While at 33 years old Agustín Canapino shines as a rookie in IndyCar, another Argentine also faces his first experience in motorsports in the United States, although with the desire to reach Formula 1. His name is Luciano Martinez, he is 20 years old and races in Formula 4 US. Although he doesn't just get in the car. "How did I end up as a mechanic? It was a proposal of mine", he anticipates to Clarín in the preview of the second date of the season.
"We have secured (racing) until the third round of the year and part of that I got by helping the team before the races. In the United States you can't work, but at the first date I arrived two months before the race and I was collaborating with the team. Doing the function of mechanic in my own car, they save paying one more mechanic and I save that directly from the budget, "he justifies.
The knowledge of mechanics was harvested in 2019, when "the procedures to bring Formula 4 to Argentina began". "The engines and chassis were separated and a lot of the work was putting the cars together; So, I helped as a mechanic and tested them. I learned from passion and wanting to see the category succeed," he says. Although F4 in the country did not prosper, it gave him tools that he now uses.
It was also around that time that he began to study the possibility of going to the United States, for a sporting and economic reason. First of all, in Argentina the highest category of monopostos is the Metropolitan Formula 3, where the Canning driver was since 2019. "There is no more to climb and the only way to pursue that dream of reaching Formula 1 is internationally," he stresses.
Lucho Martinez chose the United States and not Europe because "it's the cheapest." His dream is to reach F1.
On the monetary side, meanwhile, "the United States is the cheapest" and at Scuderia Buell he had "some well-known and very good relations". That was what opened the possibility of offering his services as a mechanic. "I knew that what could make me lower costs was to take advantage of what I already knew about the mechanical part so that my help was worth the budget discount," he emphasizes.
The language was not an impediment either because "the owner and engineer of the team are Argentine", so inside he speaks in Spanish.
Also, seven or eight years ago he made the decision to see in English everything he is looking for on the Internet or social networks. "Although I had a base, what ended up affirming me and leaving me comfortable with the pronunciations was to consume everything in English. Today, I have no difficulty dealing with English there. Although I have an Argentine accent speaking in English, I make myself understood and I understand everything they can tell me, "he remarks.
When talent alone is not enough
Attentive to the car. Lucho Martinez (in muscle) looks at the team's final work ahead of the first race of the season in F4 US.
But being a part-time mechanic is not enough to raise the money involved in having a seat in the F4 US. "We sold a few things that we accumulated over the years in Argentina to put together the first part of the budget," he says.
"We are now looking for the budget for the second half and developing what we have planned for the following years. Therefore, the most important thing is to show ourselves strong; show that we are worth it, that we have potential," adds who returned to the country after the debut in New Orleans. During the two months that passed until this weekend's date in Wisconsin, he trained in the simulator and at the Roberto Mouras racetrack in La Plata with a car with similar characteristics.
From 18 to 21 at the Road America circuit, Lucho Martínez will face the fourth, fifth and sixth races of the category, whose activity will resume in June and July. Then, there will be a break until October and November, although for that the Argentine must gather the budget that allows him to continue in the competition.
With 20 years and a future full of expectation, he says that he does not rule out continuing his career in the IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) but that the dream is to point to Europe and the journey of another Argentine. "Franco Colapinto's career is the one I want to have, it's who we want to follow," he says in reference to the 19-year-old driver who races in Formula 3 and integrates the Williams Academy.
"The dream and the goal is Formula 1 and as soon as possible. If it could be tomorrow, it would be tomorrow," he redoubles. If we are not given F1, because we do not put together the budget or we are not allowed, the goal is to live from motorsport. There is always the possibility of pursuing the path of collecting a salary from motorsport. It would be a giant second dream."
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