E-Rain Racing Graduate Karun Chandhok Set for Formula 1 11.03.2010: As E-Rain Racing graduate Karun Chandhok prepares for his Formula 1 debut with the Hispania Racing F1 Team, his former team is already well on the way to grooming the next group of drivers for careers at the pinnacle of international motorsport

As E-Rain Racing graduate Karun Chandhok prepares for his Formula 1 debut with the Hispania Racing F1 Team, his former team is already well on the way to grooming the next group of drivers for careers at the pinnacle of international motorsport.

With preparations for the 2010 Formula BMW Pacific season well underway, crack Asian motorsport squad E-Rain Racing continues to help establish and further the careers of many of the region’s top young talent.  This season, the E-Rain Racing line-up includes Australian Jordan Oon, who joins the team as a Formula BMW Junior having earned a coveted scholarship for the 2010 season from BMW Motorsport.  

However, Chandhok’s ascension to Formula One this season has given E-Rain Racing additional momentum going in to their 11th season.  In 2006, Chandhok and E-Rain Racing dominated the inaugural Formula V6 Asia by Renault season, winning the championship with seven wins and nine pole positions in 12 races.  Chandhok’s 2006 championship-winning season proved pivotal to the Indian’s career as the following year, the now-26-year-old graduated to GP2 and also tested with Red Bull Racing. In 2008 and 2009, Chandhok competed in both GP2 and GP2 Asia.

“We are incredibly excited for Karun to race in Formula 1 this season,” E-Rain Racing team Principal Hongsik Jeon said. “Karun is one of the hardest-working drivers out there and we applaud his dedication to the sport, his character and of course, his racing talent. It took us exactly 10 years for the first E-Rain Racing driver to reach Formula 1, but it won’t be long before we have our second!”

Founded in 2000, E-Rain Racing has a well-deserved reputation for developing and preparing young racing drivers for careers in international motorsport, laying a strong foundation with which to help them achieve their goals.

In 2005, E-Rain Racing won the Formula BMW Asia (now Pacific) Drivers Classification with Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain.  E-Rain Racing driver Sean McDonagh finished third in the 2007 Formula BMW Asia Rookie Cup, and a year later finished second overall in the Drivers Classification.

In 2009, E-Rain Racing driver Gary Thompson of Ireland won the Formula BMW Pacific Rookie Cup and finished runner-up in the Drivers Classification. After a successful year with E-Rain Racing, Thompson has now graduated to Japan Formula 3 for the 2010 season. In fact, three of E-Rain Racing’s drivers placed in the top six of the 2009 Formula BMW Pacific series.

“The early development of a young driver is crucial to his future career, and we take our role in that development very seriously,” Jeon said. “E-Rain Racing has been competing in Formula BMW Pacific since the series began in 2003, and since 2000, we have worked with some of the region’s most talented drivers, including Karun. It is our aim to continue to guide and nurture fledging talent, to lay down a strong racing foundation and to help our drivers achieve their full racing potential.”
 
 
- Nikki Kemp, HongKong -  photo E-Rain