Car racing, 'clubfoot' disability, entrepreneurship: Akshay Gupta balancing life and track

Recently, Akshay Gupta returned after two months to achieve podium finish in Endurance race at Nurburgring racetrack.

Playing sports in India unfortunately is a taboo for many. The apprehensions increase if you choose motorsport, considering that it is yet to attain its peak in popularity, in our country. However, there are a few who overcome all odds and manage to pursue their dreams. Akshay Gupta is one such individual.

Akshay began his professional racing career in 2010. In 2013, he finished as a runner-up at the Buddh International Circuit for Toyota in the National Championship season finale. He then earned a spot in Nissan’s Asian GT Academy Finale in the UK, after going through a rigorous set of trials.

Recently, the lad from Ahmedabad had a tremendous second-place finish in the six-hour Endurance Race at the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany.

Akshay’s journey till now has been far from comfortable. He was born with the clubfoot disability, which has always caused him troubles during training over the years. In the last 12 months, he has had numerous moments of misfortune. He needed surgery in both his hands, suffered a rib fracture, apart from the various mechanical issues he had to deal with in a number of races. However, none of these have ever deterred him.

His achievements are not limited just to the racetrack. He is the founder of Scouto, a connected car start-up. In 2021 the company was later acquired by Spinny, an online used-car retailing unicorn in December 2021. In the process, the racer proved that one can excel in multiple fields, if one has the grit and determination to do so.

Akshay Gupta was kind enough to keep some time aside and give Khel Now an exclusive interview. With the same humility and smile on his face, which has seen him overcome all the hurdles he has faced till now, he discussed his journey till now, his love for entrepreneurship, his memories at Nürburgring and his ambitions going ahead. Here is how the conversation panned out:

You took an unconventional pathway. What was the reaction of your relatives and friends when you told them about your ambitions? How was the support system around you?

Akshay Gupta: I have been fascinated with cars since the age of 2 or 3. At 13-14, I realized that something called motorsport exists. When I told my parents about it, they didn’t understand me at first. However, they were open to supporting me in whatever I did. While they were initially reluctant, they realized that the sport resulted in me having better life habits and hence never stopped me.

My extended family and friends were fascinated by the idea. While they were concerned about the safety aspect, I never faced any backlash. As for the financial part, I never bothered my family by asking for money. Somehow, it worked out!

One of the biggest challenges you had to face was the clubfoot disability. How did you overcome that?

Akshay Gupta: So, you are actually diagnosed with this disability when you are born. There is a ponseti method to correct it nowadays. It is not a deterrent in your day-to-day life. It doesn’t leave you with much walking or even athletic disabilities.

In my case, the ponseti method was not there yet. I had two failed surgeries to begin with. My second set of surgeries was successful, but it was too late, which was why I had some degree of deformity in my right ankle. It started becoming a problem much later in life. When you are young, the body adapts. After some time, my body’s adaptation became a problem. My spine started curving and my hips started tilting to one side. This led to injuries and other difficulties.

As for how I overcame it, it was a collective effort from not just my end but also my doctors and family. I believe that in life, you can always figure out a way if you put in the required effort. One good thing though is that in my sport, you don’t require much contact with the right ankle.

Do you remember the first time you drove a car with the Indian flag on it? What were your emotions at that time?

Akshay Gupta: This was in the GT Academy Asia Finale in August 2015. About 10,000 drivers from India had initially applied, with 30 making it to the national finals. There were a number of tests, and finally 6 were selected. We were taken for a rigorous camp to the UK. Every day one driver was eliminated and finally it was me who was selected to represent India.

In the Asia Finale, all the flags were there at the start of the race. It was a proud moment because India is not that well recognized in motorsport across the world.

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A post shared by Akshay Gupta (@akshaymotorsport)

Can you discuss your startup business Scouto?

Akshay Gupta: Vehicles are the second biggest investment you make in your life, after your house. But, when your vehicle is parked, you are never connected to it and don’t know its whereabouts. Our solution was that we keep you connected to the cars, through the internet. We put some hardware, which was connected to the computer systems inside the vehicle. It sends information which can be accessed through the phone, thus giving a peace of mind.

We had a lot of fun building it. Since it was acquired by Spinny, I cannot go back to it. However, I will be starting another company. Building ventures is my second love, after car racing.

What were the lessons you learnt in your entrepreneurial journey? How did it help you in car racing?

Akshay Gupta: I always say that entrepreneurship is a disguise for inner restructuring. You cannot let your patterns come in the way of your business. When you are in sports, it’s very helpful to have some healthy or even unhealthy ego to an extent. You need to be a bit crazy to think that you can be the best in the world.

However, when it comes to building a team and working with them, ego doesn’t help. In sports, 80% of the result is dependent on your effort, while here, 80% of the result is dependent on the team’s effort. Nevertheless, the core principles are the same. You need to be persistent. You need to work hard and smartly. You need to continue upgrading yourself and keep reading. The mental models to be successful in life are always the same.

Entrepreneurship taught me to be humble as well as balanced and not give reactions in case of ups-and-downs. We had a number of bad results in various races this year, a majority of it down to bad luck. However, I was much calmer than what I would have been 10 years ago.

Unfortunately, you had a bad injury last year and needed surgery in both hands. How tough was that period?

Akshay Gupta: It was not supposed to be a big surgery and I was supposed to get better in a month. But as it turned out, in usual cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, your median nerve gets expanded. It doesn’t transmit signals as well as a normal one. In that case, you stop feeling things in your hand and start dropping things.

In a race last year, I couldn’t feel the steering wheel after a point. I kept complaining to the engineers, to check for a fault in the steering. After finishing a few races, I came back to India and did some diagnosis, where I realized that there is something wrong with my hands.

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A post shared by Akshay Gupta (@akshaymotorsport)

After my first surgery in October, I did an MRI and found out that there was a ligament torn. I also had a cyst in my hand at the same place as the surgical site. My left hand was operated on in December and recovered in 2 weeks. There is no full recovery to the right hand because the cyst is still there, which is why the grip strength in this hand is less.

I kept going to the physio everyday barring Sunday. Until about this June, I still had problems with my hand. Now it’s much less. In the middle, I had some doubt whether it was just my hand or had I lost some talent. It was a tough phase, where I had to put in a lot of work. I got back onto the track in March and have participated in six races, with two more to go.

Although you have won a number of other titles, does your performance at the NLS stand out for you? Do you have any special memories from there?

Akshay Gupta: I absolutely love racing on that track. A track like Nürburgring doesn’t exist anywhere else. What stands out for me is the feeling of exhilaration. It has elevation changes everywhere because it is nestled in between the Eiffel Mountain Range. It is dangerous, but so much more rewarding when you get it right. My performance has been gradually improving from the first race till now.

My goal for this year was to figure out where I stand. It looks very realistic that I can win the championship next year- not just the category one, but the overall championship too. This is another standout for me. I didn’t go there to outdo myself. My goal this year was to learn and attain a place from where I can comfortably win the championship.

What is the current scenario for motorsport racing in the country? What would you tell a kid, who likes cars just like you and wants to convince his parents that this is what he wants to do?

Akshay Gupta: There is a lot more motorsport happening in India right now, than it was earlier. There are so many more karting tracks. Every major city has a karting track and a small academy. When I started out, there was just one track in Ahmedabad, and it got shut down. There was no track here for almost a decade.

Now Ahmedabad itself has three tracks. Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune: every place you go to, there are karting tracks there. That is a good improvement for grassroot level motorsport. We are still at the same number of racetracks as we were earlier, but I see some new ones being built. There are some new championships and series coming up. So, I see that the sport is hitting an inflexion point right now.

(For any kid who wants to start out) Most of our parents want us to see in healthy habits and do better things in life. I have been coaching a kid. In less than a year, he might have lost almost 10 kg. He is much fitter and more disciplined. That motivates parents. If you get into better habits, most parents will encourage you to do more of what you are doing. Just put in the effort and show them how serious you are- not just by words but also with actions. That should convince any parent.

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