Chandhok set for Le Mans

Grand Prix racer Karun Chandhok will become the first Indian driver to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours this season.

The 27-year-old, who has 11 Formula 1 starts to his name with HRT and Team Lotus, will race the British JRM Racing team’s Honda Performance Development ARX-03a in the full FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes Le Mans. His team-mates in the LMP1 car will be David Brabham and Peter Dumbreck.

“I 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,” said Chandhok.

Narain Karthikeyan was on course to be the first Indian to race at Le Mans in 2009. He qualified a Kolles Audi R10 but dislocated his shoulder in the run-up to the race.

JRM is switching to LMP1 and the WEC after winning last year’s FIA GT1 World Championship with a Nissan GT-R driven by Dumbreck and Michael Krumm. It has cited the great sponsorship opportunities presented by the WEC for the move.