Motor racing ace Karun Chandhok has become the first Indian to be invited to join the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC).

The BRDC is the world most elite and prestigious club with the members including the only a select few International drivers from outside of Britain.

"The BRDC is a club for the very best racing drivers from Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Karun is the first Indian driver to meet the exacting entry requirements of success in international motor sport, but I am quite sure he just the first of many of his countrymen and women. Indeed, Karun doesn't just meet the entry criteria for the club, he surpasses them by someway and we are delighted to welcome him as a member of the club," said Stuart Pringle, club secretary of the BRDC.

Speaking on the occasion, Chandhok expressed his delighted on receiving such an exclusive privilege.

"To be a member of the BRDC is our racing equivalent of becoming a member of the MCC [Marylebone Cricket Club] at Lord's in cricket or The All England [Images] Lawn Tennis club at Wimbledon [Images]. I feel very proud to be the first person from my country to join the BRDC."

"Racing in the UK has been a huge part of my life and my career and it's a great feeling to be recognized by the people over here. The BRDC is based at Silverstone which is pretty much my home circuit until we get the Indian Grand Prix in 2011. I used to work here at the racing school during my F3 days and got to know more about the BRDC and appreciate how important and exclusive membership to the club is," Chandhok said.

The story of the British Racing Drivers' Club started way back in the days of the famous Bentley team that so effectively, and romantically, dominated the racing scene -- Le Mans in particular -- during the late 1920s.

The Club was inaugurated early in 1928, with twenty-five members and a clear set of objectives. These were to promote the interests of motor sport generally; to celebrate any specific performance in motor sport; to extend hospitality to racing drivers from overseas; and to further the interests of British drivers competing abroad. The current president of the BRDC is the 1996 Formula 1 [Images] World Champion Damon Hill.

The entry criteria to the Club remains very strict with full membership offered only to those ladies and gentlemen who have attained international success over a number of seasons. Associate membership is offered to those persons who have made a significant contribution to the sport and honorary membership is bestowed upon only a special few, including F1 world champions who by dint of nationality do not otherwise qualify. Every British or Commonwealth world champion is, or has been in their lifetime, a full member of the club.

Image: Karun Chandhok with Stuart Pringle, the club secretary of the BRDC