DAMS and Kevin Magnussen lead both title chases at Motorland Aragon

The Monza podium finishes were a foretaste of greater things to come, and this was confirmed at Motorland Aragon. Thus, DAMS left the Spanish track with a win for Kevin Magnussen, two pole positions, and the French outfit now leads both the drivers' and teams' championships in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. In addition to its Danish driver's domination DAMS knows it can count on Norman Nato who set a brilliant pole this weekend.

Race winner Kevin Magnussen

Photo by: Renault Sport

On Saturday the Dane was in a class of his own holding on to first at the start of race 1 and then vanishing into the distance. He was never under threat and crossed the finishing line with almost 20 seconds in hand over his immediate pursuer, Will Stevens. Kevin's win also gave him the lead in the drivers' championship. Nato drove a great race in the wake of his team leader, and saw the flag in fifth place helping DAMS into first place in the teams' ratings.

On Sunday morning, the French rookie did even better and scored the first pole of his young career in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. Unfortunately Magnussen stopped on the track with a fuel pressure problem and was unable to fight his corner in qualifying: he started the race from twenty-second place on the grid. However, in the second race the DAMS drivers failed to confirm their performance.

Nato was caught out at the start and rejoined very far back finishing in twentieth spot. Magnussen, though, carved his way up through the field and bagged the two points that went with ninth place at the flag. Overall, it was a weekend of good results, which bode well for the future.

François Sicard, Managing Director: "The whole team did a great job this weekend. But our satisfaction with victory and Kevin's and Norman's poles is tempered by the lack of success in the second race. Overall, we bagged a good haul of points, but it could have been an excellent one.

Kevin, though, confirmed that he's one of the most serious title contenders this year, and Norman showed us that he'll soon be fighting at the front. With a little more experience he'll be soon a victory contender. To sum up, we're leading both championships and that's where we intend to stay for as long as possible!"

Kevin Magnussen: "First of all congratulations to the team for giving me an excellent car all weekend. The first race was simply great; I was able to push without problems and nobody could keep up with me. It's a pity I ran into problems in the second qualifying session - but that's racing! Even so I'm leading the drivers' championship and I'm going to defend my position tooth and nail!"

Norman Nato: "The weekend could have been really fantastic. Instead it was simply pretty good. I'd like to thank the team as the car's getting better and better. I had a good first race and I scored good points. I'm also very happy with my pole position on Sunday. It's a shame I got caught out at the start in the afternoon. The brakes were cold and I went wide. It's called learning! Finally, I'm feeling very positive as the speed's there and I'm improving. Rendezvous in Monaco."

DAMS