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When it comes to navigating traffic, maneuvering through tight quarters and zipping around even the most elaborate courses, Enzo DiGennaro seems to be a maven.
The 11-year-old excels on the racing simulator he has at home, to the point that even his dad has a hard time keeping up.
Well, that’s not all that surprising. Because, quite often, a driver’s license and decades of experience behind the wheel still don’t measure up to a kid’s mastery of pixelated roads.
“He’s a natural,” Chris DiGennaro said of his son. “He started exceeding me when he was about 9. I’ve got more knowledge, but he has the talent.”
And not just in the digital realm.
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Enzo is one of the best competitive go-kart drivers in the country in his age group, the Poughkeepsie native having already won several prestigious races and piled up accolades. (That is, in real life, without the benefit of a "Mario Kart" rocket start.)
During a trip to North Carolina earlier this month, Chris DiGennaro joked that the main reason he wouldn’t allow his son to take the wheel for a stretch of that journey is “because he’s too short to reach the pedals.”
Enzo’s driving skills have taken them a long way, though. He won the Rotax RMC Winter Trophy in January, owning the Mini MAX class, which earned him a spot on the United States team that will compete in December in the Grand Finals in Bahrain.
The fifth-grader also won the SuperKart USA Winter Series, driving a Mini Swift, and qualified to compete in the Italian American Motor Engineering international finals in Spain in October.
“It means a lot,” the Fishkill Plains Elementary School student said. “I was definitely excited because I didn’t expect to come out early in the new year and get a ticket to the finals so soon.”
Well, the success isn’t all that surprising. He also competed in the Rotax Grand Finals last year in Italy. Enzo has won five events this year already, including about a dozen individual races. He took second in the Stars Championship Series two weeks ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“This is all still incredible to us,” Chris DiGennaro said. “I’m extremely proud of him, and he’s exceeded any expectations.”
Enzo got into karting in 2020, his dad said, as it was one of the sports that wasn’t shelved that year during the pandemic. Chris DiGennaro has long been passionate about motorsports, which helped spur the decision.
“You tend to put your kids into the sports that you follow and are knowledgeable about, at least to start out,” he said. “But, in quick time, he started to share my enjoyment of it.”
Enzo now watches vehicle races on television and can offer astute commentary and even valid critiques of strategy.
He also demonstrated a natural aptitude in the kart, taking second in his first ever race. Before long, he began to dominate local events and, within a year of competing on the regional circuit, he began to stand out on the three-quarter-mile courses.
“I thought I was gonna be terrible at racing,” Enzo admitted, “but I started doing well and that gave me more confidence. You can’t get that nervous when you’re on the track because then you’ll fall behind. You have to be pumped up and show ‘em who you really are.”
Enzo races for Parolin Motorsport, an Italian company with a U.S.-based factory team. His proudest achievement thus far, he said, was placing 22nd in the Grand Finals in Sarno, Italy last year as a 10-year-old.
His dad described him as gregarious and a “social butterfly.” One of the incentives for Enzo succeeding, he said, is his son gets a kick out of traveling to big events and befriending kids from other states and countries.
In fact, Enzo said, his newfound love of fishing was picked up from friends he made in competition.
Another significant draw is the time he spends bonding with his father, the two now deeply immersed in the sport.
“You don’t want to try to live vicariously through your child,” Chris DiGennaro said, “but it’s one of the coolest things to share something like this with your kid and see him thrive in it.”
Because of the considerable time and financial commitment required to compete at this level, international racing often draws affluent families and the DiGennaros are an outlier.
“It’s kind of a playground for the rich, and we’re not well-off,” said Chris DeGennaro, who is an electrical worker. “Most of the people involved hire professional mechanics to configure the kart for different tracks. We don’t have that, so I’m his mechanic. It’s a test for us, trying to beat competitors who have more.”
They’ve held their own, to say the least.
Enzo aspires to eventually get into closed-cockpit racing. But that’s well down to the road, so to speak.
Right now, he and his dad are jazzed about those upcoming races on the other side of the world. They’ve never gone as far as Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf about 500 miles from Dubai. Chris DiGennaro said he’s heard the Bahrain International Karting Circuit venue “is second to none.”
“Those experiences are great,” Enzo said. “The food is different, and I like seeing how different the buildings look compared to New York. I’m really excited about it.”
Stephen Haynes: [email protected]; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Enzo DiGennaro qualifies for two international go-kart championships
Continue reading...
The 11-year-old excels on the racing simulator he has at home, to the point that even his dad has a hard time keeping up.
Well, that’s not all that surprising. Because, quite often, a driver’s license and decades of experience behind the wheel still don’t measure up to a kid’s mastery of pixelated roads.
You must be registered for see images attach
“He’s a natural,” Chris DiGennaro said of his son. “He started exceeding me when he was about 9. I’ve got more knowledge, but he has the talent.”
And not just in the digital realm.
Diamond & gold: Maddy Siegrist has "exciting" offseason, leading into third WNBA season
Reign in the snow: Eden Kruger wins third straight junior national skiing championship
Enzo is one of the best competitive go-kart drivers in the country in his age group, the Poughkeepsie native having already won several prestigious races and piled up accolades. (That is, in real life, without the benefit of a "Mario Kart" rocket start.)
During a trip to North Carolina earlier this month, Chris DiGennaro joked that the main reason he wouldn’t allow his son to take the wheel for a stretch of that journey is “because he’s too short to reach the pedals.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Enzo’s driving skills have taken them a long way, though. He won the Rotax RMC Winter Trophy in January, owning the Mini MAX class, which earned him a spot on the United States team that will compete in December in the Grand Finals in Bahrain.
The fifth-grader also won the SuperKart USA Winter Series, driving a Mini Swift, and qualified to compete in the Italian American Motor Engineering international finals in Spain in October.
“It means a lot,” the Fishkill Plains Elementary School student said. “I was definitely excited because I didn’t expect to come out early in the new year and get a ticket to the finals so soon.”
Well, the success isn’t all that surprising. He also competed in the Rotax Grand Finals last year in Italy. Enzo has won five events this year already, including about a dozen individual races. He took second in the Stars Championship Series two weeks ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
You must be registered for see images attach
“This is all still incredible to us,” Chris DiGennaro said. “I’m extremely proud of him, and he’s exceeded any expectations.”
Enzo got into karting in 2020, his dad said, as it was one of the sports that wasn’t shelved that year during the pandemic. Chris DiGennaro has long been passionate about motorsports, which helped spur the decision.
“You tend to put your kids into the sports that you follow and are knowledgeable about, at least to start out,” he said. “But, in quick time, he started to share my enjoyment of it.”
Enzo now watches vehicle races on television and can offer astute commentary and even valid critiques of strategy.
You must be registered for see images attach
He also demonstrated a natural aptitude in the kart, taking second in his first ever race. Before long, he began to dominate local events and, within a year of competing on the regional circuit, he began to stand out on the three-quarter-mile courses.
“I thought I was gonna be terrible at racing,” Enzo admitted, “but I started doing well and that gave me more confidence. You can’t get that nervous when you’re on the track because then you’ll fall behind. You have to be pumped up and show ‘em who you really are.”
Enzo races for Parolin Motorsport, an Italian company with a U.S.-based factory team. His proudest achievement thus far, he said, was placing 22nd in the Grand Finals in Sarno, Italy last year as a 10-year-old.
His dad described him as gregarious and a “social butterfly.” One of the incentives for Enzo succeeding, he said, is his son gets a kick out of traveling to big events and befriending kids from other states and countries.
You must be registered for see images attach
In fact, Enzo said, his newfound love of fishing was picked up from friends he made in competition.
Another significant draw is the time he spends bonding with his father, the two now deeply immersed in the sport.
“You don’t want to try to live vicariously through your child,” Chris DiGennaro said, “but it’s one of the coolest things to share something like this with your kid and see him thrive in it.”
Because of the considerable time and financial commitment required to compete at this level, international racing often draws affluent families and the DiGennaros are an outlier.
You must be registered for see images
“It’s kind of a playground for the rich, and we’re not well-off,” said Chris DeGennaro, who is an electrical worker. “Most of the people involved hire professional mechanics to configure the kart for different tracks. We don’t have that, so I’m his mechanic. It’s a test for us, trying to beat competitors who have more.”
They’ve held their own, to say the least.
Enzo aspires to eventually get into closed-cockpit racing. But that’s well down to the road, so to speak.
Right now, he and his dad are jazzed about those upcoming races on the other side of the world. They’ve never gone as far as Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf about 500 miles from Dubai. Chris DiGennaro said he’s heard the Bahrain International Karting Circuit venue “is second to none.”
“Those experiences are great,” Enzo said. “The food is different, and I like seeing how different the buildings look compared to New York. I’m really excited about it.”
Stephen Haynes: [email protected]; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Enzo DiGennaro qualifies for two international go-kart championships
Continue reading...
