Mateo Llarena
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Mateo Llarena | |
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Nationality | ![]() ![]() |
Born | 26 February 2004 |
IMSA Sportscar Championship career | |
Debut season | 2021 |
Current team | NTE Sport SSR |
Racing licence | ![]() |
Car number | 42 |
Previous series | |
2021 2020 2018–2019 | Italian GT Championship Porsche Supercup NACAM Formula 4 Championship |
Mateo Llarena (born 26 February 2004) is a Guatemalan-Italian racing driver. He currently competes in the 2024 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.[1]
Career
Karting
Llarena began go karting at the age of four.[1] He won two National Karting Championships and the FIA Americas Award before transitioning to open wheel racing. In 2014 and 2016 he became champion in Cadet category of the Guatemalan Karting Championship with the team Mazzotti Corse.[citation needed]
Formula 4
In 2018 he made his single-seater debut by competing in the 2018–19 NACAM Formula 4 Championship with Telcel RPL Racing.[2] He would finish the season in thirteenth. His best race result was a seventh place at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.[citation needed]
Sports car racing
At the age of 14 he made his car racing debut by competing in some races of the Toyota Yaris Cup Guatemala.[3][4] In 2019 he won the National Motorsport Championship at 15 years old, making him the youngest in history to win this tournament in Guatemala and Central America, earning his second FIA Americas Award.[3]
The 2019 season also saw Llarena receive an invitation from Porsche AG to participate in the 2020 Porsche Supercup. He competed for the German-based team MRS GT-Racing and finished seventeenth overall in the championship.[5] At the age of 16, Mateo became the youngest ever driver to compete in the Porsche Supercup.[6][7]
In 2021 Llarena made his debut in the IMSA SportsCar Championship[8] He competed in the LMP3 class with Performance Tech Motorsports.[8][9][10] At the 2021 WeatherTech 240 at The Glen he became the youngest ever pole sitter in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.[11][12][13][14][15][16] Since 2021 he has also been part of the Lamborghini GT3 junior program after competing in the 2021 Italian GT Championship with Imperiale Racing.[3][17][18]
In 2022 he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona with T3 Motorsport North America, driving a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo in the GTD class.[17][19] He then joined NTE Sport/SSR to compete in the 12 Hours of Sebring.[citation needed]
In 2023 Llarena joined Vincenzo Sospiri Racing to compete in the Italian GT Sprint Championship after competing in the championship with Imperiale Racing in the two previous years.[20][21] Together with his teammate Baptiste Moulin he finished the season fifth in the GT3 Pro classification after scoring two podiums throughout the season.[22]
In 2024 he joined GRT Grasser Racing Team to compete in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup for the first time.[1][23][24]
Personal life
Llarena studied at IE University in Madrid.[21][25] In 2023 Llarena received two Guinness World Records for becoming the youngest Porsche Supercup driver in 2020 and the youngest IMSA SportsCar Championship pole-sitter in 2021.[26][27] In 2024 Llarena to compete under an Italian racing license since he lived in Italy and had received Italian citizenship.[1]
Racing record
Career summary
Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Toyota Yaris Cup Guatemala - Am | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 77 | 10th | |
2018-19 | NACAM Formula 4 Championship | Telcel RPL Racing | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 13th |
2019 | Campeonato Nacional Guatemala - GT4 | Team Gulf Oil | 9 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 77 | 1st |
Chase for the Trigon Trophy Super GT Series | TLM Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 17th | |
Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | ||
2020 | Porsche Supercup | MRS GT-Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17th |
2021 | Italian GT Sprint Championship - GT3 Pro-Am | Imperiale Racing | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 6th |
IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3 | Performance Tech Motorsports | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 838 | 13th | |
2022 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | T3 Motorsport North America | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 397 | 44th |
NTE Sport/SSR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Italian GT Endurance Championship - GT3 Pro | Imperiale Racing | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ? | ? | |
2023 | Italian GT Sprint Championship - GT3 Pro | Vincenzo Sospiri Racing | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 5th |
2024 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | GRT Grasser Racing Team | |||||||
ADAC GT Masters | |||||||||
24H Series - GT3 | ARC Bratislava |
† As Llarena was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete Porsche Supercup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | MRS GT-Racing | RBR 19 |
RBR 24 |
HUN 15 |
SIL 19 |
SIL 18 |
CAT 14 |
SPA 19 |
MNZ 24 |
18th | 4 |
Complete GT World Challenge Europe results
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | GRT Grasser Racing Team | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | Silver | LEC 44 |
SPA 6H 50 |
SPA 12H 47 |
SPA 24H 37 |
NÜR |
MNZ |
JED |
12th* | 14* |
* Season still in progress.
External links
- Mateo Llarena career summary at DriverDB.com
- Official website
References
- ^ a b c d "Getting to Know: Mateo Llarena". Lamborghini.com (in German). 23 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ Castillo, Hugo (3 May 2018). "Mateo Llarena es invitado al serial F4 FIA NACAM". www.speed-addiction.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ a b c "Mateo Llarena | Biography". Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Joven promesa guatemalteca llega al CTCC". Puro Motor (in Spanish). 28 March 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Mateo Llarena turns professional at only 16 years of age". PorscheSport | Latest Motorsport News & Interviews.
- ^ Pettit, Vince (3 July 2020). "PREVIEW: 2020 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup - A new champion awaits". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Mateo Llarena makes history and breaks record in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup". PorscheSport | Latest Motorsport News & Interviews. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ a b Oreovicz, John; Service, IMSA Wire (26 February 2021). "Young Drivers Barely Old Enough for Licenses Shake Things Up in IMSA WeatherTech Series' LMP3 Class". Autoweek.
- ^ "Performance Tech Motorsports - Motorsports". Performance Tech Motorsports. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Llarena Signs with Performance Tech for Rolex 24 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Ricky Taylor Scores Another DPi Watkins Glen Pole". SPEED SPORT. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Taylor claims pole for WTR at Watkins Glen". 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Histórico: Guatemalteco de 17 años ganó la pole position de famosa carrera en Nueva York". Guatemala.com. July 2021.
- ^ "Mateo Llarena busca ajustar cuentas pendientes en la Weathertech 240 en Nueva York – Prensa Libre". 30 June 2021.
- ^ "Mateo Llarena finaliza quinto en Watkins Glen, Nueva York". 3 July 2021.
- ^ "Mateo Llarena se confirma como el piloto más joven en ganar una Pole Position en la IMSA – Prensa Libre". 21 July 2021.
- ^ a b Plümer, Jonas (31 December 2021). "Angriff auf den Klassensieg – T3 Motorsport gibt Piloten für 24h Daytona bekannt". gt-place.com (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Lamborghini Young Driver and GT3 Junior Programs 2021 members announced". www.lamborghini.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ Dagys, John (31 December 2021). "Llarena, Perera Among Drivers in T3 Lambo Lineup for Daytona – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Guatemalteco de 19 años fichó por prestigioso equipo italiano de Lamborghini". Guatemala.com (in Spanish). 15 March 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Mateo Llarena looking for confirmations in the Italian GT Endurance 2022 Championship at Vallelunga - automobilsport.com". www.automobilsport.com. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Mateo Llarena buscará repetir podio en Imola, en el cierre del Campeonato Italiano GT 2023". www.guatemala.com (in Spanish). 8 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ Plümer, Jonas (1 March 2024). "GT World Challenge Europe: Grasser Racing Team bestätigt Endurance-Piloten". gt-place.com (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ Coronado, Oscar (1 March 2024). "Un nuevo reto para el piloto guatemalteco Mateo Llarena". Emisoras Unidas (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ Pérez, Max S. (6 September 2022). "Mateo Llarena se muda a España" (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "El piloto Mateo Llarena presenta sus dos récords Guinness en Guatemala". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). 20 July 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ Utrera, Alicia. "Conoce a Mateo Llarena y a los 2 Récords Mundiales Guinness que estableció". República.gt (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2024.