Chandhok Drives First F1 Car on Yeongam Track

The Korean International Circuit (KIC) received on its tarmac on Saturday the visit of the first Formula 1 car to enter the Yeongam venue, prior to the inaugural race which will be held here in October. The car, a Red Bull, was driven by HRT driver Karun Chandhok.

The event drew a crowd of about 4,000, who witnessed, alongside the Red Bull F1 car, a host of Formula BMW and Korean touring cars. The event was the perfect way for the owners of the track to put to rest worries that it might not be completed in time for the October 24 race.

“It’s a really interesting layout,” the Indian said after he became the first driver to experience it. “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.”

The circuit is not 100 percent ready yet, but the owners of the track and Chandhok believe there no reason it should be ready in time for the race. Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO), the organizers of the race, say the Saturday run was aimed at fine tuning the facilities.