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Formula One
F1: Chandhok Demo Gives Korean GP A Boost
Karun Chandhok drove a Red Bull demo car at the new Korean GP site, which remains a subject of scrutiny...
Adam Cooper  | http://www.speedtv.com  |  Posted September 04, 2010   Balen (BEL)
Karun Chandhok will test for Team Lotus in 2011. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Karun Chandhok has given the Korean organizers a big boost by driving the Red Bull demo car on Saturday, effectively demonstrating that the track is in place.

However, the Indian says that the surface is very slippery and there's still a lot of work to be done prior to the scheduled FIA inspection on Sept. 21.

He's been making some interesting comments on his Twitter page and in so doing has done more positive PR for the event in one day than the locals have managed by themselves all year.

Chandhok made it clear that he liked the track, but he noted that it was “very slippery but fun,” adding that “there's undoubtedly a lot of work still to be done around the circuit.”

Later, Red Bull issued more quotes from Chandhok, while also thanking HRT for loaning him out: “It’s a really interesting layout. The track’s got a good mix of corners and I think we’ll see a lot of overtaking in the first sector – there are long straights into slow hairpins.

“The straight after turn one and two is really long, so we may see some good slip streaming there, like in Shanghai. From turn seven onwards, there’s a fast section of flowing corners all the way back to the start-finish line – so I think the Red Bull Racing guys will be happy in sectors two and three. It’s an interesting layout.

“Looking at the facilities, the garages and team buildings look pretty much finished and they’re big. I think teams will need to bring around 30 percent more furniture to fill them. The grandstands also look reasonably finished. The track itself needs a bit more work on the asphalt and the curbs, but the organizers think it’s all within their timelines and are confident that it will be ready on time. And the location's nice; we’re overlooking the sea.

“There’s certainly some enthusiasm for F1 here. There are a lot of people at the event today, which wasn’t heavily publicized, and there’s a lot of media, which shows an interest. The organizers say they have sold a significant amount of tickets, so it should be a good race. It’s been great to drive the Red Bull car again and thanks to my team, HRT F1, for letting me complete this demonstration run.”

For more words and pictures, search @karunchandhok on Twitter over the weekend.

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005. Check out Adam's Blog or follow him on Twitter

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