Lucas Kohl – Off the Track

Lucas Kohl’s life is pretty busy. Between testing, driving simulator time, learning new tracks, and, of course, the actual race weekend, the driver of the No. 34 Bellko car for John Cummiskey Racing has a lot to do.

Add in the fact that Kohl is racing in the United States for the first time, and it’s a lot for the 18-year-old to balance, and takes a lot of maturity to handle.

At the track, Team Cooper Tire USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda driver carries himself in a way that belies his age, but when there is downtime, he’s just another teenager looking to have fun and enjoy his summer.

Kohl spends his off time in Miami, but he is far from bored!

“I work out usually early in the morning and late in the afternoon, and besides that I go to the beach or the pool,” he said. “I also love to play video games, as well as watch movies.”

Kohl especially enjoys watching the old races and lists F1 great Michael Schumacher as one of his racing heroes, but the driver he admires is friend, coach and mentor Roberto Moreno. Moreno, a fellow Brazilian, raced for close to three decades, competing in, among other things, 77 Formula 1 Grands Prix and 120 races in US open wheel series, winning two races and competing in the Indianapolis 500 three times.

“I definitely look up to Roberto,” he said. “On the track he was a great driver, and off the track he’s a great person, so I just listen to everything he says and try to be as successful as he is.”

Kohl returned to Miami after running two races at historic Road America June 25, finishing 10th and 13th, respectively, in Rounds 8-9 of the Team Cooper Tire USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda races, and last weekend spent his first Independence Day holiday in the United States.

“It was really cool to see all of the fireworks and to learn the story behind the holiday,” he said. “It was a lot of fun spending the July 4th weekend hanging out with my friends.”

That doesn’t mean that away from the track is all fun and games. Kohl works out twice a day, combining mixed martial arts with spinning, boxing, rowing, running and weight training. He also does drills that help with his concentration and reflexes.

He also stays sharp behind the wheel by getting out and karting as much as he can. Kohl began his racing career in karts almost a decade ago, and was racing them as recently as last year, where he posted a win and three podiums in a Brazilian karting series.

“My goal is to move up the Mazda Road to Indy ladder and ultimately drive in the Verizon IndyCar series,” Kohl said. “Even when it is not a race weekend, I’m committed to doing what I can to move closer to that goal every day.”

Kohl will be back in the No. 34 Bellko car next Friday, July 15, when the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda returns to action as part of the Honda Indy Toronto weekend.