FrancescoCucinotta

Born in Namur on 8 August 1980 to a Sicilian father and a Belgian mother, Francesco Cucinotta spent forty years in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, before settling in São Paulo.

His first seat in a racing car was the right-hand one: a rally co-driver in Congo from 2007 to 2010 — the one who reads the notes and calls the corner the driver cannot yet see.

Sixteen years after his last stage, he moved across to the left. 2026 is his first licence, his first season, his first race: he had never karted. He carries the #80, his birth year, in the Super category of the Copa Hyundai HB20. Eleventh in the championship on 92 points over a full season, a fourth place at Londrina in race 2 of the finale for best result, eighth on the grid at Cascavel for best qualifying.

His helmet carries four flags: his mother’s black, yellow and red; his father’s green, white and red; the starred blue of the Congo; and the green and gold of Brazil, where he races.