Campolindo Student Valentino Garbarino Drives to Racetrack Success
At the Orinda Car Show last month, newly crowned Formula 4 champion Valentino Garbarino signed autographs and chatted with young fans eager to sit in his race car.
The attention is well deserved for this 17-year-old Campolindo High School senior, who had a remarkable debut season in F4 racing. In July, he dominated Laguna Seca, winning both races and breaking the track record. He secured his championship title in September at Sonoma Raceway, earning bonus points for the fastest race lap and setting another track record.
Racing at Laguna Seca held special significance for Garbarino.
“It was the track I played racing games on as a kid, so getting in the car and taking my first practice lap there was surreal,” he
said. Garbarino’s passion for racing is a family affair. He credits his father and grandfather for introducing him to the sport. “My dad and my grandfather would watch the Can-Am races [back in the 1970’s],” said Garbarino. “One day my dad took me to a go-kart track, and I immediately fell in love.”
His dad built him his first go-kart using a lawn mower engine they’d found in a dumpster. By age 11, Garbarino was racing in Dixon. In 2022 he became the IFK Grand National Champion and earned a VMB scholarship, which partners with World Speed Motorsports to develop young talent.
Mark Milazzo, Motorsports Communications Director, explained that Garbarino trains at World Speed headquarters with simulation equipment, a weight room and expert coaching. “We take someone like Garbarino, a go-kart champion, and turn him into a professional race car driver,” said Milazzo.
Garbarino’s ultimate goal is to compete in endurance racing or the IMSA GT series. One path to this is through the Lucas Oil Racing Series, which could lead to opportunities in MX racing, and eventually, the World Endurance Championship.
College-bound, Garbarino also plans to pursue an engineering degree at either Oregon State or Cal Poly, both of which offer SAE Collegiate Design teams that build race vehicles for international competitions.
Since racing commands peak physical and mental fitness, Garbarino works with trainers and a performance coach. He runs, strengthens his neck and focuses on hydration to handle the stress of multi-layered fireproof suits with no ventilation.
“When I line up against 50 of the nation’s best drivers, if I don’t believe I can win, I won’t,” he said. “A lot of it is about trusting that I’ve put in the work and realizing that it doesn’t make sense to worry about things out of my control.”
One of the most valuable lessons Garbarino has learned is from his dad:
“You make your own luck,” he said. “Everyone gets opportunities during a race – it’s what you do with those that make the difference between winning and losing.”
Reflecting on his journey, Garbarino said, “I used to find myself in good racing positions, but I couldn’t turn them into results. When I’d comment on how lucky the other drivers were, my dad would say, ‘You’re getting the same opportunities, you just aren’t capitalizing on them.’ That was the hardest mental challenge I’ve had to overcome.”
In addition to racing, Garbarino enjoys sharing music with his friends and leading the Faith Club at Campolindo. Though he never imagined little kids might look up to him as they did at the car show, he offers aspiring racers this advice.
“Stay humble,” he said. “Treat everyone the same.”