My name is Yago Cesario. I am 17 and my dream is to be a professional racing driver in the IndyCar Series.

I had my first contact with a racecar when my father took me to the raceway on a Sunday and I drove my friend’s kart. The same day, I asked him if I could race. I was very excited when he answered yes, because he already raced karts.

I started racing karts in 2005 when I was 8 years old, and in my first year racing I won some races and finished second in a regional championship. The following year I won some regional championships and finished a national championship in fifth place. In 2007, I won my first national championship and after that I was always fighting for national championship titles in my home country of Brazil.

In 2011 I heard about Skip Barber and their program with Mazda Motorsports and The Road to Indy, so I decided to take part in the karting shootout in 2012. Two weeks before the karting shootout, I went to Sebring to do the three-day Skip Barber racing school and after that I went to the karting shootout at VIRginia International Raceway. I won the shootout, although it was very difficult – the difference between the second-place finisher and me was only 0.25 points.

After winning the karting shootout, I chose racing in the Skip Barber Summer Series that started in April at VIR. I won the first race and finished third in Race 2. I was second in the championship after that weekend, two points behind the leader because of a mistake I made. That taught me how important it is to not make mistakes! The next race weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana, I won both races to take the championship lead.

In the four races since, I have lost only one race – the second at Palm Beach International Raceway where I had contact fighting for the lead. Winning both races at Carolina Motorsports Park has left me in good standing in the championship halfway through the season.

I am doing my best to have the best results and I expect that I am representing Mazda and The MAZDASPEED 7 well so far.