As Karun Chandhok says it’s a new chapter in his racing career. After spending more than a decade in single-seater racing, the Chennai driver will embark on a new journey in sportscars when the World Endurance Championship begins at Sebring 12-Hrs (Florida) on March 17.
Karun has confirmed that he will be representing privateer JRM Racing in the eight-round championship which has been dominated by the manufacturers such as Audi and Peugeot. Karun, however, keeps his fingers crossed at the possibility of landing a reserve driver role with an F1 team.
“I am still looking at the option of being an F1 test driver as well as competing in Endurance series,” said Karun.
Karun will skip the penultimate round of the i1 Super Series to be held in Abu Dhabi which clashes with the season opener of WEC in Sebring.
This is the first endurance series to gain world championship status since the World Sportscar Championship, which ended in 1992. Karun, who has been in Formula One over the last two years with Hispania Racing and Team Lotus F1, is excited about the new challenge.
“At the end of 2011, we explored the options to race in F1 and when it didn’t look like a possibility, I decided to look outside and the WEC presents the next best option. The cars are capable of speeds of over 360kmh, the calendar is fantastic and the quality of teams and drivers are very high,” he added.
The move to sportscar endurance racing represents a shift for Karun from single-seater sprint racing both in terms of race distance and also now sharing a car with two other drivers — David Brabham and Peter Dumbreck who are well known names in the world of Sportscars.
“Doing races which are 6, 12 and even 24 hours are going to be a new challenge. Together with the works Audi and Peugeot the Acura LMP1 car that the JRM Racing Team have acquired should be one of the most competitive cars. James Rumsey who owns the team and Nigel Stepney who worked with the Ferrari F1 team in the Schumacher glory days and leads the technical side seem extremely motivated to do a good job,” added Karun.
The series will feature multiple classes of cars competing in endurance races, with sports prototypes competing in the Le Mans Prototype categories, and production-based grand tourers competing in the GT Endurance categories. The iconic Le Mans 24hrs race is one of the jewels in the crown for any motorsport driver along with the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500.
Karun said competing at Sebring 12hrs and the Le Mans 24hrs would be a big honour.
“I have stood on the podium at the legendary venues of Macau, Silverstone, Spa and Monaco among others in my career so far and Sebring and Le Mans are two other classics which would be great to add to that list one day!"