24h Le Mans
After a quick stop in Formula 1, Karun Chandhok has breathed new life into his career since 2012 by participating in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) as well as in the European Le Mans Series. This year, in addition to his involvement with the Murphy Prototypes team, the Indian driver will participate in the first electric single-seater championship: Formula E.
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Photo : - ACO/Nikon
After a year of intensive discovery at the wheel of the JRM team's HPD ARX-03a (LM P1), Karun Chandhok is now one of the emblematic drivers in the LM P2 class in which he has evolved during two seasons in the Murphy Prototypes Oreca–Nissan. This year, he participated in his third 24 Hours of Le Mans along with Nathanaël Berthon and Rodolfo González, a complicated adventure for Greg Murphy's men, ending by a retirement after covering 73 laps.
On September 13th, Chandhok will join the impressive delegation of endurance drivers for the inaugural round of the 2014-2015 FIA Formula E Championship, raced in the streets of Beijing. For this race marking the history of motorsports, the Chennai native will go up against Stéphane Sarrazin (Toyota), Nick Heidfeld (Rebellion), Sam Bird (AF Corse), Bruno Senna (Aston Martin), Nicolas Prost (Rebellion), Sébastien Buemi (Toyota), Mike Conway (Toyota), Ho-Pin Tung (OAK Racing-Team Asia) and Lucas di Grassi (Audi). A group undeniably marked by the presence of drivers who were in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans! For Chandhok, this new sports program is a unique opportunity to involve technological resources as well as the his country's passion for motorsports. He will continue to grow under the Indian banner of Mahindra Racing along with Bruno Senna...
An Indian driver, evolving in an Indian team, how did fans react to the announcement? "It was very positive. Mahindra is not yet well-known in Europe or in the United States but in India, everyone knows the name and to have that support brings a lot of credibility to our program. The launch in India was a big event for us also and everybody was very excited and impatient that the season begin!"
At what point do you think this championship could become crucial in defining future technologies for racing and for the road? "I think this initiative will be very important. Mahindra is a company that designs electric cars in India and their knowledge in this area is impressive. We constantly communicate our information between the race team and the Mahindra Reva company. It is very positive and I think it will be naturally very beneficial to both entities."
Pierre-Yves Riom / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, TEST DAY, SUNDAY JUNE 1 2014. Between the Murphy Prototypes' Oreca-Nissan and Mahindra Racing's Spark-Renault SRT 01E, Karun Chandhok's program in 2014 is eclectic.
