Cape Town - Not many people would associate a 7-year-old with driving but Luan Mostert is burning rubber one lap at a time.
Last Saturday, the Grade 1 Bastion Primary School pupil managed to grab a podium finish at the Go-Karting Cadet Championship at Killarney, finishing an impressive third.
This is even more noteworthy considering this is his first time participating in the competition.
His love for racing started after watching his grandfather, Franco Donadio, who is a racer in the V8 Masters and Ford Classic Cars series, on the track. He began his racing career in May last year. Luan practises three times a week and keeps fit by exercising every day.
His mother, Bianca Mostert, said she’s very proud of him and loves that this is a family sport. “It’s good for the whole family. Everyone loves going to support him, especially his grandfather who never misses a race.” Luan loves racing and hopes to one day become the head Formula 1 test driver for the Scuderia Ferrari team. His favourite F1 racer is Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and his favourite movie is Disney-Pixar’s Cars since the young age of 3.
His mother said: “He doesn’t need to diet, because he’s got a racer’s body type, so he just does a few push-ups and small weights in the evening.”
According to her, Luan’s grandfather is his secret weapon. Donadio gives his grandson a pep talk before each race, advising him to “read the race”, and to “drive in a safe manner, like a true gentleman”.
Mostert is ecstatic about her son’s success. “I am very proud of him and support him by taking him to practice three times a week. He has races once a month and on a race day, the whole family goes to support him, so it really is a family sport,” she said.
Luan is certainly a force to be reckoned with on the track. He enjoys what he does and doesn’t feel any pressure because of this. Maybe next time he can snatch first place!