Akhil Rabindra reselected by AMR Driver Academy

Team Udayavani, Sep 23, 2020, 6:30 PM IST

Bengaluru-based Akhil Rabindra has been retained by the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy in the backdrop of a strong performance in Europe last year.

Rabindra, who last year became the only Asian to make it to the AMR Driver Academy, is among 12 elite drivers from around the world who will undergo a year of training and assessment with the AMR team in the United Kingdom, according to a media release.

Rabindra’s season began on August 21 with the French FFSA GT4 Championship. At the end of the year, all the racers’ performance will be evaluated and the best performer will land a contract as a junior driver.

A graduate from University of Edinburgh, Scotland and currently a part of the GT4 European Series and 24H Series European (GT) has tasted success in both the dash and endurance formats of racing. With a podium finish and a top 5 finish in the GT4 European Series and three podium finishes in the 24H Series Akhil has been putting up a good show for team Prosport Performance driving an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.

A fitness enthusiast and a man of style Akhil has endured and toiled hard on this roller coaster of a journey.

Some of the key achievements of Akhil are as follows:

· Akhil Rabindra, who started racing in National Go Karting Championship and Formula LGB Swift in India, won the JK Tyres MMS Rotax Max National Rookie Championship, the Vice Championship of Amaron National Karting Challenge along with Red Bull Kart Fight in 2011.

· Akhil made his Racing debut in 2012 with JK Tyre National Racing Championship in the LGB Formula-Swift, the entry level single seater series. In the JK Racing Asia Series, Rabindra finished 7th in 3 of the races.

· In 2012, Rabindra was the youngest finalist in the saloon car category in the in the Toyota Ethios Racing Series and managed a podium finish at the Exhibition Race in Chennai.

· Rabindra was titled Vice Champion in the Toyota Etios Motor Racing 2013. Rabindra, after winning the race, was crowned Columbo Night Race Champion.

· In 2014, FMSCI nominated Rabindra to represent India for the FIA Institute Young Drivers Excellence Academy, where he went on to win his place for the Asia-Pacific region.

· In 2014, Rabindra switched to single seaters competing in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship where he drove the ex-Formula BMW cars previously raced by Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Daniel Riccardio, Sebastien Buemi and many more. Rabindra gained 9 podium places in the 4 rounds and finished runners-up.

· In 2016, Rabindra shifted to 2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with the Championship winning team Lanan racing where he steered the new Tatuus competing against other young drivers on F1 circuits such as Spa and Silverstone. Rabindra scored 124 points, finishing the series in 18th place overall.

· In 2017, Akhil was selected for the McLaren GT Driver Academy along with 7 other drivers from across the world. Akhil Rabindra came third in silver category in his debut British GT Championship held at Oulton Park, UK. He, along with his teammate Dean Macdonald, finished seventh in silver category. Their team Black Bull Garage 59 stood second overall in the series.

· In 2018, Rabindra teamed up with French Team 3Y Technology to drive in the prestigious GT4 European Series in BMW M4 GT4 Car in the silver class alongside the experienced Belgian driver Stephene Leveret. He finished 18th in the silver category with a best finish of 4th in Race-3 and a top-10 result in the French GT4 round in Spain