Karun Chandhok to Race in European Le Mans Race for Murphy Prototypes

Indian racing driver Karun Chandok will be joining the Murphy Prototypes Racing Team this weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria for the European Le Mans (ELMS) Race. Chandhok will be driving the Murphy ORECA-Nissan 03R race car for the first time, after securing the fifth position for the racing team in the LMP2 class at Le Mans last year.

Confirming the Murphy Prototypes driver line up for this weekend of the European Le Mans Series, Team Principal Greg Murphy said, "I'm very pleased to have Karun back with us for this event. We know him well and he just slots back into the team and always does a great job for us. We're fortunate to be able to attract such high profile drivers. It's something we're very proud of."

Karun Chandhok will be driving the race car on a one-off basis alongside team mates Guglielmo Belotti and Sean Doyle. All three drivers will compete in the team's #48 Nissan-engined Oreca 03R LMP2 car, which has been fully rebuilt having successfully completed the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third time last month.

Karun Chandhok will be driving Murphy's ORECA-Nissan 03R endurance race car

Chandhok is equally excited to be back in the driver's seat at Le Mans. The driver said, "I was at the Red Bull Ring just two weeks ago for the F1 weekend, so it's going to be great to actually go back to drive there. I had a run around the track when I was there and, having never competed at the circuit before, I'm really looking forward to it. With so many strong teams and new cars in the ELMS this year it's a really competitive place to be, but this is endurance racing and anything can happen."

Karun Chandhok is the second Indian driver (after Narain Karthikeyan) from India to have ever made to Formula 1. The thirty-two year old start his career in Le Mans in 2012 and went on to race for the Murphy Prototype team in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

"It's great to be back 'super-subbing' for Murphy Prototypes this weekend. I haven't had the chance to compete in Sportscars since Le Mans last year, so when Greg called to ask if I could fill in for him, I was happy to take the opportunity to race with the team again. It's always great fun working with the guys from Murphy Prototypes.

The Red Bull Ring is a 4.326 km circuit located near Spielberg in the Styrian Mountains and hosts the Austrian Grand Prix. The event begins with a 90-minute Free Practice session on Friday afternoon, followed by another on Saturday morning. Qualifying for the LMP2 category takes place on Saturday afternoon, while the four-hour final race takes place on Sunday afternoon.