A whisper in life, a roar on the track. Brandon Maïsano, the French Karting Champion in the junior category is just like that… “I am too shy, it’s my flaw, I know it,” admits Brandon, a 12-and-a-half-year-old from Vallauris. But his calmness serves him well when he’s racing. Total control and racing intelligence allow him at his young age to outmaneuver his opponents. When behind, he knows how to transcend. When leading, he manages his race. Like a champion.
He was only four years old when he first sat in a kart. While his friends were playing on four-wheeled bikes, Brandon was already relishing driving on the asphalt of a karting track. David Maïsano, the father of the prodigy, recounts how Brandon’s passion was born, most naturally: “I was managing a karting track in Fréjus. It was only natural for my son to try this machine. He loved it.” David loves mechanics, he races as an amateur and competes in a few events. “Brandon has far surpassed my modest track record. Since he started competing, I’ve stopped karting. I get more pleasure from watching him.”
And in managing his career too. Even for youth races, one needs a team, a budget. For playing football, a ball and a pair of cleats are enough, but for karting, it’s far from that simple: “This year, in the junior category, the season cost €30,000. In 2006, he moves up a class to the Junior International category. We need to double our budget. We are currently looking for sponsors to help us.”
A fan of Fernando Alonso, the new Formula One World Champion, whose will to win he admires, Brandon plans to emulate him and compete against older, more seasoned drivers. With the 2005 season just ended, he is already in full preparation for 2006. The LM Karting team and chassis manufacturer MG Kart have fine-tuned a machine that meets the junior championship standards. He is currently testing it, running countless laps on the track to get used to his new machine. “At first, we just wanted 2006 to be a trial season, with no particular ambition. He is still very young for this category and mastering this kart was complicated for Brandon’s small bones and muscles,” David was apprehensive.
But Brandon is an astonishing boy. To the great surprise of those around him, he beats the best lap times by more than a tenth at the Brignoles circuit, where he regularly trains for ten hours a week. Brandon is perplexing. Just like the times he raced at Magny-Cours with Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, and Sébastien Bourdais. “Meeting Schumacher didn’t affect me,” Brandon points out. Certainly shyness, but also a detached, natural demeanor.
Last Sunday, he had his first roll-over, a very spectacular accident in karting. Brandon could have panicked. “When I saw him roll over, I was scared at the moment. But he quickly got up. He took off his helmet and had a radiant smile,” his father describes. That’s Brandon for you. Intimidated, he lets his father recount his accident, saying nothing. Then, he quietly gets up and brings back his damaged helmet to demonstrate the impact’s severity. A kart can reach up to 120 km/h. But nothing frightens him, he knows how to stay calm, like the great drivers.
Grounded but full of ambition, he sees himself at the wheel of an F1. “A Renault like Alonso,” Brandon quickly specifies. He sees himself only as a driver and on the tracks, especially the Monza circuit which he knows by heart but in video games…
On a kart, when the whisper of his soft voice transforms into a thundering roar, everything indicates that one day, Brandon Maïsano will also be a great driver.
Vincent Trinquat
For more information and more photos visit
www.brandon-maisano.com
