For motorsport lovers all over the world, the name Ayrton Senna still evokes a kind of romantic nostalgia that is incomparable. And so when Karun Chandhok teams up with the great Brazilian’s nephew one must feel that the Indian is in the company of the right genes. For the record though, Karun too comes from a family of motorsport enthusiasts, the legendary Indu being his grandfather and Vicky, his father, being a pioneer of sorts in the sport in India.

Karun will team up with Bruno Senna for the 2008 GP2 series, and he has signed up with the UK based I-Sport. And in his own words, he is excited at the prospect. And he will also be part of the Red Bull junior driver programme for the coming season.

Karun was all enthusiasm about his new team. “From the time I tested with I-Sport (in Jerez) I knew this was the team I wanted to be with. The guys in the team are real racers at heart. They have been very welcoming and we got along very well from the first day. I’m really delighted and proud to be sitting here as an I-Sport driver,” he said at a press meet here today.

Karun, who tested with the F1 team Red Bull this season, said: “It was a dream come true to get the opportunity to test an F1 car. And he is more than delighted with his continued association with Red Bull. “Red Bull have been awesome with me. And being part of the junior team programme has made our association stronger. They were pleased with what I did with the F1 car in Barcelona in my first test and I will test with them again in 2008. I always wanted to race with a top GP2 team and test for a F1 team in 2008. This has now worked out,” he said.

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