Akhil Rabindra, First Asian to Bag Double Podium at Imola

In what came as a recent development, Racer of Indian origin Akhil Rabindra bagged the podium in both races at the Imola season opener of the 2022 GT4 European Series. With this, Akhil became the first Asian driver, driving an Aston Martin to bag a podium in the European series.

Rabindra began his racing career in India, competing in the National Go-Karting Championship and Formula LGB Swift. He moved from single-seaters to GT sports cars in 2017. The McLaren GT Driver Academy chose him to compete in the British GT Championship. In his first British GT Championship, contested at Oulton Park in the United Kingdom, he finished a respectable seventh in the silver category. Rabindra made his debut in the British GT Series and finished 13th overall alongside his colleague Dean MacDonald. Their team, Black Bull Garage 59, finished second in the series overall.

Akhil made his debut in the International Motor Sports Association 2019 Michelin Pilot Challenge on the 2nd and 4th of August at Road America in the United States, followed by the following round on the 23rd and 25th of August at Virginia International Raceway in Virginia. On Saturday, Akhil Rabindra and colleague Ross Gunn finished sixth in the Automatic Racing-prepared No. 09 Stoner Car Care Aston Martin GT4 at Virginia International Raceway for Stoner Car Care. The team’s best finish of the year, as the team continues to learn more about the all-new Aston Martin Vantage GT4 platform with each race.

Rabindra has previously raced in single-seater competitions in the United Kingdom, including the 2016 BRDC British Formula-3 Championship with Lanan Racing and the 2015 BRDC Formula 4 Championship. Rabindra won the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Award in 2014, was the Vice-Champion in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship in 2014, was the winner of the Toyota Etios Colombo Night Race in 2013, and was the Vice-Champion in Toyota Etios Motor Racing (EMR) in 2013. In addition to racing on the track, Akhil is also a safety advocate for the Sean Edwards Foundation.

Rabindra drove an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the silver cup class. But unlike before, he drove for a new team, Racing Spirit of Léman. He was joined by his teammate, 2019 British GT4 champion Tom Canning.

For the first race, both Rabindra and Tom qualified fourth. As #13 Arkadia Alpine pair of Pierre-Louis Chovet and Johan Boris Scheier were disqualified due to some technical issues, Rabindra and Tom were promoted to 3rd position.

For the second race, Rabindra and Tom finished third. Winning the race boosted the morale of the two, despite Rabindra being new to the team. The Indian racer claimed that he is ready to claim yet another podium in France. The next race will be in France’s Circuit Paul Ricard on June 3-5.