South Korea stakes claim for grand prix with track test

The Korean Grand Prix moved a step closer to reality yesterday as a Formula One car took to the track for the first time in South Korea.

Driving a Red Bull, given his previous links with the team as a junior member, Hispania Racing's Karun Chandhok completed 14 laps of the Yeongam circuit.

Speculation has been rife in recent weeks that the track would not be ready in time to stage its inaugural F1 event on 24 October. With FIA safety delegate Charlie Whiting due to conduct his final track inspection on 21 September, Chandhok has been assured by the organisers the finishing touches will be complete by then.

"Looking at the facilities, the garages and team buildings look pretty much finished, and they're big," said Chandhok. I think teams will need to bring around 30% more furniture to fill them, and the grandstands also look reasonably finished.

"The track itself needs a bit more work on the asphalt and the kerbs, but the organisers think it's all within their time-lines and are confident that it will be ready on time. The location is also nice. We're overlooking the sea."

As for the layout of the track itself, Indian Chandhok feels the majority of it could play into Red Bull's hands as Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel chase the title. "It's a really interesting layout," added Chandhok, who stepped into the breach as Webber and Vettel were unavailable due to other commitments.

"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."

As part of an event called 'Circuit Run 2010' to commemorate the 50-day countdown to the race, over 4,000 fans were in attendance. Aside from Chandhok's demonstration run, there were also laps from a Formula BMW and Korean touring cars. "There's certainly some enthusiasm for F1 here," said Chandhok. "There were a lot of people at the event which wasn't heavily publicised, and a lot of media, which shows an interest.

"The organisers say they have sold a significant amount of tickets, so it should be a good race."