A frustrating weekend for DAMS

The WSR weekend on the Paul Ricard circuit, which hosted the second-last round of the World Series by Renault Championships, left a slightly bitter taste in the French team’s mouth, as its sole reward was tenth place in race 2 for Lucas Foresti. The car was quick but a host niggling problems blighted the drivers’ performance. In the first practice Arthur Pic’s second fastest time in dry conditions gave the team cause for optimism. The first qualifying session in the wet did not finish for the squad as well as It had started with Arthur eighth-fastest, and Lucas was down in twenty-second place due to a spin.

And things continued to go wrong in the first event as on the first lap in the rain Pic tagged a rival and retired. However, Foresti drove a good race in the tricky conditions and fought his way back up to fourteenth place.

On Sunday morning the uncertain weather conditions still reigned and DAMS had another frustrating qualifying session. Pic set the quickest time on his first set of tyres, and just when he was about to mount an attack on pole he was stopped by the red flag. He finished sixth with Foresti thirteenth. The Frenchman messed up his start in race 2 and was overtaken by several rivals including his Brazilian team-mate. And to cap it all after a good pit stop he spun, fell back into the middle of the pack and saw the flag in fourteenth place. Foresti put another encouraging performance and held onto tenth with the help of an excellent pit stop.

Jean-Paul Driot, CEO: “Lady Luck deserted us and it’s a shame as the car’s quick. The team did a good job and I congratulate them on the record pit stop in Sunday’s race. Arthur had a bad weekend, but he can take his revenge in the final races in Catalonia. Hats off to Lucas who’s improving and put on a good performance over the two days.”

Arthur Pic: “I won’t have very good memories of this weekend. The car was good but the red flag in the second qualifying session cost me dearly. I could have bagged pole and that would have changed a lot of things. I made a bad start on Sunday and even though I really pushed hard my race was ruined. Rendezvous in Barcelona for the final and I’m determined to finish the season on a high note!”

Lucas Foresti: “It still wasn’t perfect but I feel I’m progressing. On Saturday I made a great comeback and I stayed in the top ten till the finish. My thanks to the team for doing a great job and bravo for the pit stop. It was great. I hope to finish further up the time sheets in Spain in three weeks.”

Last races on the Montmelo circuit (Barcelona) on 20-21 October 2012