BENGALURU : More than half a year has gone by and India racer Akhil Rabindra has not sat behind the wheels in any competitive race in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. His last international and domestic races were in October and December, respectively, but the Bengalurean will finally start his season with the French FFSA GT4 Championship later this month. “It has been a difficult time for everyone, and the whole world has had to compromise. I am happy that the season is happening now. It was supposed to happen around April,” Akhil told CE.
He was in Bengaluru for more than four months during the lockdown and left for the United Kingdom on July 24 and has completed his mandatory 14-day quarantine as well. During his stay in India and the UK, he did not waste time and watched several YouTube videos about the tracks and conditions that will be present in the upcoming championship.
Akhil’s season will start on Aug. 21, at the Circuit Paul Armagnac de Nogaro in Southwestern France with the three-day Easter Cups from Nagaro series. He will feature in Magny-Cours in September, and Paul Ricard and Albi in October, before concluding with the Ledenon GT Series at the Ledenon Circuit in November. “I did not know about the track in the championship. So I spent a lot of time onlime, exploring different overtaking opportunities on the track, which is important. I am trying to go as prepared as I can, rather than going to the track and learning about it then,” said Akhil, who will be driving an Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 for the AGS Events Racing team.
Such planning makes sense for Akhil, who was retained by Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy for the season. Overall, there are 13 drivers and he is the only Indian and the Asian in the academy. All the racers’ performance will be evaluated and the best performer will land a contract as a junior driver. “The whole purpose of the academy is that they will choose one driver who makes it higher up in the hierarchy. All the drivers will be evaluated on various parameters in different championships, and they will choose a winner at the end. “I want to go race by race, try to make sure I do well in all the practice sessions and qualifications and get the best possible result out of the race. When I look back four-five months from now, I hope to make it higher in the AMR line up,” added Akhil.