Mario Gil

At 19 years of age, Mario Gil is developing into a skilled, young racer in North America. His passion and love for racing did not just start at the age of 5 when he was first introduced to karting, it actually began as early as he could walk and talk. He has been surrounded by cars and racing his whole life.

The first and only toys Mario would play with as young as the age of 1 were large die-cast model cars and Hot Wheels. Instead of watching shows that most other children his age watched, at the young age of 2, Mario was already watching the early Fast and Furious movies and he enjoyed the Hot Wheels Acceleracers animated series. As he watched these movies, he would grab a few of the exact same cars he was watching on screen and then reenact the scenes on the couch or countertops. Young Mario’s first words were the names of cars and by the age of 4, Mario could name most car makes and models simply by looking at their wheels or trunks. Everyone who met him thought it was quite amazing to see someone so small be so focused on one thing; cars.

At the age of 5, Mario was faced with a diagnosis of a rare form of Cancer called, LCH (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis). The disease caused him to have multiple bone lesions and serious base of skull involvement. During the course of the disease, his pituitary was damaged leaving him with another rare and lifelong condition called, Diabetes Insipidus. It took 2 years for the doctor’s at Children’s Hospital to control the LCH, but there is no cure for the Diabetes. While going through chemotherapy and undergoing many surgeries and scans, Mario’s enjoyment of cars and racing are what kept him upbeat and happy. Mario has had to face many challenges in his life so far, but he has pushed through them and he does not want to waste any more time. He wants to race and show everyone what he can do!

Mario started with Italian Motors at the age of 7, racing in a cadet kart with a 100cc, two-stroke engine. He has continued to progress through the karting ranks and will be racing in both the tag senior and shifter race classes as a part of the Catalyst Driver Development team. Mario is planning to move up into race cars by participating in the FEED Racing School F4 Shootout in Magny Cours, France in August 2023. He will also be taking part in test days at Area 27 and Mission Raceway leading up to the shootout.

Mario has participated in numerous high level karting events in recent years and has showed great speed. Participating in his first SKUSA karting event at Supernats in the Pro Shifter class, qualifying for the final in the 80 kart field was a great accomplishment, as he showed consistently fast pace through the heat races. Mario also competed in the SKUSA Pro Tour Winternationals in Pro Shifter where he finished in the top 10. Working with Catalyst Driver Development, Mario has shown great progress on and off track, and is excited for his opportunity to move into cars at the FEED Racing F4 Shootout.

Racing is a passion and an outlet for Mario. It is an integral part of his life and who he wants to become. It is the focus of most of his waking hours. This young man was born to race and is very excited about what the future holds for him and his racing career.