d'Ambrosio had qualified in 17th place for the feature race after suffering a broken exhaust, but he made progress when the race got underway to climb into the top ten. However, his solid run would come to an end while running in eighth when a gearbox problem forced him to park up and retire.
Unfortunately for the Belgian ace, a similar problem in race two would force him to retire for the second time in the weekend just two laps after the extended Safety Car period that started the race came to an end.
“A broken exhaust prevented me from putting on a good performance in qualifying when the track was at its best for grip,” he said. “An electronic problem was diagnosed and repaired on the grid itself. I managed to gain a few places before the first corner. The team did a great job and sent me back out in eighth spot after my refuelling stop, but unfortunately my gearbox began to act up soon afterwards. It's annoying as the drivers behind me at that moment finished fourth and fifth. But that's motor racing...
“Short is the best adjective to describe my race today. After starting behind the Safety Car I was able to cover only a handful of laps before my gearbox got stuck in neutral. It's frustrating, but I still have absolute confidence in both my capacities and those of the team. I'm sure that when we have a weekend without mechanical problems we'll be fighting at the front. I hope that I've used up my share of bad luck and the aim is to restart the season on the right foot in Malaysia in a few weeks time.”
With neither driver able to challenge the scorers, team manager Eric Boullier admitted that the weekend hadn't delivered as expected, but said he remained confident that things will come good in the next round in Malaysia.
![Jerome d'Ambrosio - DAMS [pic credit: GP2 Series]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/404012.jpg)
