Maria Germano Neto

«All this to be three tenths off…», this is how our conversation starts. Obviously, for many who understand nothing about the world of kart racing, would understand nothing or almost nothing until they see it on wheels and on the track. We invited Maria Germano Neto for an experience with the Villas&Golfe team, at the            Braga International Karting Track, where she has often trained. We can say that the challenge was a great success. It certainly won us over. And she won, against us, just as she has already won several national and international stages (Portugal, Spain and Italy). Maria, now 10 years old, is living proof that you’re never too young to have exceptional talent. She is the youngest national kart racing driver ever. She enjoys working in a team. And she can see herself, in the years to come, on the international tracks. And, on this short lap, we asked Maria to evaluate our attempt, on the track... «For the first go, it looked good to me», she confesses, adding that «you can never be afraid», because that is the secret. 

Maria Germano Neto is the youngest national kart racing driver.

Maria Germano Neto was only five years old when she found herself sitting, for the very first time, in a go-kart. It was September 2016. She was accompanying her father Germano Neto, a lawyer by profession, and her number one fan, on a visit to the karting track in Fafe, in northern Portugal, when she was given the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of a four-wheeled toy kart. She did eight laps of the track. She gained such a taste for the sport that she would never give up go-karts again. Three weeks later, more or less, she went to take part in a race in Leiria. This was Maria’s first debut. Then, she made the final of the Portuguese Karting Cup, in 2016, and she won it (she was the second girl to win a Portuguese Cup, and the youngest ever). «In one of the races, the rain was really pouring, Maria was there, for the first time, and she was seven seconds ahead, per lap, of all the participants», says her father. 
The following year, Maria moved up a category, leaving the beginner’s one, becoming even more motivated and ending up sitting in a more outstanding kart. It was a very difficult year, because there were kids much older than her, between 7 and 10 years old, and she was the smallest – she was 6 years old. She needed to adjust. Maria was invited to race in Spain for the Praga Racing Team, and she raced in the IAME World Finals, in Le Mans. In Spain, in the very first race, Maria impressed the most vigilant of eyes. It was then that Maria was invited to join Fernando Alonso’s team, at FA Racing Spain. In Spain, she earn a place on the podium, in 2017, - taking top spot -, thus becoming the youngest girl ever to win a race in that category, at the age of 7. In Spain she landed three podia in a row (three races: one in third, one in first and one in second place). 

Maria was the second girl to win a Portuguese Cup, and the youngest ever.

Maria broke several records on the track, sometimes training over a weekend before the race, but on the day, she surprised everyone with her strength and cunning. 
It has been five years now, since this adventure began, and we are sure that it is here to stay, because Maria lives this sport keenly and has a father, a family, a team, and many fans by her side, who help her continue this girlhood dream. She will go far. Very far. She is a fighter and a winner. Not only on the podium, but in life too. Maria often travels alone, due to her father’s profession, who is not always able to accompany her, but who, even though he may be far away, rejoices in his daughter’s success and is so proud of the «‘woman’ she has become». Maria is always accompanied by members of the team. We know the mechanic Jorge Barbosa, better known as «Jorginho», who has accompanied her for several years and witnessed several conquests of this little world champion. And he too is proud of little Maria. «We won, in 2019, the Bombarral Open and we were National Champions», Jorge recalls, while also recalling that «normally, to ensure that she didn’t lose her momentum, we would train on other tracks, such as in Braga and in Viana do Castelo. Her success comes from that, from hard work. It is truly gratifying to watch on at a girl like this and see her as she grows».

In Spain, she earned a place on the podium in 2017, becoming the youngest girl ever to win a race. 

And how will this force of nature behave on the track, you ask? «When I get in the go-kart: I start it, I accelerate, I brake and I turn», this is how Maria defines her driving style. «And when there’s a little drifting, all I have to do is straighten up the steering wheel», she concludes. Sounds easy. But it isn’t. Our experience on the track has shown us that it’s not that easy. You need a lot of agility and confidence. And this she has. Even on rainy days, when the track is wet, she ventures out. With her hair flying behind her, she goes reaches speeds of more than 100 km. Fear is not a word in her dictionary. And neither are nerves. She focuses on the goal: to win. And everything follows through. 
In the beginning it was for fun, today Maria faces her challenges out of her passion for driving go-karts. She doesn’t practice every day because she has to juggle school with her activity, but whenever possible, she spends much of her time working on this vocation and strives to conquer new worlds. 
Maria is very attentive. She listens to the whole team, from the staff to the mechanics and everyone who accompanies her. When she is outside Portugal, she always has someone to translate the different languages and over the years she has been able to pick up some words. She spent a lot of time in Spain, where she became champion. She is currently in the DR Racing Kart team, in Italy, which invited her for a training session, then a race, and where she has since stayed. She is now part of the team. The demands are greater, but she is prepared. Now she is in a team that gives her a shot of future adventures (in DR she has Formula 4 and Formula 3).

On May 09, 2021, Maria won another title: the P1 Pre-final and the P1 Final, in Italy

This girl’s entire dream is only possible with the unconditional support of her father: «I should have taken her to the ballet, by back then I already had three Aston Martin», (laughs) confesses this proud father.  «The investment in this sport is high, and, at the start, it was even higher, because the conditions has now become more special for Maria and, with the help from sponsors, this dream is able to continue. There are some who spend up to 300 thousand Euros per season; adding these sums up, over a number of years, until they become professionals, it is a huge investment». And an investment of one million Euros is not within everyone’s reach, which is why all the support Maria receives, from those who believe in her success, is well-received and will certainly have its return. It is not by chance that she is a child prodigy. Most of the children that accompany Maria in this world of karting come from Russian, Arab or Chinese families, families with economic power. The size of Maria’s reality is different, and for this reason, it is even more motivating. Maria is fully integrated into the DR Racing Kart team, and has already won, last May 09, another title: the P1 Pre-final and the P1 Final, in Italy. Maria is being prepared for the bright future that awaits her and is at the centre of the kart racing world, in Italy.
She has already crashed, flipped and been taken to hospital, but she soon got back up and returned to the track. She has cried, she has smiled and she has won a place in our hearts. This is the smallest force of nature, and her name is Maria.