18/05/2009
NEWS STORY
The jewel in the motor racing crown is the much anticipated event this weekend, with DPR heading for the glamorous destination of Monaco. The second round of the GP2 calendar takes the team to the tight and twisty confines of the sea front temporary street circuit, with drivers Michael Herck and Giacomo Ricci once again leading the charge.
Last season the DPR squad scored their first points of the season at the Monaco track, with a sixth place finish courtesy of Andy Soucek, and a ninth place for Diego Nunes. The team is hoping that the magic of this venue will once again bring good fortune and the first season points. Herck and Ricci will be looking to build on their opening experiences and aim for two full race distances.
Herck is a Monaco resident, so this weekend will be akin to a home race for the Romania born driver. He attended the race with the team last season, but only as a spectator due a hand injury he sustained at the Bahrain GP2 Asia event.
Ricci returns to the driving seat of his single seater after racing in a sportscar last weekend. The Italian driver celebrated a podium finish in the International GT Open series in Adria, Italy, sharing a Ferrari F430 GT2 car with fellow Italian, Michele Rugolo.
Leon Price, Team Manager: "We are aiming for the points this weekend. We had a strong outing at this circuit last season, so we know we can be in the hunt for points if we have two clean races. There is always the risk at Monaco that you can be involved in an in incident at the St. Devote corner if you're mid pack and it's also notoriously difficult to overtake, so we need to push for qualifying performance and then have two strong races, keeping out of trouble and hopefully benefiting from the inevitable attrition."
The Circuit de Monaco is laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the principality of Monaco. Due to the tight and twisty nature of the circuit, it favours the skill of the drivers over the power of the cars, there is also very little overtaking as the circuit is so narrow and dangerous. The first of the weekend's races will take place on Saturday afternoon with the Feature Race, followed by the Sprint race on Sunday morning.