About me
Passion and speed: my world
And so it all begins
Leonardo Missiato was born on 22 February 2017. At the age of 2 and a half, he began to insistently ask (practically every day!) to be allowed to drive a car. To keep him happy, his mum and dad took him to secluded places to let him park the family car a couple of times, but that wasn't enough. Leonardo really wanted to “drive fast”. So they decided to buy a quad bike, also seeing it as a possible outlet for Leo during the Covid lockdowns. And so Leonardo began to go down the private road and race around. On the first day, he immediately started using reverse gear and the fastest engine setting, launching into drifts that provided a bit of distraction for the neighbours 🙂 And so it all began.
First time on the track
Soon, even the quad is too slow, and Leonardo wants to “drive fast”. His father therefore decides to buy a simulator with a professional steering wheel for his old Play Station, modifies it to adapt it structurally to a child less than 80 cm tall, and lets Leo climb on. From that moment on, Leonardo starts playing and after a few months he is competing online, sometimes with adults who tell us in chat rooms that he is doing really well for a 3½-year-old.
And so we come to the age of 5. The insistence is now daily and his father Carlo begins to inquire about how he can try driving: he discovers almost immediately that there is a kart team near his home in Varese that could give him the chance to test one. And so here is the first test: it is decided to let Leonardo try a ‘real’ kart for the first time, a 35 cc CRG. Leonardo is 5 years old and in July 2022 he gets into the kart on the Crevola D'Ossola track (in the video, his first outing, with a bit of “drifting”, as Leo says). The feedback is positive, Leo is not afraid and by the end of the day he has become familiar with the kart. Now he wants to race even more.
The meeting with Sabino De Castro
In November 2022, his father discovered the Karting School Birel ART (35cc kart) courses run by Sabino De Castro, an ACI federal instructor and world endurance champion driver. These were indoor courses in Montano Lucino, and he decided to enrol Leonardo. These courses marked the beginning of a lasting relationship with Sabino De Castro, who would be an important figure in Leonardo's development until 2025. During the indoor courses, Leonardo showed natural talent and a “mature” driving style despite his total lack of experience.
In January 2023, Sabino De Castro, as his instructor, decided to “test” him for the first time with a de-powered 60cc kart at the 7Laghi International Circuit to see if Leonardo could avoid moving up to 50cc. At the end of his first day, his debut in the rain, Leo took the kart to its maximum speed, reaching a peak of 75 km/h, showing no fear and always maintaining control of the vehicle and attention to the track rules. The decision was made: he would move up to the de-powered 60 cc class.
Early successes as a driver
Then, in February 2023, Sabino De Castro decided to enrol him (at the age of 6) in the 2023-24 Racers Group Academy team. Leonardo, as the youngest driver in the 2023 trophy, took part in five races and around ten tests in one year, achieving excellent results. Racers Group and its staff accompanied Leonardo on a fundamental journey of growth, becoming a point of reference for his family for three years.
Since joining the Academy, the highlights of all of Leonardo's experiences have been recorded on his Instagram profile LM22_Official: in the gallery, you can find the main photos and videos of these experiences.
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