Bengaluru, Mar 30 (IANS): Bengaluru based Akhil Rabindra was on Saturday announced as the only Asian driver to be selected to join the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) young driver racing academy, run by the racing division of the iconic British Automobile manufacturer, Aston Martin.

The 22-year-old was amongst the 23 elite young drivers picked from across the world and will undergo a year of training and assessment by the Aston Martin Racing team in the United Kingdom with the best performer of the year landing a reserve driver role in 2020 with the factory Aston Martin Racing team.

Akhil hit the headlines earlier when he was chosen from the Asia Pacific region for the prestigious FIA Institute Young Drivers Excellence Academy in 2014 and then in 2017 when he was the only Indian to be selected by the McLaren GT Driver Academy.

The AMR Driver Academy was launched in September 2018 and received many applications from around the world from drivers aged between 17 and 25 years. The final group of 23 elite drivers, who now stand a chance to win an Aston Martin Racing Junior Contract for 2020, were selected by a group of judges that included three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Darren Turner (GB), works FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Jonny Adam (GB) and Maxime Martin (BEL) as well as Aston Martin Racing team principal Paul Howarth.

A thrilled Akhil said: "I am very excited to be selected for the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy. Being the only Indian and Asian in this group of elite drivers gives me a rush of excitement and pride to be a representative of my country as well as my continent to embark on this very prestigious journey. I look forward to a great season of learning and success."