In Conversation With Akhil Rabindra, Asia’s First Aston Martin Racing Academy Driver

In today’s day and age of motorsports, it's becoming increasingly common for drivers to be affiliated with a factory outfit driver development programme. Not only do these programmes provide a platform for the driver to showcase his talents, but also help to secure funding in a sport otherwise known to burn a massive hole in the pocket. 

One such driver is Akhil Rabindra, an Indian GT racer and an Aston Martin Racing Academy driver.

The 25-year old from Bengaluru has been a part of the academy since 2019, and is the first Asian to be selected in the Aston Martin Racing Academy. It's proven to be a pretty fruitful couple of seasons so far, with a solid 2nd-place finish in the European GT4 Series race at Brands Hatch in 2019 and a top 10 overall finish at the 2020 French FFSA GT4 season. 

Currently, the Indian driver is midway through the 2021 European GT4 Series season, driving an Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 for AGS Events Racing, in partnership with Hugo Conde.  We caught up with India’s only GT4 driver coming into his third year with the Aston Martin Racing Academy.

Q- How has the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy experience been thus far? 

Akhil Rabindra- It has been great so far; I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot both on track and off track. AMR has a great set of factory drivers, a simulator setup, and a gym. And I’ve been able to make the most of it over the past few years.

Q- How much has the academy influenced your growth as a racing driver?

AR- It has definitely influenced my growth as a racing driver; I’ve become faster, more consistent, and progressed in my fitness levels. There were aspects I did not know about GT driving and fitness, which I’ve been made aware of now.

Q- 2021 has seen you return to the European GT4 championship after a year-long break. Any particular reasoning behind the switch from French FFSA GT4?

AR- The European GT4 series is a great championship as it goes around the best tracks in Europe, and this is something I really wanted. On the other hand, the French championship runs only in France and I wanted something more international.

Q- How much has the competition evolved since your two-year stint with the European GT4 championship?

AR- The competition has always been strong in the European GT4 series. It was probably the weakest in 2020 due the pandemic, but 2021 has seen the grid come back to around 40 cars again. There are drivers from all over Europe, they know all the tracks well, and this makes the racing strong.

Q- While it's been a bit of a tough start to the 2021 season, how would you rate it so far? 

AR- The season hasn’t got off to the best of starts, since it’s a team sport and there is a co-driver, which  make things a bit more complicated. The end result is what both drivers do in combination, so they have to do their best job to get the best results. We will surely be pushing harder for the next set of rounds.

Q- You’ve also had a stint with single-seater racing with the British BRDC Formula 3 back in 2016. What is it like to step up from Formula to GT car racing, and why shouldn’t it be discounted as anything less glamorous?

AR- Single-seater racing is more understood around the world. GT racing has been there since a long time but it’s definitely got more exposure in recent years. GT racing is very interesting, with a teammate and races being longer. So this really adds more variables into the races.

Q- Which of the two forms of motorsport will be your pick to race at?

AR- It doesn’t matter to me, as long as it has four wheels and a steering wheel!

Q- Any chances we’d see you step up to the GT3 class soon? Also, what’s your thought on Le Mans or endurance racing?

AR-That’s the aim from my side, to move up to GT3 in the near future. As you know, the budgets also increase with GT3, and this is something we are working on.

Q- What’s your opinion on the current motorsport scene in India?

AR- Motorsport in India is definitely growing. There are new championships coming along and there are more drivers -- right from karting to junior racing -- who are interested. India will definitely be producing more racing stars in the future across all categories of racing. 

A major thanks to Eurosport for setting up this interview with India’s only GT4 racer.  Akhil Rabindra will return to racing action when the fourth round of the 2021 European Series commences at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on July 28 .