UAE-based Indian Anshul Gandhi to race in Spanish F4
By David Bodapati
Bengaluru, 8 Sept 2021: Jodhpur-born Indian racing teen, Anshul Gandhi, all of sweet 16, has joined GRS Team and is scheduled to make his single-seater debut in the Round 5 of Formula 4 Spanish Championship, which takes place from September 18 to 19 in Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia, just a few kilometres away from his new team’s base, the GRS team said today.
The Rajasthani currently living in UAE, had earlier qualified for the IAME X30 one-make karting World Juniors, after winning the 2019-20 UAE IAME X30 Junior championship, which unfortunately were cancelled due to the world-wide COVID travel restrictions.
This year he made it to the two Karting World Finals winning 2020-21 UAE Rotax Max Challenge DD2 Championship and as a runner-up in UAE IAME X 30 Senior Championship. World finals are scheduled later in the year in October for IAME in Italy, and in December for Rotax in Bahrain.
Anshul recently took part in Rotax Max Challenge International Trophy at Le Mans, France and was the only Indian among 216 drivers from 30 countries, making sure that the Tri-colour was on display at the venue along with other major motorsporting giants.
The GRS team in a statement on Wednesday said: “It is with great pleasure for GRS Team to announce the arrival of Indian driver Anshul Gandhi to the team. The young driver will make his single-seater debut in the Formula 4 Spanish Championship season at Ricardo Tormo Circuit, in Valencia”. His teammate at the F4 Spanish event will be Ryabov.
“Throughout the year, Gandhi has participated in testing sessions with GRS Team, allowing him to know team and to prepare his racing debut. The job done so far has been satisfactory and the team is looking forward to welcoming Gandhi in Valencia and to offering him the best service on his maiden formula race,” the team added.
“I have been testing with GRS for the last few months and the progress has been really promising. The team’s support and guidance really helped me smoothly transition from Karting to single seater. I am really excited and looking forward to my debut race in Formula 4 at Valencia in the ongoing Spanish F4 Championship. I would like to take this opportunity to thank GRS Team Principal, Josep, his team and my coach, Álvaro Barba for their continued support and guidance,” said Anshul Gandhi.
Eldest of the two Barba Lopez brothers, the former Spanish F3 race winner is an accomplished racing driver with high credentials and experience in high-performance coaching required at this level and the Indian, who moved to UAE looking for better pastures in Motorsports, is expected to shift gears and move up to competition in Europe, generally considered as a breeding ground for budding `speed’ aspirants.
Josep Trinidad, CEO & Team Principal said: “We are very excited to receive and welcome Anshul into the team. Having two cars on track will help us to improve the overall performance. The relationship and the job done with Gandhi have been positive since Day, so we are convinced we will perform really well in Valencia”.
GRS will face the next round of Formula 4 Spanish Championship with two cars on track, something that will definitely be helpful for both competitors. The team is evolving and improving at a fantastic rate throughout the season and the presence of a new driver proves that a good job is being done.
You can follow Anshul on Instagram at @anshul_g18 and Twitter @anshulg_18
or at INDIAinF1.com, your website for all Indian motorsports activities.
