Testing times for Chandhok

Abu Dhabi: India's Formula One driver Karun Chandhok has resigned himself to being a test driver with only two slots left to be filled for 2012.

Speaking to XPRESS, Chandhok said: "I love racing but if it's not possible in 2012 then the next best thing is testing."

After a year with the Hispania Racing Team alongside former GP2 team-mate Bruno Senna, he then joined Team Lotus (now Caterham) as a reserve driver at the start of last season.

"I love to be on the grid but it's tough. There are a lot of financial angles that are now involved. It's not easy to raise the sponsorship money like they used to in the earlier days. So if that means I spend another year as a testing driver so be it. Last year I did a lot of Friday sessions and learnt a lot from the team so it's still interesting for me to develop as a driver," added Chandhok, who will be part of the newly-launched i1 Supercar Series promoted by Machdar Motorsports.

"It's a great concept for the sport. It will really help budding Indian drivers. They will get to interact with top drivers and that's very good for them. They will also get a chance to drive good cars and race on Formula One tracks which they would not have experienced," he said talking about the Superseries.

The 27-year-old added the organisers were smart to time the event in the winter which would not disturb any other events.

"They have been very intelligent to plan the series in January and February so it doesn't clash with anything else. The concept of city v city is very interesting and is unique."

Chandhok felt if the Indian Premier League was a success story, this similar concept could also generate the same amount of interest.

"The IPL uncovered a lot of cricketers, the best example being Ashwin. Nobody knew about him and now all of a sudden he is a star in the Indian team. Same way the drivers should have fun driving in the series and this will bring in the interest automatically."

Chandhok also said that motorsport in India had arrived, especially after the successful inaugural Indian Grand Prix.

"It's another sign that motorsport in India is growing. The Indian Grand Prix has proved to be a good catalyst.

"I think the turnout for the mega event was beyond expectation. Every newspaper had the same coverage. It really ignited interest in the sport and a series like this is great to continue the trend," he said.