Silverstone,
England ; June 18, 2009: Indian racing ace Karun Chandhok
is determined to get a strong result at this weekend’s
British GP and put the disappointments of Monaco and Istanbul behind
him. Chandhok had a memorable weekend last year at
Silverstone when he sliced through the field to finish on the podium.
The Chennai born driver will be looking to repeat the feat this year
with the newly formed Ocean Racing Technology team. Chandhok is backed
by Punj Lloyd, JK Tyre and Amaron.
Speaking
on the upcoming weekend, Chandhok said, “Last
year I had a fantastic race to the podium after starting tenth on the
grid. We are confident going into the race weekend following our strong
showing at the Turkish GP. Our car was definitely on the pace - as we
showed by coming in 1-2 in practice, backed up by my strong performance
in qualifying and the fastest lap in the race. It was unfortunate we
had a clutch problem at the start and the engine misfired during the
race. As a new team in GP2, it is encouraging to see the improvements
we have made since the season opener.”

The
Silverstone circuit is made up of a series of long straights, connected
by fast open corners. It is one of the fastest circuits on the current
calendar, with an exciting sequence of high-speed corners making up
the first half of the lap. While it is difficult to pass on this circuit,
it is not impossible. This will also be an emotional weekend for many
of the drivers and fans as Silverstone will be dropped from the calendar
for the foreseeable future in favour of Donington Park.
Karun
will also be carrying the shield of the British Racing Drivers
Club on the car this weekend. “I
feel very proud to be the first Indian invited into the prestigious
BRDC and would like to show my appreciation by carrying the logo this
weekend at the home of the club. This is definitely one of my favourite
circuits and one that I feel very close to. I’ve been cycling
past the circuit a lot this year as part of my training and it definitely
feels like a home race.
The first 3 corners - Copse, Maggots and Becketts - are probably the
most challenging complex of corners out of all circuits on the calendar.
This circuit requires a lot of commitment from the driver and as always,
we will have to ensure we set the car up well. The crowd here is electrifying,
especially on race day and I am looking forward to this weekend.”
Acknowledging the support from his sponsors Chandhok said,
“My partners Punj Lloyd, JK
Tyre and Amaron have showed tremendous commitment
to the program and I am very grateful to them for this. We are looking
forward to a strong weekend together.”
The
practice and qualifying sessions for this weekend will be held on Friday
with the races held on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
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