Motorsport and Legacy-Building: Meet AKCEL Group founder Amit Kaushel

Sponsored: A powerhouse…
Amit Kaushal began his career in Dubai in the late 1990s before expanding into the UK and beyond. Today, as chairman, he heads up the global AKCEL Group, a diversified business spanning IT, real estate, investments, and now motorsport.
In a recent podcast, Kaushal speaks about his company's push into the world of formula racing with AKCEL GP, the group's branded real estate venture with BNW Developments, and his ambition to build a legacy that leads all the way to Formula One.
Before we get into the motorsport side of things, tell us more about AKCEL Group. It's quite a diversified business: can you paint a picture for our audience?
Of course. Firstly, thank you for having me. AKCEL Group is built around the concept of transforming aspiration into legacy. That idea is embedded in the name itself:
'A' stands for Aspiration , 'K' for Knowledge , 'C' for Clarity and Consistency , 'E' for Excellence , and 'L' for Legacy .
So it's not just a name — it's a journey.
In terms of the business, we're a global conglomerate. Our roots are in IT — specifically consulting and training — and we operate in India, the UK, the US, Ireland, and Dubai. We also own Jetking, which has over 100 IT training centres in India.
We've recently entered real estate in the UAE through a branded residence partnership with BNW. Our first flagship project will launch on Dubai Islands, followed by an expansion into Ras Al Khaimah. That's a huge step for us.
Then, there's motorsport — which is giving global visibility to our brand. We're proud to be the first Indian-origin group to own a racing team in this space. It's a major milestone, especially for the wider South Asian community.
And finally, we have an investment arm that focuses on alternative assets — everything from angel investing to venture capital. So AKCEL Group is built on four key pillars: IT, real estate, motorsport, and investments.
I personally left India around 25 years ago. I started my journey in Dubai back in 1998, then moved to the UK in 2000. And now, life is bringing me full circle — back to Dubai, which has always had a special place in my heart.
Can you tell us more about AKCEL GP and why did you decide to launch it now?
AKCEL GP is our motorsport arm, and we've just completed our first season here in the Middle East, competing in Formula 4 and the Formula Regional Middle East Championship. We even made it to a few podiums.
The idea started in Dubai when I met our team principal, Rohit Kaul, a former Formula driver. We shared a common vision, and we realised there's very little South Asian representation in global motorsport. That inspired us. We wanted to create a platform to nurture young talent and eventually compete in Formula One.
We pulled everything together in just nine months and launched at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa in January 2025. Our drivers come from diverse backgrounds — India, the UK, Romania — and we're proud to support the Al Qubaisi family too. Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi are now our brand ambassadors and sit on our advisory board. They're pioneers in UAE motorsport and have been a huge support.
You've decided to make the UAE your global base — tell us why.
Dubai is where I began my journey, and strategically it makes perfect sense. It's now at the centre of global conversations, whether it's sports, tech, AI, crypto, real estate or investment. Everything is converging here.
Logistically, it's also ideal for managing operations across both the Indian subcontinent and Europe. For us, it's not just home: it's a launchpad.
The business of motorsports is quite complex — it's not just what we see on track. What have you learned so far?
A lot! We started with a technical partner, but now we're building our own in-house technical team for our European F4 and FRACA campaigns. That gives us better control, allows us to build in-house performance models, and elevate our drivers.
We're also setting up a second base in Milan, Italy to manage the April to October European racing season. After that, we'll compete in Macau and return to the UAE for the 2026 season.
Every person on the team — from our technical director Matthew Norman, to logistics and operations — plays a critical role. It's a true team sport behind the scenes.
Do you attend every race yourself?
I try to attend as many as possible, but our team principal Rohit Kaul leads the operations on the ground. My role is more strategic: managing partnerships, sponsor relations, and ensuring smooth execution throughout the season.
Sponsors are crucial. Who are some of your key partners?
We're fortunate to have a great mix. BNW Developments is one of our lead partners. Gulf Business is on our car too — which we're very proud of. We also have Century Financial, and LifeCoin as sponsors. Each one plays an important role in the ecosystem we're building.
You're competing in Formula 4 and Formula Regional — can you explain the difference?
F4 is the first major step after go-karting — the entry point into the Formula ladder. From F4, drivers move to FR (Formula Regional), which is more powerful and covers specific regions — we just raced across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Jeddah.
After FR, drivers can progress to F3, F2 and ultimately F1 — the dream. The difference lies in engine power, car weight and complexity. But every step is crucial.
You mentioned AKCEL Academy: what is its role in terms of your overarching approach to motorsport?
The Academy supports the entire talent pipeline. We identify young drivers early. One of our drivers started go-karting at four and is now eight, and is already a champion from Singapore.
We also have a focus on inclusivity. For example, we've reserved one seat for a female driver, and we're proud to support Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi. We're also planning an announcement in Barcelona to enter the endurance-based Le Mans series with them.
And we're supporting Atika, the first Indian female driver to enter an F1 Academy. She's an inspiration.
So what's next for AKCEL GP in the next five to ten years?
The short-term focus is to strengthen our presence in F4, F3, and F2. Simultaneously, we're scaling our Academy and merging racing with IT and engineering.
The long-term aspiration is to reach Formula One and to see our driver on the F1 podium one day. That's the vision, and we're fully committed to it.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Gulf Today

8 hours ago

• Gulf Today

F1 movie star Pitt finally gets to drive a Formula One car

Brad Pitt, whose new F1 movie is out next week, has now driven a Formula One car for real after testing a McLaren at Austin's Circuit of the Americas. The reigning world champions confirmed the Hollywood A lister drove a 2023 McLaren MCL60 car at the Texas track on Thursday. Media reports said the British-based team had been carrying out a private test with F1 regular Lando Norris and F2 driver Alex Dunne. It was the first time 61-year-old Pitt, who plays the fictional racing driver Sonny Hayes in the Apple Originals movie, had driven a real Formula One car on track. The cars used in the making of the film were Formula Two cars, modified by Mercedes to look like real grand prix racers. Champions McLaren had teased the drive on Thursday with a social media post of overalls with the initials BP and the caption "It's a Sonny day in Austin". Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, a co-producer of the movie, said in March that Pitt had shown real speed while testing the F2 cars. "Watching Brad drive around at speeds over 180 miles an hour was really impressive to see because it's not something you can just learn overnight," he said. "The dedication and the focus that Brad put into this process has been amazing to witness." Reuters

Int'l Cricket Council

a day ago

• Int'l Cricket Council

Jaiswal, Gill with milestone tons on India's commanding day

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill scored prolific tons to shoulder India's batting push against England on the opening day of the five-match ICC World Test Championship series. Being put in to bat first by the home captain Ben Stokes, the duo scored their maiden tons in England to help India to 359/3 at Stumps. Jaiswal, who is playing his first Test in England, set a unique record en route to a special ton. The left-hander became the first Indian batter to score a century in his first ever Test in both England and Australia. Back in November 2024, Jaiswal had scored an emphatic 161 in his first Test in Australia to inspire India's famous win in Perth. Shouldering a lot of expectations going into his maiden tour of England, the opener meticulously crafted his fifth Test hundred at Leeds. Having gotten India off to a smooth start in the first session - adding 91 runs for the opening wicket with KL Rahul - Jaiswal went on to compile 101 runs off 159 deliveries. The innings included a whooping 16 fours and one maximum. It was Jaiswal's third century against England. His previous two had come in 2024, when the southpaw plundered a stunning 712 runs from the five-Test series at home - becoming only the second Indian batter to score more than 700 runs in one Test series. Accompanying him among the runs from the other end was Shubman Gill, who marked his first innings as India's Test captain in style. Gill, who scored his sixth Test ton, became only the fifth Indian batter to score a century in his first Test as captain. Player Opposition Venue (Year) Vijay Hazare England Delhi (1951) Sunil Gavaskar New Zealand Auckland (1976) Dilip Vengsarkar West Indies Delhi (1987) Virat Kohli Australia Adelaide (2014) Shubman Gill England Leeds (2025) The 25-year-old joined the exclusive club featuring Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper closed the day unbeaten at 127 off 175 deliveries, a knock laced with an equivalent 16 boundaries and one six as Jaiswal's. Alongside him in the middle, Rishabh Pant remained unbeaten at 65 off 102 deliveries, as India laid the foundation to set up a commanding first-innings total. ICC World Test ChampionshipNewsIndiaYashasvi JaiswalShubman Gill

Gulf Today

a day ago

• Gulf Today

Maersk halts stops in Israel's Haifa due to Iran-Israel conflict

Danish shipping giant Maersk announced on Friday that it was temporarily suspending vessel calls in Israel's Haifa port due to the country's conflict with Iran. Maersk said it made the decision after "careful analysis of threat risk reports in the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, specifically regarding the potential risks of calling Israeli ports and the ensuing implications for the safety of our vessel crews". "At the moment we are not experiencing further disruptions to our scheduled operations in the region," it added in a statement. The conflict erupted a week ago when Israel launched air strikes on Iran, saying its arch foe was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. The Danish company said it had not experienced any further disruptions to its scheduled operations in the region. Haifa port, which was privatized in 2022, is owned 70% by India's Adani Ports while the remaining 30% is held by Israel's Gadot Group. Adani Ports is the ports operating arm of Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani. Including Haifa port, the company operates four ports outside Indian waters. A spokesperson for the Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters' email and text messages requesting comment. Israel has been hitting Iran from the air since last Friday in what it describes as an effort to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and has retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel. On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Agencies