Indian racer Akhil Rabindra will compete in the 2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship with Douglas Motorsport. The 18-year-old moves to BRDC F4 for his first competitive season of motorsport in Europe, having raced in a variety of series across Asia for the last three seasons.

Rabindra enjoyed a successful 2014 campaign running in the JK Tyre Racing India Series (Formula BMW), finishing the year second in the standings with nine podiums and two race wins. He also competed in selected Formula Masters China Series races, achieving a best finish of fourth.

The Indian youngster was also part of the FIA Institute’s 2014 Young Driver Excellence Academy, a fully-funded training programme that aims to help drivers develop their motorsport careers. Rabindra won the Asia-Pacific selection event to claim a place in the final Academy, which featured tuition from ex-Formula One driver Alex Wurz.

Having graduated from karting in 2010, he honed his skills racing in a number of different championships, including the LGB Formula Swift Series and the 2012 and 2013 editions of Toyota Etios Motor Racing.

He will now join up with Douglas Motorsport, an outfit that has enjoyed considerable success in BRDC F4, including overall victory in the 2013 Winter Championship. The team also claimed a win in last year’s main series with Mexican driver Diego Menchaca taking the spoils in the first race of the final round at Snetterton.

Rabindra said: “I am very excited to be racing in the UK with Douglas Motorsport. I look forward to all the guidance and support from the team and I hope to bring them as many podiums as possible during the season.”

Team Principal Wayne Douglas added: “It is great to have Akhil onboard. We have a good understanding of the BRDC F4 car and he has plenty of racing experience so we hope to be challenging for podiums from the very first race of the season.”