Paddock magazine catches up with Michael Dorrbecker, a racing driver we’ll definitely hear about again.
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Date of birth: 09/01/1993
Place of birth: Gifhorn, Germany
Highlights:
-2005/2006 National Mexican Champion.
-2007 Latin-American Champion
-2008/2009 Skip Barber Southern Series Champion
-2010 3 races is Skip Barber National series with two podiums and 3 races in Italian Formula Renault
-2011 Italian Formula Renault 2nd rookie 6th overall
-2012 four races in Formula Renault ALPS and test in Indy Lights
-2013 three races in Formula Abarth Italia with one podium/ 3 races in PanamGP Series with 2 podiums
What was your very first experience of motorsports racing?
Local races in the Cuernavaca kart track were I entered a race and ended up in second place. From that point, when I was 8 years old, I knew I wanted to be a racing driver.
How did you finance your early years?
In my early years, my parents financed my racing, but at one point I was actually a paid kart driver. Moving up to formulas I have raced with mostly family money and small sponsors which have affected my ability to compete because of lack of budget.
One of the biggest challenges for every driver is to attract sponsorship. What is your recipe for success?
I try to let people know what a down to earth honest person I am and with my talent and dedication I will get things done not only for me but also for the people who believe in me. Of course, it’s also very useful to have solid videos, webpages, social channels, etc.
How do you deal with the competition on the track?
It’s important to be confident about how good you are, but you should still never give room for failure and do your job right. Eat right, be fit, walk the track, make sure everything with your team and car is perfect, work with your engineers. That will give you the winning formula.
What are your career highlights?
My first podium in Europe in 2011 in Austria, with a Latin-American Team. Also, my race win in VIR of the Skip Barber National series, having to fight against the two Mazda factory drivers after I wasn’t chosen to be one.