Chandhok fights back to finish fourth in Hungary

Hungaroring, Hungary, Aug 3 (UNI) A strong fight back from India's Karun Chandhok helped him finish at an impressive fourth place in the GP2 Series feature race for the Formula One feeder category here.

Chandhok started from fifth on the grid but could have been higher had he not been forced into a spin by a slowing car ahead of him that caused his engine to stall.

The 24-year-old Indian had been on the front row when the incident happened, caused when Jerome d'Ambrosio suddenly slowed in front of him.

''I had to move to the inside to avoid him, but in doing so I clipped the kerb and spun,'' he said.

''I didn't quite max out the first set of tyres, which was still good enough for second at the time, so I'm disappointed I didn't get a chance to prove I could have gone quicker on the second set of fresh tyres,'' Chandhok added.

His chances of repeating his Hungary victory went up in smoke at the start when a repeat of Hockenheim's clutch problem meant he made a poor getaway, dropping from fifth to seventh on the opening lap.

The Chennai lad lost another place when Renault F1 protege Romain Grosjean rudely rejoined straight in front of him after he'd gone off through a gravel trap, allowing Honda F1 tester Mike Conway to jump ahead.

Chandhok showed some smart skills and with some quick laptimes when Conway pitted, the Indian got back ahead of Conway and went on to finish just off the podium in a strong fourth place.

''Bearing in mind what happened in the first couple of laps, a fourth place finish is a good result,'' Chandhok stated.

''I still can't believe that Grosjean rejoined like that right in front of me, I almost had to come to a halt to avoid a major crash. We showed we had good pace, and as usual around it here it was hard work in the high temperatures,'' he added.

Meanwhile, today's sprint race was over before it begun.

A mystery electronic problem stranded him on the dummy grid, and not even attention from his iSport crew in the pitlane could fix the car in time for the start of the race.

The next round of the GP2 Series is on the brand new Valencia street circuit in Spain.

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