Ericsson and Richelmi bring a smile to DAMS' face at Nurburgring

On Saturday, the front row was an all-yellow one with Stéphane Richelmi on pole and Marcus Ericsson alongside him who went on to win the first race. The team scored a big haul of points so the weekend in Germany was a very satisfying one for DAMS. Finally, the French squad's performance was translated into concrete results, which bodes well for the rest of the season.

Podium: race winner Marcus Ericsson

Photo by: GP2 Media Service

Race 1 got off to a good start and Ericsson took the lead. Despite the deployment of the safety car he was never in danger. A double looked on the cards until his Monegasque team-mate had a problem with the front jack, which dropped him down the classification. However, he fought his way back up to fifth place at the chequered flag.

This excellent result was down to a great tyre strategy, which was to make the drivers suffer on Sunday. Richelmi made a bad start and got caught up in an accident, which caused his immediate retirement. Ericsson held on to fourth place until four laps from the finish when he had to give way to rivals because his tyres were completely shot and theirs were in a better state. However, the job had been done the previous day. DAMS was back in the game!

François Sicard, Managing Director: "I'm very happy with the overall performance of the team. Congratulations to everybody. Once again the car showed how good it is and the drivers were on the same wavelength. Hats off to Marcus who finally got the monkey off his back by scoring a well-deserved victory. And bravo to Stéphane for his pole position and his race. He should have been in the top 3 again without that unfortunate hiccup with the jack. It'll be for another time soon, I'm sure. Now we have to continue in the same vein in Hungary."

Marcus Ericsson: "At last! I'm really delighted with this victory, above all for the team, which have given me a great car since the start. I'd like to thank them and dedicate this win to them! The race went off without a hitch and I was able to control the situation. On the other hand, the second one was much tougher as the tyres didn't hold out till the end. I fought as hard as I could but it wasn't enough. Nonetheless, we're moving up the classification and we'll continue to fight till the very end!"

Stéphane Richelmi: "I feel a bit frustrated especially after the first race. I was very happy to have set pole and I'd like to thank the team for preparing such a good car for me. However, the pit stop incident prevented me from scoring a top-three finish, which was on the cards. But that's racing! This being said we're really very competitive and I'm sure I'll be in the top three and score victories in the coming races."

DAM