Mateo Llarena

Mateo Llarena
NationalityGuatemala Guatemalan
Italy Italian
Born (2004-02-26) 26 February 2004 (age 20)
IMSA Sportscar Championship career
Debut season2021
Current teamNTE Sport SSR
Racing licence FIA Silver
Car number42
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 2 0 0 0 0 6 22nd
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.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Getting to Know: Mateo Llarena". Lamborghini.com (in German). 23 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c "Mateo Llarena | Biography". Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Joven promesa guatemalteca llega al CTCC". Puro Motor (in Spanish). 28 March 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Mateo Llarena turns professional at only 16 years of age". PorscheSport | Latest Motorsport News & Interviews.
  6. ^ Pettit, Vince (3 July 2020). "PREVIEW: 2020 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup - A new champion awaits". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Mateo Llarena makes history and breaks record in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup". PorscheSport | Latest Motorsport News & Interviews. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Performance Tech Motorsports - Motorsports". Performance Tech Motorsports. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Llarena Signs with Performance Tech for Rolex 24 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Ricky Taylor Scores Another DPi Watkins Glen Pole". SPEED SPORT. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Taylor claims pole for WTR at Watkins Glen". 2 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Histórico: Guatemalteco de 17 años ganó la pole position de famosa carrera en Nueva York". Guatemala.com. July 2021.
  14. ^ "Mateo Llarena busca ajustar cuentas pendientes en la Weathertech 240 en Nueva York – Prensa Libre". 30 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Mateo Llarena finaliza quinto en Watkins Glen, Nueva York". 3 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Mateo Llarena se confirma como el piloto más joven en ganar una Pole Position en la IMSA – Prensa Libre". 21 July 2021.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "Lamborghini Young Driver and GT3 Junior Programs 2021 members announced". www.lamborghini.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  19. ^ Dagys, John (31 December 2021). "Llarena, Perera Among Drivers in T3 Lambo Lineup for Daytona – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Guatemalteco de 19 años fichó por prestigioso equipo italiano de Lamborghini". Guatemala.com (in Spanish). 15 March 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Mateo Llarena looking for confirmations in the Italian GT Endurance 2022 Championship at Vallelunga - automobilsport.com". www.automobilsport.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Coronado, Oscar (1 March 2024). "Un nuevo reto para el piloto guatemalteco Mateo Llarena". Emisoras Unidas (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  25. ^ Pérez, Max S. (6 September 2022). "Mateo Llarena se muda a España" (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  26. ^ "El piloto Mateo Llarena presenta sus dos récords Guinness en Guatemala". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). 20 July 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  27. ^ Utrera, Alicia. "Conoce a Mateo Llarena y a los 2 Récords Mundiales Guinness que estableció". República.gt (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2024.