Dynamic racing driver and technology founder Akshay Gupta has officially signed an agreement with Mertens Motorsport for the highly anticipated 2024 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) season, which will take place in Germany Held at the Nürburgring. Since its inception in the 1970s, the NLS is known as one of the oldest and most respected endurance racing championships in the world. Akshay’s signing represents a major milestone for Indian motorsport as he becomes the country’s only racing driver who will compete against over 300 drivers and 117 cars.

The Ahmedabad-based racing driver picked up some injuries while driving his BMW in the rounds of the Adrenalin Motorsport Championship last year, which required him to undergo surgery on both hands. Although still recovering from surgery, Akshay’s passion for racing has prompted him to return to the track as he remains actively involved in pre-season testing during his ongoing recovery.

The 31-year-old driver will drive the Hyundai i30N (car number 492) for Mertens Motorsport next season.

Akshay Gupta shared his thoughts on joining Mertens Motorsport and expressed his feelings.

“It has always been a dream of mine to race on the Nürburgring. It used to be my laptop wallpaper for 15 years before I raced here last year. The experience gained last year taught us a lot about the track, the level of racing, The racing, and the different conditions. The goals this year are very clear. I want to conquer the most challenging circuits,” the NLS press release quoted Akshay as saying.

“We are a championship team, racing with equally capable teammates and 10,000 kilometers of simulator practice in one of the most competitive categories: VT2-F. I am sure this season will bring us some Good results and I look forward to hoisting the Indian flag on the podium as many times as possible,” he further added.

Mertens Motorsport is a German team founded in 2020 that has quickly cemented its reputation as a strong NLS contender, winning the NLS VT2-F Championship in 2023 and taking the NLS Team Trophy in the same year. Profound record. The addition of Akshay will help improve their performance.

“I’m delighted that Akshay Gupta has moved to Mertens Motorsport this season. We did pre-season testing in March and had the right chemistry right away, which is very important for a racing team because We are racing in endurance races, where we share the information with other racers,” said Daniel Mertens, team boss at Mertens Motorsport. The effort he put into the tournament was amazing. We welcome him on board and thank him for his confidence in our team. “

Akshay started his career as a professional racing driver in 2010 and showcased his driving prowess when he finished second for Toyota in the 2013 National Championship season finale at Buddh International Circuit. His exceptional talent also earned him recognition as Nissan selected him from among 10,000 drivers in India for the Asia GT Academy finals in the UK after a rigorous driver selection programme. The competition has become a major feature film released on Netflix called Gran Turismo.

While pursuing a career in racing, Akshay’s desire to fulfill his passion for racing led him to start an entrepreneurial venture, he founded a connected car technology startup called Scouto, which was unicorned by online used car retail in December 2021 Beast Spinny Acquisition. As a testament to his success on and off the racetrack, following his success in the entrepreneurial world, the Indian has returned to his motorsport roots.

“From the time I was two years old, I only played with cars, and when I was four, my dad bought me a go-kart, which took up all my playtime as a kid. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I Realized that there was a profession called racing driver and from that day on I have been pursuing my dream of driving race cars around the world. It is the most expensive sport in the world and for the son of a bank manager I had to “find creative ways” Ways to get back into it. After selling my company, I’m excited to get back to my first love full-time, racing,” said Akshay Gupta.

Akshay’s journey with Mertens Motorsport will begin with the season opener of NLS1:64 on April 6. ADAC ACAS CUP. Qualifying is scheduled to start at 12pm (IST), followed by pit lane and grid qualifying at 1:45pm (IST). The race is scheduled to start at 3:30 pm IST and will be broadcast live on the official Nürburgring YouTube channel.

Below is the detailed championship calendar:

April 6, 2024 – NLS Game 1: 64th ADAC ACAS Cup

April 7, 2024 – NLS Race 2: 63rd ADAC Reinoldus Endurance Race

April 13-14, 2024 – ADAC 24 Hours Nürburgring Qualifying Race

June 22, 2024 – NLS Game 3: 69th ADAC Westfalenfahrt

August 3, 2024 – NLS Game 4: 6-Hour ADAC Ruhr Cup Game

October 19, 2024 – NLS Game 5: 55th Adenauer ADAC Tour Trophy

November 16, 2024 – NLS Game 6: 56th ADAC Barbarossa Award.

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