
Pål Varhaug confirmed his potential in the two rounds. He made a good come back in the main one, which gave him sixteenth place on the track, and he moved up one more due to his team-mate’s disqualification.
He drove an even better race on Sunday and finished eighth, not far off the point for sixth while fending off Grosjean’s final attacks.
Loïc David: General Manager: “It really wasn’t our weekend. After a good free session, we were never in a position to battle with the front-runners. The track conditions had evolved and maybe we didn’t adapt as well as we could have. In race 2, Romain again showed his potential and that of the car: that’s reassuring before Monaco.”
Romain Grosjean:
Feature race : P4 (disqualified)
Sprint race : P9
“It’s been a frustrating weekend, but we have to see the positive side. Even in difficult conditions we were in a position to go for the podium. Yesterday, we had a problem with our pit stop but the strategy was the right one. I really enjoyed myself today with all those passing manoeuvres after starting from the back of the grid. A couple more laps and I’d have been in the points. Monaco will be another kettle of fish and we have the potential to win there.”
Pal Varhaug:
Feature race : P16
Sprint race : P8
“Again it’s a pity I started so far back on the grid on Saturday. I managed to gain a few places in the race and that helped me move up today. I finished just outside the points, and I didn’t make any mistakes when Romain put pressure on me on the last lap. I hope to do better in Monaco.”
Next races: Monaco on Friday and Saturday 27-28th May.
Results:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Fabio Leimer Rapax 45m26.885s
2. Dani Clos Racing Engineering + 10.190s
3. Marcus Ericsson iSport + 20.711s
4. Davide Valsecchi AirAsia + 20.926s
5. Sam Bird iSport + 27.339s
6. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova + 38.974s
7. Alvaro Parente Racing Engineering + 40.280s
8. Pal Varhaug DAMS + 41.855s
9. Romain Grosjean DAMS + 41.925s
10. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident + 51.503s
11. Max Chilton Carlin + 52.553s
12. Esteban Gutierrez ART + 1m02.219s
13. Johnny Cecotto Ocean + 1m03.298s
14. Julian Leal Rapax + 1m03.416s
15. Kevin Ceccon Coloni + 1m03.604s
16. Kevin Mirocha Ocean + 1m04.895s
17. Jolyon Palmer Arden + 1m05.099s
18. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin + 1m19.938s
19. Charles Pic Addax + 1m26.905s
Retirements:
Stefano Coletti Trident 24 laps
Josef Kral Arden 24 laps
Luiz Razia AirAsia 22 laps
Luca Filippi Super Nova 21 laps
Michael Herck Coloni 12 laps
Jules Bianchi ART 0 laps
Giedo van der Garde Addax 0 laps
