BANGALORE: Akhil Rabindra, the 18-year-old champion racer from Bangalore, is blazing away to glory in Indian and international circuits. In the recently-concluded Round 1 of J K Racing India Series 2014 in Coimbatore, Akhil displayed top quality racing to consistently claim podium finishes in all three races. The championship is a four-round series with three races in each round.
In 2013, Akhil was nominated by FMSCI to represent India at the Asia-Pacific selection for the prestigious FIA - Young Drivers’ Excellence Academy. The selection was held in Australia, where the 10 best drivers from the region competed for the No. 1 position.
After a gruelling selection process, Akhil emerged the winner to earn the distinction of representing the Asia-Pacific region. He was among the five best racers in the world.
The fully-funded FIA academy programme scheduled five workshops across Europe for the selected racers. From December 2013 to May 2014, Akhil took part in four workshops and the final one is scheduled for July 2014.
Training in fitness, nutrition, hydration, communication, team work, road safety and basic as well as advanced driving skills form part of the exercise. The workshops are led by FIA Institute performance managers Alex Wurz, a former F1 racer and Robert Reid, a former World Rally champion.
“The workshops were nothing like I have ever seen before. We spent a lot of time, both indoors and outdoors, in tough weather conditions learning intricate driving, fitness and communication skills. The trainers were former racers themselves and were teaching from experience,” said Akhil.
He made his debut in 2010 as a 14-year-old and won the vice-champion title at the JK Tyre MMS Rotax Rookie Championship. In the following season, he became the vice-champion of Amaron Kating Challenge 2011. The same year, he was crowned the vice-champion of RedBull Kart Fight and was among the top 25 in the Force India Formula 1 Team Academy’s One from A Billion Hunt. He also participated in the US Rotax Grand Nationals held at the Miller Motorsport in Tooele, Utah.
In 2012, Akhil competed in JK Tyre National Racing Championship - LGB Formula Swift and JK Racing Asia Series - Formula BMW Asia-Pacific. He won at the Colombo Night Race in Sri Lanka in the Toyota Etios category.
Training under Akbar Ebrahim at Meco Racing Academy, Akhil is making amazing progress. With each series he is graduating to bigger and more powerful cars and is exceeding all expectations. Akhil will be the only Indian to shine at the Formula Masters China Series - 2014. The lad is confident of ending the series on a promising note and he has every reason to be.