Raj Sharma
Rajeshwari Sharma
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Rajeshwari Limbekai Sharma (born 18 November 1999) is a virtual racing driver from Southern India. Born in Bengaluru (also known as Bangalore), he races under the Indian flag and most recently competed in the VWRS Series for Lapierre Formule. He is also the official reserve driver for the Lopez Formula Virtual team in 2023.
Personal life
Sharma was born in the outskirts of Bengaluru to parents Dinesh and Shreya. Sharma is the second oldest of 5 children in the household. His father was a highly regarded mechanic at his workshop, specialising in suspension systems. When he got a new job in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, Australia, the family relocated to a suburb called Lidcombe, a short distance from Homebush, the location of the 2000 Olympic Games.
In May 2005, the family spent a weekend at the V8 Supercars at Sydney Motorsport Park (then Eastern Creek Raceway). Sharma says that attending the event was the ignition for his passion in motorsports. His mechanically-backgrounded father bought him a go-kart later that year for his 6th birthday. From there, he's never looked back. Within months, he was comfortably quicker than his older brother, Suvidh, and his pace showed as he started winning regularly local go-kart events from the moment he was eligible to race in them, after his 7th birthday.
Sharma climbed through the ranks almost with relative ease, despite constant pressure from his family to get high grades in school. He was able however to maintain the grades and continue to discover more about his passion. Soon after he completed Year 12 exams in 2017, Sharma received a phone call from Tendulkar Tech, a proud Indian-licensed team in the Virtual Oceania-Asia Racing Series (VOARS). His family then decided it would be the perfect 18th birthday present to allow him to chase his true dream in motorsport, and finish his studies there and then, as he was widely touted as a potential star by multiple driver scouts.
During his time with Tendulkar Tech in 2018 and 2019, as well as his debut season with Outback Motorsport in the Virtual World Racing Series (VWRS), Sharma still called Sydney his home. He is now however planning on moving temporarily to the South East of France in 2021 as he intends to move closer to the Lopez FV Team, who signed him as their reserve driver for 2021, who is based in Zurich, Switzerland. He has revealed on social media that he will move in with Jean-Michel Magnier in Lyon after spending Christmas and New Years with extended family. The pair got along well during Sharma's 2018 rookie season in VOARS.
Early career (2018-present)
Virtual Oceania-Asia Racing Series (2018-19)
VWRS Series (2020)
Formula Virtual career (2021)
For the 2021 season, Sharma was picked up by Lopez during his 2020 VWRS campaign, and will fill the role of the team's reserve driver.
Helmet
Racing record
Career Summary
Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | VOARS | Tendulkar Tech | 16 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 214 | 2nd |
2019 | VOARS | Tendulkar Tech | 18 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 221 | 1st |
2020 | VWRS | Outback Motorsport | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 92 | 11th |
2021 | VWRS | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 139 | 5th | |
Formula Virtual | Lopez FV Team | Reserve driver | |||||||
2022 | VWRS | Lapierre Formule | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 147 | 6th |
Formula Virtual | Arnello Milner & Ronson Autosport | Reserve driver | |||||||
2023 | Formula Virtual | Lopez FV Team | Reserve driver |
* Season in progress.
Complete VOARS results
(results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Tendulkar Tech | AUS 1 6 |
AUS 2 5 |
JPN 1 3 |
JPN 2 1 |
CHN 1 1 |
CHN 2 3 |
IND 1 7 |
IND 2 5 |
AZE 1 Ret |
AZE 2 1 |
SIN 1 5 |
SIN 2 8 |
RUS 1 Ret |
RUS 2 7 |
UAE 1 1 |
UAE 2 5 |
2nd | 214 | ||
2019 | Tendulkar Tech | AUS 1 6 |
AUS 2 4 |
AUS 3 8 |
JPN 1 3 |
JPN 2 3 |
JPN 3 11 |
CHN 1 Ret |
CHN 2 2 |
CHN 3 Ret |
IND 1 2 |
IND 2 1 |
IND 3 5 |
RUS 1 3 |
RUS 2 1 |
RUS 3 4 |
UAE 1 1 |
UAE 2 2 |
UAE 3 9 |
1st | 221 |
Complete VWRS results
(results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Outback Motorsport | AUS 1 22 |
AUS 2 15 |
AUS 3 2 |
FRA 1 10 |
FRA 2 6 |
FRA 3 14 |
GBR 1 2 |
GBR 2 Ret |
GBR 3 19 |
BRA 1 19 |
BRA 2 13 |
BRA 3 12 |
USA 1 6 |
USA 2 8 |
USA 3 8 |
BEL 1 Ret |
BEL 2 12 |
BEL 3 1 |
UAE 1 Ret |
UAE 2 Ret |
UAE 3 Ret |
MAC 1 Ret |
MAC 2 15 |
MAC 3 1 |
11th | 92 |
2021 | Outback Motorsport | AUS 1 10 |
AUS 2 11 |
AUS 3 4 |
FRA 1 24 |
FRA 2 9 |
FRA 3 7 |
GBR 1 3 |
GBR 2 8 |
GBR 3 5 |
BRA 1 Ret |
BRA 2 12 |
BRA 3 3 |
USA 1 14 |
USA 2 11 |
USA 3 8 |
BEL 1 4 |
BEL 2 3 |
BEL 3 10 |
UAE 1 2 |
UAE 2 1 |
UAE 3 Ret |
MAC 1 Ret |
MAC 2 14 |
MAC 3 Ret |
5th | 139 |
2022 | Lapierre Formule | AUS 1 4 |
AUS 2 5 |
AUS 3 13 |
FRA 1 Ret |
FRA 2 4 |
FRA 3 4 |
GBR 1 11 |
GBR 2 8 |
GBR 3 13 |
BRA 1 Ret |
BRA 2 15 |
BRA 3 1 |
USA 1 7 |
USA 2 11 |
USA 3 13 |
BEL 1 6 |
BEL 2 2 |
BEL 3 10 |
UAE 1 12 |
UAE 2 5 |
UAE 3 8 |
MAC 1 2 |
MAC 2 5 |
MAC 3 6 |
6th | 147 |
* Season in progress.
Complete Formula Virtual results
(results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Lopez FV Team | Lopez DL-06 | Porsche | JPN |
AUS |
MAL |
RSA |
GBR |
FRA |
AUT |
GER |
ESP |
FIN |
CAN |
USA |
UAE |
TUR |
BEL |
ITA |
BRA |
- | - |