India's Karun Chandhok had his race weekend ruined by a series of gearbox problems, first in qualifying and then again in the races, which resulted in a non-finish in the third round of the 2005 'World Series' at the Monaco circuit.
The 21-year-old from Chennai was looking forward to a good weekend at the famous street circuit around the principality in the south of France but as soon as he drove out of the pits in qualifying, there was a problem which did not allow him to use the sixth gear.
The problem meant that Chandhok qualified for the 25-lap race, to precede the Formula 1 Grand Prix, in 23rd spot.
Chandhok's fate was like that of Narain Karthikeyan, who was forced to retire in the Monaco Grand Prix at the same venue on Sunday due to a mechanical failure.
With the rich and famous from the world of sport and showbiz watching, Chandhok made a storming start passing 3 cars off the line before pulling off a bold move around the outside of French driver Patrick Pilet and by half way around the first lap, he was up five places and on a charge.
But as the RC Motorsport car came onto the start finish straight to begin lap 2 the gearbox failed once again, forcing Chandhok into retirement after just one lap.
"I have dreamt of racing at Monaco ever since I was a small kid and to have a nightmare like we've had is just painful," Chandhok said.
"The team have worked hard to try to sort out the problem and they are confident that before Valencia we can find a solution with the gearbox and hydraulic people because we can't afford to waste opportunities like this," he said after his disastrous outing.
Karun, who is backed by JK Tyre, the Tata group and Ucal Mikuni, has his next race at the Valencia circuit in Spain in two weeks' time.
"Valencia is where our season has to start. So I wanted to have a good weekend here in Monaco but it was not to be. The important thing is to take this disappointment on the chin and keep going and I do hope that people back home will be patient and realize that instant results are not easy to come by in this sport.
"Overall though despite all the problems, I really enjoyed my first proper experience of a street circuit -- it's an awesome feeling driving between the walls so quickly with the wheels bouncing up in the air at most of the corners," he added.
