As has been widely expected since he turned out with the team in pre-season testing, Karun Chandhok will occupy Durango Corse's second seat when the
GP2 Series kicks off its 2007 campaign in Bahrain next month.
The Indian quickly got to grips with the revised
GP2 machine in testing at Paul Ricard and Barcelona, but was not confirmed alongside series returnee Borja Garcia until Durango's official launch in Venice at the weekend. Speaking to
Crash.net between test outings, the reigning FRenault V6 Asia champion admitted that it was just a case of securing the backing to compete that was holding up a deal but, with sponsors now in place, he can concentrate on preparing for the ten-round campaign.
Chandhok has admitted that a strong season will be key to banishing the memories of a disappointing part-campaign in the World Series by Renault in 2005, but
"Obviously, I was looking to move back to Europe to achieve my ultimate aim, which is Formula One," he admitted at the time, "Not having the budget to do anything over here in 2006, I was forced to go back to Asia but, having won the V6 championship, the next step is GP2. I just needed a year to stabilise things, to get myself back, to get my sponsors back, to rebuild their faith in me, and the V6 series served that purpose very well."