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Familiar face on Dubai pole.

Friday, 11th April 2008

Romain Grosjean remains untouched ahead of race one.

ART Grand Prix's Romain Grosjean maintained his Dubai dominance by annexing pole position for the first race of the final GP2 Asia Series weekend.

The French driver, having already wrapped up the inaugural title in Bahrain a week ago, claimed his fourth pole position of the season, lapping a couple of tenths quicker than Bruno Senna and Kamui Kobayashi after already setting the pace during free practice. Even with the crown in his pocket, Grosjean shows no sign of lifting off, insisting that the Bahrain weekend had not gone entirely the way he had planned.

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“I was declared champion after I had to retire from last race because of technical problems so, here in Dubai, I don't want to miss the opportunity to end the Asia Series on a high note," he claimed, "I hope this pole is the beginning of a great weekend.”

iSport International ace Bruno Senna overturned a disappointing practice performance to claim the second front row spot as he sets about claiming a top three spot in the standings. The Brazilian had hoped to grab the pole - and the two points that go with it - but admitted to a minor slip that left him trailing 0.208secs behind Grosjean.

“I'm happy with this result," Senna said after climbing from twelfth in practice, "The car was really good today, but I made a small mistake and Grosjean took pole. However, I'm positive that the race will be very interesting this afternoon...”

Rising star Kamui Kobayashi, the only Japanese driver to have taken victories in GP2, put himself into contention for a third Asia Series success by reprising his third position from earlier in the morning. The DAMS driver was a further tenth from Grosjean's benchmark, but remained confident that he could overhaul the front row pairing.

“It could have been better...," he admitted, "As the championship went on, we became more and more competitive and I really want to finish second [overall]. I'll have to make a good start and, then, fight again for the win.”

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