Akhil Rabindra Opens 2023 European GT4 Season with 7th place finish in Italy

Bengaluru, April 23 (IANS) Bengaluru-born Akhil Rabindra, the only Asian in the European GT4 Series, started his 2023 season with a ninth and seventh position in Round 1 at Monza, Italy in the Pro-AM category.

Akhil racing for Racing Spirit of L�man for the second season along with Belgian driver, Rodrigue Gillion is driving the Aston Martin Vantage AMR this season.

The weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza began for Akhil with P11 in Qualification 1 where he finished four laps with a timing of 1:56.998. Akhil thereafter had a P14 in Qualification 2, his management team informed in a release on Sunday.

Akhil's first race of the season in Round 1 saw him starting Race 1 on P11 in the Pro-AM category and 29th overall in the grid. Akhil finished the race two positions better at P9 along with Gillion for a combined time of 1:27:41.569 over 26 laps.

In Race 2, Gillion started on P14 in the Pro-AM category and 47th overall. After the switch of drivers, Akhil finished the race brilliantly, securing P7 in the Pro-AM category with an overall time of 1:01:33.319 over 29 laps.

Talking about the race, Akhil Rabindra said, "I started the season without any pre-season testing and I was also fighting a bit of jet lag after constant travelling before the first round. It wasn't the finish we wanted but we will work harder and come back stronger. There are a few things we as teammates need to improve which we will work out before the second round in France."

Akhil, however, has had a stellar domestic season after winning the Drivers Championships title in the recently concluded Indian Racing League where he was driving for Hyderabad Blackbirds.

The second round of the European GT4 Championship will be held at Circuit Paul Ricard, France on June 3 and 4.