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New Delhi: Ace Formula One driver Karun Chandhok has decided to give World Endurance Championship (WEC) a shot by joining the star- studded JRM racing team.
The move to sportscar endurance racing also means a shift for Chandhok from single-seater sprint racing in F1 to a kind of race, where he will have to share the car with two other drivers.
JRM, who won the FIA GT1 World Championship with Nissan last year, have decided to field a strong side for WEC and have named David Brabham and Peter Dumbreak as Chandhok’s teammates.
The eight-race series will start at Sebring, in the US, on March 17.
“I will be the only Indian to figure in the race. The prospect of racing in the first ever WEC is exciting,” Chandhok told The Telegraph on Thursday.
Last season, Chandhok was a member of the Team Lotus in Formula One but had to remain contended with the test driver’s spot.
This time, any team hasn’t picked him up yet but Chandhok said he was happy to join WEC where he will get a chance to race.
“Let’s not talk about F1… for the moment, joining JRM is a new beginning for me,” said Chandhok. “For a change, I will get money directly from my team.
“In F1, the money came only from endorsements and not from the team.
“So it will be nice to race and get paid for it,” Chandhok said, without revealing the sum.
“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.
WEC looked like the next best option. The cars are capable of speeds of over 360kmh, the calendar is fantastic and the quality of teams and drivers is very high,” said Chandhok.
Asked whether he would continue to race the i1 Supercar Series, Chandhok said: “Yes. That would not be a problem. Except one, the dates are not clashing.”
The newly-launched WEC includes the historic Le Mans 24 hours and Sebring 12 hours races, apart from races at F1 venues — Spa-Francorrchamps, Silverstone and Interlagos.
This is the first endurance series of world championship status since the World Sportscar Championship, which ended in 1992.
JRM Racing Team owner James Rumsey said: “I am pleased that Karun has agreed to drive for us.
“Together with his Formula One experience, he will bring a new dimension to the team and, alongside David and Peter, we now have a very strong line-up for the WEC.
Although this will be Karun’s first year in sportscars, I have every confidence that he will turn out to be one of the quickest drivers on the grid.”
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