Mechanical problem hampers Karun’s GP2 race
By IANSSunday, June 7, 2009
ISTANBUL - Karun Chandhok of Team Ocean Racing Technology suffered mechanical problems in both his races at the GP2 Turkish Grand Prix Sunday, but set the fastest lap of the feature race.
Despite qualifying fifth, the Chennai-born Karun finished 13th in the feature race and 14th in the sprint event. He set the fastest lap timing of one minute, 36.679 seconds in the feature race.
A clutch problem forced him to start the feature race from the pit lane. He went on to set a series of quick laps before finally setting the fastest lap of the race. He moved up to 13th position and was looking good for a points finish until his engine started misfiring on the start-finish.
Despite the the mechanical issues, Im glad that we have turned a corner in terms of performance. I was in the top five in both practice and qualifying and set the fastest lap in the (feature) race. I just have to keep my head down and believe that our luck will change because the speed from Monaco and here shows that our day in the sun come very soon, Karun said.
In the sprint race, Karun encountered similar problems and again started from the pit lane and ended in 14th position.
Karun and team-mate Alvaro Parente were quickest in the first free practice session.
