Jerome d’Ambrosio joins Virgin as their test driver for the remaining season
The young GP2 driver Jerome d’Ambrosio signed with team Virgin as a Friday test driver for four of the five final grand prix of the season. The Belgian will drive at the Friday morning sessions at Singapore, Japan, Korea and Brazil and will take Lucas di
Grassi’s seat for each race. D’Ambrosio was linked with this position in the team after the race at Monza and is expected to become a potential race driver for the 2011 season.
The team will evaluate Lucas’s performance to decide his future and calculate his potential.
“We are very pleased to welcome Jerome to Virgin Racing and we look forward to providing him with the opportunity to drive the VR-01 during the first free practice session of the next four race weekends”, said Graeme Lowdon, CEO of Virgin Racing.
Virgin revealed that the 25 year old would also take part in the team’s young driver test in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season.
“We have a contract with Timo Glock for another two years and an option on the services of Lucas di Grassi for next year. Both drivers have done an outstanding job for us in our debut season”, the team said.
Virgin claims that they are always looking to progress new talent in the racing world and the team Virgin Racing has a long history of doing this. They believe that Jerome is a potential future Formula 1 driver and deserves an opportunity in the Formula
1. The team is looking forward to evaluating his performances after the Belgian begins testing sessions with the team starting from the Singapore Grand Prix.
D’Ambrosio has been driving in the GP2 this year and is a part of Renault as their reserve driver. The Belgian was excited about this opportunity with Virgin and hopes to race and hopes this will take him to the next level.
“My ultimate goal has always been to race in Formula 1 and I am delighted to get a step closer”, he said.
The 25-year-old wishes to thank Virgin Racing and Gravity Sport Management for believing in him and hopes that he does not disappoint them. This will be a vital opportunity for him and the Belgian is looking forward to assist the team as much as he can and
gain some experience at the four most demanding tracks of the Formula 1 calendar. After looking at the 2011 season, this will be very helpful for Jerome and he will be proud to colour his helmet with Belgian colours during his official practice sessions.
D’Ambrosio is currently in tenth place in the GP2 drivers’ standings and won the Monaco sprint race that was his lone victory this year. Jerome is driving for DAMS in the GP2 currently but made it quite clear that his only goal is to race in the Formula
1. He proved his abilities at an early age and won the entry level of Formula Renault Series in his country Belgium before he won the Karting Championship in 2002 a year before. He moved to the Formula Renault in 2004, scored podium positions in the Italian
and French series, and raced occasionally in the Euroseries event. He became a part of various FIA GT and Belgian GT races before racing his way in to the single-seater Formula Masters series to take the title in 2007.
This performance earned him a spot in the GP2 Asia Series where he finished in 2nd place in the drivers’ standings behind the current Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi. Jerome scored two podiums in the European championship followed by that at Valencia
and Spa Francorchamps. The Belgian driver was looking good this year as he scored three podiums in four races this year but struggled mid-season as he retired in five races and finished ninth in the drivers’ standings. However, his goal for the year 2010 is
to enter the Formula 1 and secure the title with his team DAMS to finish ahead of his teammate and the rest of the pack.
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