In FormulaRapida.net we had the opportunity to interview Franco Keating, a promising young talent coming from Argentina.
Franco Keating Manzotti is a karting driver who was born on December 11th, 2000 in Arrecifes, Argentina. Since childhood, his whole life has been associated with motorsport and with only thirteen is a promising young racing star.
Since competing nationally, Franco has won five championships; three in the category Escuela Campeonato Bonaerense, in Argentina (2006, 2007 and 2008), one in the promotional category Campeonato Rotax in the same country (2009) and another in the promotional category Festival Show Motor Sport (2010), besides having two runner-ups in the category of promotional Campeonato Rotax in Argentina (2008 and 2009) and having participated in the European Champions Cup 2010 in Spain with the Tony Kart team and in the category Prokart 2011.
This 2015, Franco Keating aims to get to travel to Europe and settle in Spain, where he is going to start a new phase in his sporting career, following his dream and make it happen, if not, he will look for an alternative in Italy.
INTERVIEW:
At what age did you start racing and why did you decide to enter to world of motor?
I started competing when I was 6 years old in a category in which all drivers belonged to the Zarate kart school, we all ran with a 4-gear Honda engines of 4,5 HP, these ones were very nice engines that teach you how to drive and many more things, they had a maximum speed of 80 Km / h. This fanaticism was inherited from my parents who were both drivers (my father drove karts and my mother was accompanying of a zonal level), I always lived surrounded by cars and karts so I started liking since childhood, my grandfather also owned a Turismo Carretera (TC), the largest category of Argentina; you can say that “I live inside a car.” At the age of 3 I had my first try in a kart, as I did not reach the pedals my dad accelerated (in his kart) and I was driving, I remember when we had to stop to refuel I was so angry, I never forgot it and my mother always remembers me that.
How do you feel when driving in races? What feelings do you have? Before starting a weekend of competition, do you have a ritual or an object with which you feel more secure or comfortable?
The core sense a driver has when driving is a high-adrenaline, I always liked that feeling, you can not explain in words, you have to live it. The first lap, back on track, preparing a flying lap, the start of the race, this is probably the best; when you’re trying to overtake an opponent in a risky way the last thing that goes through your head is that it is going to go wrong, you do the calculation as how everything is going to be and, right or wrong, it is done, but when leading a race I always take care others will not overtake me and I make a qualifying lap to try to get away. Before going on a session either classification or training and even a race I have no “object”, but I do have that someone, my father who is always by my side before starting, he knocks my helmet to encourage me and we bump hands.
What is your intended path or best path to climb to Formula 1 and other high-level categories?
As I’ve always said, you always plan a proper way but it is never how you expected, you do not know what will happen in the way of this long journey, I now keep in the kart for some years and then I will be more focused on board a car, but I will also continue driving karts because it is my passion and it is great to train reflexes on the car too. The goal of the journey I have is the Formula 1 and I think if all goes well, my dream of jumping on this incredible machine will come true.
You have given your first steps in karting in your own country and with some experience in others, as in the case of Spain and Italy. Would you think it will be a challenge to compete outside your country both in sporting and personal level?
In the sports world it would not mean a difficulty because the times I have competed abroad I had a rapid adaptation to both the track and the kart that have given me, I also like the European tracks more than my country because they are longer, wider, with a very slick asphalt, the kerbs are very well located, there are very good facilities, and certain other factors that a driver or other person practicing this sport will be attracted to significantly. If we talk about the personal side, one does not get used quickly to the customs, the food and the language, even Spanish, people from Spain have different words of those we use in Argentina. I have to admit that the people I met in Spain have surprised me with the way they are, they are very good people and they can rely on many things. One of the things that most concern yourself when moving to another country is school, I think I am going to meet good friends and I am going to have to get used to the schedule and the things they do, it will be certainly an enlightening experience.
Next year, if all goes as planned, you’re going to compete in demanding championships. Are you preparing yourself physically and mentally in a different way to tackle this new challenge?
No doubt the championships will be more demanding than those of Argentina, I have never had a mental preparation, as I see it is not necessary for my personality, I am very calm when driving and I am not getting nervous or tense. That does not mean it is not competitive, I am critical with myself and never give up, there is a saying that I love, “the race is defined when the flag is lowered.” The physical part has a large and important relationship with the state of the person up the kart, if you are quiet, you will tire much less and things will be better, but if you are nervous you are going to tire no matter your phisical status. Also one has to keep a good physical condition to withstand the G-Force, the grip, to handle the steering wheel lap after lap, etc. But I think the main thing is the mental state of the person driving the kart.
Apparently in Argentina have little support for young talent. Tell us what you do to continue your sports career.
Our main goal would be settle in Spain, through the support being searched, by companies that soon will be gathered in the presentation of my project: this will allow me to compete in the 2015 season; if companies continue supporting me in the future, it would be great, if not, we will have to look for other sponsors.
rFVirtual bets for you as the most promising pilot, even included you on posters in track simulator, used by thousands of people, including elite pilots. Tell us how is your relationship with this great support and how they know about you.
We have a very good relationship with David de las Heras, rFVirtual businessman. We have full confidence in him and he has been very supportive so far to the point that it still surprises me the things he does for me as that of the poster, or simply because all the work he is doing with the presentation of my project. We had the first contact with David on a test I was doing in Spain, and it turns out that David was with her daughter and started talking to him, it was all very surprising because in a moment her daughter was able to climb for the first time on a kart; something that he always wanted, and David was very happy. So I do not know why but David went to his car and suddenly pulled out a Ferrari helmet and put it in front of me, gave me a permanent marker and asked me to sign the helmet, then I give him a recorded greeting and rFVirtual photographed some of my practice sessions. We made a great friendship with him and is now a person with whom we are very confident.
Earlier this year you were elected as an official BRM Racing Italy driver to compete in the KF3 (Ciak Italian Championship), but the budget was prefaced by the way. Are you still in talks with the Italian team? If the 2015 season debuts happens, will you try to attend another European championship or will you concentrate only where you are?
Yes, we keep in touch with the BRM Italy factory team and the seat is secured to the category Rok Junior to compete in the RokCup the 2015 season What happens is that we currently have this project in rFVirtual Spanish investment group that is focused to do the whole 2015 season in Spain, if we decide to migrate to an European championship, we would consider the possibility of driving for the BRM factory. Debuting in the 2015 season, we aim to assist the most suitable team to compete in the season as we want and what we hope are good results, I will go to the team I have to go and then we will see what to do.
At a national level you have competed with the same type of chassis (RAD KART), but have also tried the Tony Kart. Will you find any problems competing with other fast chassis or are you of an easy adaptation?
Competing with a different type of chassis is not a problem to me, I can easily adapt to different chassis, tyres, circuits, etc., instead, new things come to me very well. The times I have tried new chassis, everything has gone great and the adaptation is no more than 1 to 2 hours, that means a challenge for me to try new things and take full potential of it.
You have a lot of relations in Spain, important people of the motor world and sponsors, as is the case of rFVirtual. Figures like Adrian Valles and Emilio de Villota have been surprised by your great sporting achievements. Do you think that, if you keep acting just as well as so far, you will intersperse in Adrian or Emilio’s teams?
Everything is possible, even the most unexpected and unimaginable thing. When the Champions Cup finished, Adrian Valles approached us to talk and told us that he was very interested with me joining his team for the 2011 season in the Youngsters. He even gave us his personal contacts and sent us a budget to explore the possibility of driving in the 2011 season, but always the same problem! The money… When we went to the house of Emilio de Villota I was impressed by the office, there were two former F1 cars and lots of pictures with great drivers, including he wanted me to see a very important picture he had as the most precious one, a photo with Juan Manuel Fangio. We accomplish the meeting with him to tell the project that had so far and see if he could contact us with strong Spanish teams, Emilio became interested and now we have an open contact with him for any questions we have. Also when The meeting ended he invited us to see his team in the European Formula 3 in the Jarama racetrack, we were very well attended by the mechanics and they even let me get on one of their cars, what a beauty! They took pictures with me too. The only thing missing was starting the engine…! That might happen the next time.
Like every driver, you have to have some very clear objectives to continue competing. Could you tell us what are your main goals for next year?
The goals I have for next year are to compete with a good team which provide all necessary materials and then win the championship which is what every driver wants, that’s probably what will most help with my racing career and I hope to get those achievements that desire.
Thanks to the team BRM Racing Italy, you’ve got to know the nephew of Bruno Giacomelli (former F1 driver), Erminio Bozzoni. Tell us about your relationship with him and if he has helped you during the short time you have been able to stay in Europe.
Erminio is a great and a very simple person, I have a very good relationship with him, and he has done things that have surprised me. He was always aware of everything and did not miss any details, traveled the circuit biking, watching me, even when running out of fuel he called me to go with him to buy more or when I had to go find someone he was with me in the team truck. He has helped me a lot in the short time I was in Italy, where the race was suspended due to a snowstorm, we had to return to Argentina because we had no more money to stay and passages had a return date on Tuesday after the race. But Erminio did not want us to return to Argentina and as the race was the next weekend, he arranged everything with a person working with him, Ivan Panichelli, who also helped a lot. They fixed the problem we had with the passages because we had to go back on Tuesday two days after the race, they were able to get the tickets for another Tuesday that was what had us worried; then follows that the race suspended again by dense fog and we could not run, but the help they gave us was priceless.
Because of the lack of budget, the 2010 project in Spain was affected, still you surprised Carlos Gil with the results you got in a test. Are you still in contact with the team of Gil (Sport Kart) in order to debut soon?
The contact with Carlos Gil, we have it and is a very serious person with whom we have a good relationship. We will see if we go to his team because they have a very good infrastructure, some top-karts and are very good people, it is a very good team to consider.
You were chosen as advertising image for the championship Rotax Max Karting Challengue in the Republic of Argentina, where national television, online sites and newspapers talked about you. How is your relationship with the national press?
The press here whenever I needed it gave us support for everything, I have been on magazine covers of national kart when I won races in the Argentine championship, when I became the Rotax image my pictures were widespread and took me to meet nationally. One thing I can tell is when they made an invitation to me and 4 other Argentine pilots to participate in a TV show for “Zoom”, a Canal Trece program; we stayed a whole day training; the head of the program was also with us for the afternoon, and at the end of the day we did a race among all drivers, all this came out in a special program called “hotbed of racing.” Another of the experiences I had was when the category Rotax with the government of the province of Buenos Aires invited me to go to the Obelisco in Buenos Aires for the celebration of Children’s Day with 6 drivers from category Rotax, we drove a street circuit that erupted around the Obelisco of Buenos Aires to make a kind of show for all city children who attended the event, that day we had discussions with many national channels that made me notes to talk about the event. When we were leaving, before saving the kart, a person got closer and asked if his son could take a picture of the kart, we took the photo and instantly came another man with the same interest; then a row started, for people to take pictures on my kart and we were about 2 hours, that’s something I’ll never forget. At the regional level these past few days I have had many interviews to publicize the project and inform the people who want to know everything you are doing, it helps me do all that for my project; it can be shared and I am very happy with how things are going.
The press is very delicate for pilots, by the statements that sometimes can reach to do… but it is also a way to make themselves known in a country where you are not known much. How do you plan to use this path to let you know and so, more people can notice you?
It is certainly the question that has taken me time to respond. The press is something that drivers tend to handle with great care, the sponsors too, plus your results, they are interested in your way of being with people, inside and outside the track. It’s something I care very much and I have in mind, if people like and respect you, it is something that will help you get sponsors, if you spend your time doing nonsense, you will not be taken seriously and everyone will think that you do not take things seriously. If you have the love of the people and the press to your advantage, you can accomplish many things, this is because the drivers are so into it. I think the way you are carrying around is the right way and it can open many doors for my future, you have to be open and say yes to all notes or interviews you can because you will help many to see how you are and how you handle in your sporting field and everyday settings.