AKHIL RABINDRA SECURED A PODIUM IN HIS DEBUT
At the British GT Championship held at Oulton Park.
The McLaren GT Driver Academy racer Akhil Rabindra, secured a credible third in silver category, in his debut British GT Championship held at Oulton Park, UK recently. The Bangalore boy Akhil Rabindra, recently moved from the single seater BRDC Formula 3 to British GT series and started making a strong impression from the Round-1. The British GT Championship series consists of 9 Races of which Race-1 and 2 are completed British GT-debutants Akhil Rabindra and team mate Dean Macdonald made a strong start to their GT careers with the Black Bull Garage 59 McLaren 570s GT4 at Oulton Park, Cheshire over the Easter weekend.
Qualifying took place on Saturday with Macdonald setting sixth fastest time in class for Race 1 and Rabindra securing P14 for Race 2. Race one was on Monday and the conditions were wet and cold, with Macdonald taking the first stint lining up in 18th position in the 28-car grid of GT3 and GT4 cars Macdonald made a solid start and held position until handing over to Akhil when the pit window opened. After a slick pitstop Akhil re-joined the race and set about chasing the leaders eventually bringing the car home in 5th place in class and 12th in GT4.
Dry conditions prevailed for Round 2 at Oulton Park with Rabindra starting from P14 in #59 McLaren. Rabindra made an impressive start overtaking several cars in the first few laps, determined to improve on his race 1 position The Indian driver managed a string of impressive lap times and was involved in a race long fight with the #42 Aston Martin before handing over to Macdonald in the pit stop in an impressive P6 overall and P2 in class.
Macdonald took over at the half way mark and maintained consistent race pace before narrowly escaping being involved in a huge crash between #7 Bentley GT3 and the #88 Mercedes GT3 which brought an early finish to the race. Crossing the line P5 in GT4 and P3 in the Silver cup, the #59 pairing made an impressive debut in the series and are currently 4th with 25 points in the GT4 Silver Cup Championship.
The next race is at Rockingham on 29th & 30th April
ABOUT AKHIL RABINDRA
Akhil Rabindra has been signed by the Garage 59 team to race in the 2017 British GT championship and is set to contest the seven-round championship in the stunning McLaren 570S GT4. Born in Bangalore, Akhil was enrolled into the FIA institute Young driver Academy in 2014 and has enjoyed two successful years in the British GT supporting series; racing in the BRDC F4 and British Formula 3 championships and is well acquainted to the circuits he will race on in 2017.
Akhil started racing at the age of 14 and has mainly concentrated on Formula cars, deciding now is the time to make the switch over to sports cars, outlining his plans to become a professional GT driver in the future. The Edinburgh-based 20 year-old, tested with GT machinery before Christmas, showing great potential before his debut season in the country’s premier GT championship.
Akhil will team up with fellow McLaren GT Academy Driver Dean Macdonald forming the driver pairing for the #59 570S GT4. Scottish Motor Racing Club rising star Dean Macdonald who is from Fife is the youngest ever Scottish Karting champion and will also make his debut in British GT racing.
Bas Leinders, Team Manager, Black Bull Garage 59 commented: “We are delighted to have Akhil onboard for the 2017 season. Having competed in the top level of single seaters for the last few years in the UK he knows the circuits we will visit with the championship. We are confident that knowledge, coupled with the knowledge of the car he can gain from his teammates, we are in a good position for the season ahead.”
For more information about Akhil visit www.akhilrabindra.com
Media contact Umesh Ramaswamy: 9448463048
