Karun Chandhok

[Vas]

Formula V6 Asia by Renault - Euro 100,000 Prize Boost

Hong Kong – The upcoming Formula V6 Asia by Renault series, which has sparked enormous international interest since its announcement last month, has received an additional boost in the form of Euro 100,000 (approximately US$120,000) cash plus rewards prizes for the top-performing teams and drivers in its inaugural season which kicks off in Malaysia next month.

France-based Renault Sport Technologies has announced the cash prize fund for the teams, and a World Series by Renault test drive for each of the top three drivers at the end of the season.

The move has been warmly welcomed by series organiser and promoter, Malaysian-based Motorsport Asia Limited, the company behind the hugely successful Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) weekends. Said Chief Executive Officer, David Sonenscher: "The winning team will win Euro 50,000 (approximately US$60,000), a significant contribution to their operating costs. For the top three drivers, the free World Series by Renault test drive provides an invaluable opportunity to showcase their talent to Europe’s leading teams and decision-makers.

"The addition of these cash and prize incentives – on top of an affordable, high-level racing series held in the world’s most dynamic and rapidly developing region – will make Formula V6 Asia by Renault even more attractive for drivers and teams from anywhere in the world."

The second placed team will be awarded a cash prize of Euro 30,000 (approx. US$36,000), while the second-runner up will take home Euro 20,000 (approx. US$24,000).

Since the announcement of Formula V6 Asia by Renault, the region’s most senior level single seater series ever, organisers have been flooded with enquiries from both teams and drivers from right across Asia, North and South America, the USA and Europe.

The most recent driver to announce his intention to participate is India’s Karun Chandhok. Chandhok began his career in Formula India, winning the 2001 Asian Formula 2000 Championship, before moving to the British Formula 3 Championship and was most recently part of India’s A1 Grand Prix team. The 22-year-old was recently quoted as saying: "World Series is a costly affair and I never got to drive a full season. But now with the Formula V6 Asia by Renault coming up I think I can drive a full season. It is just half the cost of the World Series."

Other drivers who have stated their intention to be part of the line up are Christian Jones, the son of former F1 World Champion Alan Jones, Hong Kong’s most successful open wheel racer and 2004 Formula BMW Asia champion, Marchy Lee Yin Kin, and exciting Taiwanese youngster Hanss Lin Po Heng.

The introduction of Formula V6 Asia by Renault means that, for the first time, Southeast Asian-based drivers will be able to progress from karting, through the ranks of junior single seaters, and step up to a programme specifically designed to groom them for Formula One. For drivers from outside the region, the series provides a cost-effective alternative to the World Series by Renault, as well as the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the booming economies of Asia.

The car is powered by a 370bhp, 3.5l 24 valve V6 engine, can reach speeds of up to 275kph, is equipped with "ship to shore" radio, electronic-display steering wheels and data acquisition.

Formula V6 Asia by Renault will be televised globally, both live and delayed, and will be supported by a comprehensive promotional and media campaign.

Motorsport Asia, the company behind AFOS racing weekends which include the Asian Touring Car Championship, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, and Formula BMW Asia, is the region’s leading motorsport outfit. The new partnership will marry Renault’s impressive motor racing pedigree with Motorsport Asia’s regional know-how and experience.

It seems, Karun Chandhok may partcipate in Forumla V6 Asia. Renaults is spreading its global reach by this.

[Vas]

India's rising star Karun CHANDHOK all set for new Renault backed series FORMULA V6 ASIA


After a long winter break Indian racing driver Karun Chandhok has secured a drive in the all new Formula Asia Renault V6 series which kicks off at the Sepang F1 circuit in Malaysia on the 13th and 14th of May. Karun will be driving for the Korean based E-Rain Racing team, and will be backed by his long-term principal sponsors JK Tyre in association with Scottish and Newcastle and Amaron.

"The last 6 months were a long and difficult period and after looking at all the options, I felt that this new series will be a good step for me for this year," Karun said. "I have a very good relationship with the people at Renault Sport in France and when we couldn't secure the budget to do the World Series, they helped me get the drive here in Asia. It'll be very good for me to do well in this series and form a long term association with Renault who are one of the major players in world motor sport today."

The Renault V6 series will be the headline event of the Asian Festival of Speed and has now become the premier category of single seater racing in Asia. The cars are powered by 3500cc Renault V6 engines, producing an impressive 375 bhp and capable of speeds of close to 300 Kmh.

The first official test session for the series was held at the Sepang F1circuit last week and Karun started on a positive note by finishing the day as the fastest driver,  half a second ahead of the competition.

To strengthen team's technical structure, Karan brings with him Anthony Hieatt, the talented engineer who currently manages Kimi Raikkonnen' s Formula 3 team in the UK.

Looking ahead to the season, Karun said "I wanted to go and do the test session first before committing to the season so that we could make a calculated decision. Obviously, I was very happy to be fastest as it means that the signs are good for the season ahead although I do expect it to be a hard battle with the top guys. I'm very  happy to be working with E-Rain and delighted that I have managed to get Anthony to come out and engineer the car. I think together we'll have a strong package for the season and this is something I need to get my career moving quickly again."

"It'll be the first time since 2002 that I am going into a season knowing that I have the budget to finish the year and I can't tell you how much that eases the tension. I have to really thank JK Tyre for carrying on their support and also welcome on board Scottish and Newcastle and Amaron for this season." he added. "I've been training hard again for the last couple months and feel ready to go out there and fight for the championship."



Calendar for the 2006 season

13th - 14th May, Sepang, Malaysia
25th 26th June, Sepang, Malaysia
22nd 23rd July, Sentul, Indonesia
12th 13th August, Zhuhai, China
9th 10th September, Zhuhai, China
21st 22nd October, Taichung, Taiwan

All the best for him

[vpk]

Really good to see , KC getting into action,  Hope he  puts some impression on the sponsers, so that he can   get in action and  a place in
Formula Renault( Formula Nippon in which NK participated),for one complete year.
          Presently as of now it is seeming that the chances Karun   gettting into F1 is very less and may take 5 years ( as looking now).
        Best of luck for Karun in FORMULA V6 ASIA .

[vpk]

Fortune fails pole-sitter Chandok in main race  
 
 Sepang, May 15: Karun Chandhok's maiden race in the inaugural Formula Asia Renault V6 Series ended in unfortunate circumstances when his car stalled while leading by 10 seconds with three laps to go in round two at the Sepang F1 circuit here yesterday.

It was a sad finish to an otherwise brilliant weekend for the Indian driver and his Korean team E-Racing who dominated the qualifying sessions on Saturday as well as the first race yesterday when Chandhok and his team-mate Hanss Lin made it a 1-2 finish.

"The DNFS (did not finish) will catch up ultimately, and Ananda (Mikola, the winner) is my nearest competition and he will now have some advantage," said Chandhok after the day's performance.

There was no doubt about the package put together by Chandhok's team headed by seasoned engineer Anthony Hieatt as he weathered two restarts to surge ahead.

But all that came to nought after 13 laps when his car developed an electrical failure that led to low pressure and shut down of the fuel pump.

Indonesian Mikola of Team Eurasia (run by Narain Karthikeyan's former manager Piers Hunnisett) was followed by Bahrain's Hamad al Fardan of Team Meritus and Seth Ingham of the US for CT Motorsport on the podium.

Bureau Report
 

     Bad luck for KC as he would have finished with first in Round1 and Round 2 of inagural race

[sandyf1]

What is he doing in Asia ..

Im not sure about the league and kind of drivers participate here. Guess for KC this is something better than nothing, not sure..

He must as soon as make into GP2 where it is more or less considered as platform to knock F1 doors ....

[vpk]

@sandy
         He is in lack of sponsership so he couldn't even race for formula  Nissan one complete year ( where NK raced ), GP2 needs more sponsership  then formula Nissan.
          Need of the hour for him is Funds,  Hope he finds it  in sometime ..

[sivakumar]

That a sad story for the indian racers. Do remember Narain had this problem of sponcership ot get into a top team in formula nissan as well. Hope he will improve and get into the good standings in the championship

[Vas]

These guys on race cars dont understand that they are rarity in India and they are supposed to keep in touch with the public through columns in leading newspaper and sports magazine of our country.

Not just talkin about their career progression but about the Motorrace events taking place at that time. That wil keep their name in the public mind and make  it easy for them to get going wth sponsors. But hardly anybody does that. In fact we even dont know where their career is going because newspaper are not much bothered about them!

Hope they understand that and start working on their PR.

[Vas]

India's Karun Chandhok had a perfect weekend at the Zhuhai circuit in China, finishing with two pole positions and two race victories. The results put him on top of the championship standings in the Asian Formula Renault V6 series. Karun, who is backed this season by JK Tyre along with Scottish and Newcastle and Amaron Batteries is the first driver ever to score a maximum 31 points in a single weekend of the championship.

During Saturday morning's qualifying session, Karun recorded a benchmark time of 1:31.1s which gave him pole position for Round 7 of the Championship held on Saturday afternoon. The Team E-Rain driver had been suffering with braking trouble all through practice, but by the time qualifying came the team had rectified the problem which enabled him to outqualify championship rival Ananda Mikola by 3 tenths of a second. Speaking about the session Karun said "The circuit was very cool this morning and we made a good call to go out early when the track was still quite cool. Ananda's done a lot of miles around here, but I think we can be strong in the race. The car is handling very well and I'm looking forward to the races. "

At the start of Round 7, Karun squeezed ahead of Mikola into turn 1 and from there, the Indian and the Indonesian started to break away from the pack. Mikola kept the pressure on Karun lap after lap, with the lead fluctuating between .8s - 1.8s. The two leaders were setting an impressive pace, pulling away from Hans Lin and Matt Halliday who were in 3rd and 4th places. On a couple of occasions Mikola got close to Karun under braking but the Indian was able to resist his rival's attack and reeled off the 15 laps to take his third win of the season, just half a second ahead of Mikola. " Zhuhai is full of long straights and heavy braking zones and I was struggling a bit under braking. Ananda kept pushing the whole race so I really had to concentrate on not making a mistake. I knew that as long as I stayed consistent, my pace was quick enough for the win. The team and I are really nervous after this win actually because every time we've won the first race of the weekend we've had a mechanical problem in the second one so it's fingers crossed at the moment ! ".

E-Rain Racing's Team Manager Ingo Matter spoke about his driver's performance today " Karun drove a superb race today. He did exactly what he had to early on to open the gap and after that it was a nerve wracking race to make sure we finished. He did 21 out of the 25 laps within 3 tenths of a second which at race winning pace is really very impressive consistency".

Karun was also very happy at having taken the championship points lead, " It's good to finally get ahead in the points standings. The car was really good once we got the braking issues sorted and I personally think that the second race today was one of my best ever. To win 4 out of 8 races so far this year and be in a position to have won at least two more is quite a good position to be in at the moment I think. We've got a long break now before the next round and I'm really happy that we go into this period on a confidence high."

Results -
Round 7
1. Karun Chandhok, India
2. Ananda Mikola, Indonesia + 0.531s
3. Hans Lin, Taiwan +8.8s

Round 8
1. Karun Chandhok, India
2. Matt Halliday, New Zealand +2.201s
3. Hammad Al Fardan, Bahrain +12.94s

Championship standings
1. Karun Chandhok - 84 points
2. Ananda Mikola - 76 points
3. Hammad Al Fardan - 66 points

 :Clapping_Hands:

[vpk]

:Clapping_Hands:

Karun should continue to impress and get the sponser's and move to Higher championships.
This is a great weekend to Karun.

[Amarnath]

Maybe he can get a good GP2 seat after this season in Renault V6