INDIA in F1

Tag: Euro GT4

  • Double podium for Akhil Rabindra: GT 4 Euro Series

    Double podium for Akhil Rabindra: GT 4 Euro Series

    By Darshan Chokhani

    Imola, 5 April, 2022:  Akhil Rabindra, the Bengaluru born 25-year-old Aston Martin Driver Academy product and the only Asian to be racing at the European GT4 Championship this year, has started his 2022 calendar on a positive note by securing a double podium finish in the season opener round of the European GT4 Series with his new team, Racing Spirit of Leman. Akhil and his team mate Tom Canning finished both the races of Round 1 at the Imola Circuit grabbing a P3 position in the Silver Cup category.

    Akhil’s Journey at the Imola circuit started on a positive note after he finished 4th overall in the qualifying race 2. Thereafter, Akhil along with his teammate T.Canning made an impressive start to Race1, as the #19 pair earned a P3finish in the Silver Cup Race 1 after gaining a place due to the disqualification of #13 pair of P Chovet& J Scheier for technical infringement. 

    In Race 2 Rabindra and Canning again grabbed a P3 finish in the Silver Cup with their Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.

    A happy Akhil Rabindra commented post the podium celebrations, “It has been a good start to the 2022 season. I am in a new team this year and have a new teammate who is doing agreat job and I look forward to carry forward this momentum to the next race in France.”

    Akhil will now move on to France, for Round 2 of GT 4 European Series at Paul Richard circuit from 3-5 June.

    About European GT4 Championship:

    The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.

    GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.

  • Akhil Rabindra-Conde finish P11 in Silver Category in Race 1

    Akhil Rabindra-Conde finish P11 in Silver Category in Race 1

    Spa Francorchamps, 1 August, 2021: Akhil Rabindra, the only Indian on the European GT4 Championship grid, racing for AGS Events Racing Team, finished P11 in the Silver category in Race 1 along with his team mate Hugo Conde in an incident laden round four of the championship in Belgium on Saturday evening at the iconic Circuit de Spa Francorchamps which also hosts  the much-awaited Belgian Grand Prix .

    The Indo-French duo driving the Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 for AGS Events Racing Team had earlier finished at P13 & P12 in the Silver category at the Qualifying race 1 & 2 respectively. Akhil took to the steering wheel after the pit stop in Race 1 of the fourth round of the European GT4 Championship made an impressive run to finish P11 in the Silver category and an overall P23 from a grid of 37 cars. Akhil while being on the driver’s seat completed 21 laps in 1:02:22.434 minutes.

    Circuit Spa is known for inconsistent weather and the rain started with the formation lap which caused a lot of splashes and caused visual disruptions for the drivers on the grid. Akhil started the Race 2 and Hugo who took over the driver’s seat after the pit stop but with just few minutes to go for the final lap the damper broke and the duo finished the race at P14 at Silver cup category and completed 19 laps at 57:09.649 minutes and  overall P36.

    Akhil Rabindra commented, “We could have done much better and are definitely not happy with our performance. The rain made it difficult it impacted the speed and also the technical glitch at the end of the race which was unexpected. We will have to keep working on our performance and keep improving to ensure that in future such indirect and unforeseen hurdles do not impact our positions drastically.”

    Round 4 of the European GT4 Series saw #22 Allied Racing Porsche’s victory in Silver Cup, #42 Sainteloc Racing Audi in Pro-am and #12 BMW  in the AM Cup claiming the top honors. The European GT4 Series now moves to Circuit Nürburgring, Germany for round five of the Championship from September 3rd -5th , 2021. The race can be watched LIVE on the YouTube Page of European GT4 Series.

    About European GT4 Championship:

    The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.

    GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.     

  • Akhil finishes P15 as incidents play spoilsport at Circuit Zandvoort

    Akhil finishes P15 as incidents play spoilsport at Circuit Zandvoort

    Bengaluru, 21 June, 2021: Akhil Rabindra, the only Indian on the European GT4 Championship grid, racing for AGS Events Racing Team, finished P15 in the Silver category along with his team mate Hugo Conde in an incident laden Round 3 of the championship in Netherlands late last evening. The race was being hosted at the iconic Circuit Zandvoort which also would play the host to the much-awaited Dutch Formula1 Grand Prix later this year.

    Akhil is also the only Asian to get selected for the prestigious Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy’s class of 2021 for the third time in a row inching closer towards a chance to earn the coveted Academy driver contract. An incident laden Race1 for the team of Akhil Rabindra and Hugo Conde, with the latter on the steering wheel, saw them finishing at P13 in the Silver category and an overall P27. Race 1 saw Akhil’s team completing 24 laps in 1:22:04.392. Race 1 was quite an eventful race facing temporary suspension following an incident involving the #32 United Autosports McLaren.  

    Akhil who took to the steering wheel in Race 2 of the third round of the European GT4 Championship made an impressive run to finish P15 in the Silver category and an overall P21 from a grid of 36 cars. Akhil while being on the driver’s seat completed 32 laps in 1:01:55.560 minutes. Akhil while driving his Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in Race 2 again had to face an interruption, after starting on a good note, had to slow down in the final few minutes of the race due to a full course yellow and safety car situation, following two separate incidents where the race control neutralized proceedings after the #77 Team Fullmotorsport Audi went into the gravel while at the same time the #11 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW hit the barriers.

    Akhil Rabindra commented, “We could have done much better and are definitely not happy with our performance. There were unforeseen hurdles in both Race 1 & 2 which had a direct impact on our speed and finishing positions. We will have to keep working on our performance and keep improving to ensure that in future such indirect and unforeseen hurdles do not impact our positions drastically.”

    Round 3 of the European GT4 Series saw AKKA ASP (Mercedes –AMG) in Pro-am and Silver, and CMR (Toyota) in the AM Cup claim the top honors. The European GT4 Series now moves to Circuit Spa-Francorchamos, Belgium for Round 4 of the Championship from July 28 – 31, 2021. The race can be watched LIVE on the YouTube Page of European GT4 Series.

    About European GT4 Championship:

    The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.

    GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.     

  • Akhil Rabindra makes it to Aston Martin Academy again

    Akhil Rabindra makes it to Aston Martin Academy again

    Bangalore,19 May 2021: Bengaluru based 24-year-old GT4 racer Akhil Rabindra, today made it to the coveted list of the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy third time in a row for the 2021 class. Akhil who is currently competing for AGS Events Racing team at the European GT4 Championships, is the only Asian to have made it to the prestigious AMR driving academy along with 14 others from across the world. The British luxury sportscar manufacturer made this important announcement today. Aston Martin through their driver academy aim to search for the next generation of GT4 endurance superstars and the 2021 class has only 15 elite drivers ( all between 17-26 years) from around the world competing with the hope to land up with an Aston Martin Junior drivers contract a year later. Akhil currently drives an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for AGS Events Racing team.

    Akhil will be racing the second round of the 2021 season at the European GT4 Championships from 28th-30th May,2021. The race would be hosted at the Paul Ricard circuit.

    A thrilled and excited Akhil reacted after the announcement saying, “I am extremely excited and delighted to be on the AMR Driver Academy again this season. This year I have all the experience gathered from the past two years and no excuses to perform to the best to my ability to prove to myself and AMR. I would like to thank my sponsors, AGS Events Racing Team for their continued support and faith in my dream.”

    The selection criteria to this elite program are based on a wide range of criteria including pace, consistency and technical feedback. The judging panel included AMR President David King, Managing Director John Gaw, two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jonny Adam (GB), works star Ross Gunn (GB), and Hasse-Clot. The judging panel also evaluate each drivers’ ability to manage the strategic,teamwork, commercial and public relations aspects of their role.

    Rabindra is the only Asian to have made it to the highly respected AMR Driver Academy for consecutive years in 2019-20 & 2020-2021. The 24 year old racer will also the only Indian driver in the European GT4 Championship this season.

  • Mixed bag of results for AGS Event Duo Akhil Rabindra

    Mixed bag of results for AGS Event Duo Akhil Rabindra

    Bengaluru, 19 April 2021:The AGS Events Duo comprising Akhil Rabindra, the only Asian participating at the European GT4 Championship this year,  and Hugo Conde  faced tough tests at Monza, Italy in the European GT4 Championship on Sunday evening (April 18, 2021). The duo finished thirteenth in Silver category in race two at the circuit after having retired in Race 1.

    The Indo-french duo driving the Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 for AGS Events Racing Team had to retire in Race. Akhil had to take to the steering for race twoto avoid action because of an incident where two cars crashed and stopped in front of him. This happened in front of him and thus resulted in him being pushed back in his position.However given the pace of the car (Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4)which resulted in his team finishing P11 at the qualifying, Akhil still managed to finish 20 laps in 50:34:074hrsthereby finishing 13th in the Silver Category.


    “We are not content with Sunday’s result, especially after what we could have achieved on Saturday.Its fortunate that we could not convert our P11 position in the qualifying to better results, but we are confident that we will have better outcomes in the races ahead,” Rabindra stated.

    He further added, ” Saturday’s crash was quite a big one, and all credit to our team that our car was ready just in time for race two. Though the car was not like Saturday and we didn’t have the same pace for race two but we are confident of us having a great machine that will help us achieve favorable results.”

    The European GT4 Series now moves to Circuit Paul Ricard, France for Round 2 of the Championship from April 26 – 28, 2021. Akhil earlier in the European GT4 Series had finished 5th overall and would look forward to better results in the upcoming weekend. The race can be watched LIVE on the YouTube Page of European GT4 Series.

     About European GT4 Championship:

    The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.

    GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.

  • Akhil Rabindra begin campaign this week-end: Euro GT4

    Akhil Rabindra begin campaign this week-end: Euro GT4

    Bengaluru, 16 April 2021:  Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy product (2019-20), Akhil Rabindra of India, will commence his racing season at the famous Monza circuit in Italy. This weekend of April 16-18, 2021, will see Akhil racing for AGS Events Racing Team in Round 1 of the 2021 European GT4 Championship. AGS Events Racing Team were also the winners in the teams’ title and Silver Cup Drovers’ title category in the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard in 2020 and they would look forward to extend their winning run this season as well with Akhil and Hugo carrying the mantle forward.

    The 24-year-old racer who also is the only Indian driver in the European GT4 Championship this season will be driving an Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4. Rabindra would be racing in the silver category and will be joined by his French teammate Hugo Conde for the 2021 season in the silver category.

    This would be Akhil’s second outing at the Monza circuit, his first being in 2019 for Pro Sport Performance where he finished 7th and 8th respectively in the Silver Category. The opening race of the European GT4 Championship at the Monza Circuit will host one of the largest grids this year with around 48 cars vying for the podium. The grid would include 18 cars in the silver category while 19 cars would represent the pro-am category. Further a total of 11 cars would be racing in the amateur category.

    “This will be my second time at the Monza circuit and I am looking forward to the race for my team AGS Events Racing Team. Monza is a really fast track and is equally challenging and I hope to better my performance here this time around,” said a visibly busy Akhil ahead of the race weekend.

    The race will be streamed LIVE on European GT4 Championships YouTube Page on 17th& 18th April 2021. 

    The 2021 season of the European GT4 Championship will comprise of 12 races and six rounds travelling through six countries.The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a historic race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. The circuit’s biggest event is the Italian Grand Prix. The site has three tracks – the 5.793-kilometre (3.600 mi) Grand Prix track, the 2.405-kilometre (1.494 mi) Junior track and a 4.250-kilometre (2.641 mi) high speed oval track with steep bankings. The major features of the main Grand Prix track include the Curva Grande, the Curva di Lesmo, the VarianteAscari and the CurvaParabolica.

    Get the complete schedule of the 2021 European GT4 Championship:  GT4 European Series | GT4 European Series (gt4series.com) 

    LIVE Streaming Time –

    17th April 2021:  GT4 European (Qualifying Race) –       15:10 Hrs (IST) Onwards

    17th April 2021:  GT4 European (Race 1) –                        20:55 Hrs (IST) Onwards

    18th April 2021:  GT4 European (Race 2) –                        16:40 Hrs (IST) Onwards

    About European GT4 Championship:

    The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.

    GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.

  • Akhil Rabindra for 2021 European GT4

    Akhil Rabindra for 2021 European GT4

    Bengaluru, 31 March 2021:  Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy product Akhil Rabindra of India, announced his participation for the 2021 season of the coveted European GT4 Championship on Wednesday.

    The Bengaluru born Akhil, will be back with the AGS Events Racing team this year, a team he represented for the first time last year at the French GT4 Championship.

    Rabindra is the only Asian to have made it to the highly respected AMR Driver Academy for consecutive years in 2019-20 & 2020-2021. The 24 year old racer will also the only Indian driver in the European GT4 Championship this season.

    Akhil’s campaign with AGS Events Racing Team will commence at the famed Monza circuit in Italy, on the weekend of April 16-18, 2021, with Round 1 of the 2021 European GT4 Championship.

    Akhil will be driving an Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 for the 2021 season, which comprises 12 races across six countries and as many rounds. 19-Year-Old French driver Hugo Conde will be Akhil’s team mate for the AGS Events Racing Team.

    “I am really looking forward to getting back on the racetrack with AGS Events Racing Team and am excited about the upcoming European GT4 Championship. AGS have had a great GT racing record over the years and I am determined to help them better it even more,” said Akhil post announcing his association with AGS Events Racing Team.

    After a successful debut, AGS Events has confirmed it’s come back to the GT4 European Series. The reigning Silver, Pro-Am and Team champions will field three Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4s in the series this season. 

    Around 30 cars will be competing for the 2021 European GT4 Championship with as many as 10 top Constructors fielding their latest GT4 models.

    LIVE Streaming Times – IST

    17th April 2021:  GT4 European (Qualifying Race) –       15:10 Hrs (IST) Onwards

    17th April 2021:  GT4 European (Race 1) –                        20:55 Hrs (IST) Onwards

    18th April 2021:  GT4 European (Race 2) –                        16:40 Hrs (IST) Onwards

    About European GT4 Championship:

    The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.

    GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.