Porsche Supercup – DAMS finish third in the teams’ championship!

The death of Sean Edwards, the leader of the championship, who was killed in an accident in Australia last month, overshadowed the final round of the 2013 Supercup. The DAMS team paid homage to him by wearing a black armband all weekend. Even if the expression ‘the show must go on’ seems somewhat hollow, it’s what happened. Thus, DAMS finished their first season in the Supercup in third place overall in the teams’ classification helping Michael Christensen to clinch the 2013 Rookie of the Year award.

Abu Dhabi was the only meeting in 2013 with two rounds, and teams that had already raced on this circuit enjoyed a certain advantage. Which was not the case for DAMS. However, this did not prevent Richie Stanaway from fighting at the front with the fourth-quickest time in qualifying and fourth place in the second race, after he had a pretty hectic time in the first one in which he was given a drive-through penalty. Thus, the young New Zealander finished his season on a high note after an up-and-down year. His Danish team-mate met with less success in the Arab Emirates, especially as he had a poor qualifying session. He made up lost ground in the races with seventh place on Sunday. He won the Rookie award and finished in sixth place overall in the drivers’ classification. It was a good performance by the Porsche Junior driver. Thus, with a victory and its top-3 finish in the final classification, DAMS showed its talent in a very competitive championship in which experience is a major advantage.

François Sicard, Managing Director: “Overall it’s not been one of our best weekends, but even so it’s satisfactory taking into account the fact that we didn’t know the circuit. Above all, after our first year in the Porsche Supercup I’d like to congratulate the team on their performance. Finishing in the top-three in the teams’ championship is a remarkable achievement given the quality of our rivals. I’d like to say well done to everybody for doing an excellent job and in particular to Michael for his Rookie title. Richie had a more uneven year, but he showed some real talent and he’s certainly going to improve. Rendezvous in 2014!”

Michael Christensen: “First of all, thank you to the whole team for doing such a great job and for its unflagging involvement. We’ve had a good season and I’m happy to have won the Rookie title: it’s a reward for everybody. The final round didn’t go off all that well. The ambience was rather sad and I lacked reference points here in Abu Dhabi, especially concerning tyre pressures. I gave my all in the races.”

Richie Stanaway: “It was difficult to find our marks here, as we didn’t have any experience of the Yas Marina circuit. But I’m happy with my qualification. I thought my drive-through in the first race was a bit tough although I was able to make up for it on Sunday with fourth place. I’d like to congratulate the DAMS team and thank them for my first season in the Supercup: the car was always quick. I hope that next year will bring more success for DAMS and for me.”