DANIEL FORMAL

Noun

1. A person of high desire to win.

Five words that describe Formal – calculating, precise, hard charging, dominant and champion.

The most common household motorsports names of recent years are Andretti, Unser, Gordon, Montoya and Fittipaldi…Formal is on the road to ensure his name is one day in that list.

BIOGRAFÍA

Name: Daniel Formal
Nickname: Danny or Schumi
Date of birth: December 24, 1995
Place of birth: San José, Costa Rica
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 180 lbs
Residency: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Family: Donald Formal (father), Monica Martinez (mother), Sabrina (sister), Enzo (brother)
Hobbies: Soccer, Fishing, iRacing
Now racing: Lamborghini Super Trofeo con Wayne Taylor Racing
Kart: Birel
Helmet: Arai GP5, Bell GP

THE STORY

From very beginning of his young and illustrious karting career, Floridian driver Daniel Formal has been one of the best up and coming young talents of the 21st century. Proving that with each and every passing event, Formal had a breakout season in 2010 that saw him make a trip to the elusive Rotax World Finals in South Italy to compete for Team USA.

Making this a goal of his since 2007, Formal did not disappoint as he managed to claim a second place result (80 drivers from around the world) in qualifying and went on to score a victory in the heat race flight formats. Having some bad luck at the start of the main event, Formal went back to the tail of the field but came back to claim a solid top five in what can be described as one of the best drives at the 2010 World Finals.

Before he became one of the best in the world, Formal started racing at a very young age in his home country of Costa Rica. Competing in a much older age bracket due to his size, the five-year-old driver started his racing career against eight and nine year olds in the Costa Rican Four-cycle National Championships.

It did not take long for Danny to become a champion. The very next year, 2003, Formal won the Four-cycle National Championship in Costa Rica, the Four-cycle Endurance and Indoor Karting championship and began to race in the United States.

The next three years saw Formal grow and grow and eventually outgrow his karting division. Even though he was bigger than most drivers in his class, the talent rose to the top and Formal would claim countless race wins and multiple championships along the way. Competing in high profile series such as the Florida Winter Tour, Easy Kart Championships and World Karting Association Florida Series, Formal impressed some of the industry’s best with his drive, determination and skill level and in 2005 became the United States Rotax Mini Max National Champion.

2006 was a turning point for Formal and his career. After claiming several of the series championships through the southeastern portion of the United States, Formal was not approved a waiver to move to the next division due to his age. Even though the talent had proven himself and was to big for his current class, series officials would not allow Danny to compete against his older peers in the Rotax ranks.

With no waiver, Danny met Mr. Pablo Montoya, father of Juan Pablo Montoya, who granted the young driver a waiver to compete in the Easy Kart junior categories. Competing with a much faster 100cc kart, Formal won the 2006 Easy Kart Grand Nationals by a twenty-five second margin and was granted an invitation to compete in the Easy Kart World Finals in Jeselo, Italy later that year where he placed an impressive eighth after running at the front of the field.

2007 would once again see the young Formal compete ahead of his age bracket. Moving up to the junior ranks, the Floridian claimed the title in the South Florida Rotax Max Challenge as well as a third place result in the Florida Winter Tour Rotax Junior championship.

A breakout season in the junior ranks would soon follow for Formal as he claimed countless wins and championships in 2008. After claiming the top spot in both the KF3 and Rotax Junior championships at the Florida Winter Tour, Formal went on to claim the Rotax Junior National Championship, Stars of Karting Eastern Division Junior Intercontinental A title as well as a repeat of the South Florida Rotax Max Challenge championship.

2009 would see the youngster dabble in the car ranks in his native land of Costa Rica where he proved to be very fast right out of the box. Running an F2000 machine, Formal claimed the track record in Costa Rica before running in the junior ranks once again at the Florida Winter Tour. Going back-to-back-to-back, Formal claimed another South Florida Rotax Max Challenge title, his third consecutive, but this time in the Rotax Senior class.

Just as he did in 2008, Formal was on a tear in 2010 from the drop of the first green flag. After competing and out running national and world champions during Florida Winter Tour events, Formal claimed a second place result in the overall series title after a mechanical failure in the final event caused him to lose the title. Later that year, the Costa Rican claimed a third place result at the United States Grand Nationals and an invitation to compete for Team USA in the Rotax World Finals where he scored an impressive fifth place result. 2010 also saw Daniel Formal claim the prestigious eKartingNews.com Driver of the Year Award.

In 2011, Formal made the switch from his Advanced Karting Tony Kart chassis to the MRP Motorsport prepared Birel model after the illustrious Florida Winter Tour. Claiming a top five in the FWT points battle in a talent -aden Rotax Senior field, Formal aimed for the top step of the podium at the United States Rotax Grand Nationals. With mixed results at the event in Utah, Formal will now shift his focus to the Pan American Championship finale at New Castle Motorsports Park in his last chance to claim a spot on Team USA.

Between 2012 and 2014 he continues to gain confidence in the Rotax Senior Max National Champion, as well as the Florida Winter Tour.

After being very successful on North American soil, he returned to Costa Rica where as soon as he arrived, he began to dominate the DD2 and Shifter category.

In 2016 he was runner-up in the first season of the CTCC and the following two years he claimed the title, becoming two-time champion in 2017 and 2018.

In 2020 he joins the ANSA team where he has good races, even with really striking prototypes.

At the beginning of 2021 he signs with Wayne Taylor Racing and confirms that he will race the entire Lamborghini Super Trofeo season.

After the second date, he was inducted into the Lamborghini Young Drivers Program.

RESULTS:

2005 – Rotax Mini Max National Champion
2006 – Easykart America Champion
2006 – 8th place – Easykart World Finals, Italy
2008 – Florida Winter Tour Rotax Junior Champion
2008 – Florida Winter Tour KF3 Vice-Champion
2008 – Florida Winter Tour JICA Vice-Champion
2008 – Rotax Junior National Champion
2008 – Stars of Karting Eastern Division JICA
2009 – South Florida Rotax Max Champion

2010 – eKartingNews.com #1 Ranked TaG Driver (August to December)
2010 – Florida Winter Tour Rotax Senior Vice-Champion (14 Years Old)
2010 – Florida Winter Tour Pro-Rotax Vice-Champion
2010 – eKartingNews.com Driver of the Year
2010 – 5th place Rotax Senior – Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, Italy
2011 – Florida Winter Tour Rotax Senior – 3rd place

2012 – Rotax Senior Max National Champion
2012 – Team USA Member
2013 – Florida Winter Tour Rotax Senior Max Vice-Champion
2013 – Florida Winter Tour Vortex TaG Senior Champion
2014 – Sub Campeon Florida Winter Tour DD2 – 3 lugar Pro S1 Mundial – Campeon Skip Barber Mazda Spped

2015 -Sub Campeón FWT DD2
2015 -Campeón de la F1 Gear UP S1 Pro
2015 -Campeón de la F1 Gear Up KZ1
2015 -Campeón Nacional de Costa Rica DD2
2015 -Campeón del Mundo S1 Pro

2016 -Sub Campeón CTCC Costa Rica
2016 -Record de pista parque Viva
2016 -Campeón del Mundo S1 Pro
2016 -Campeón de Costa Rica DD2
2016 -Campeón F1 Gear up S1 y KZ1

2017 -Campeón CTCC, sub campeón
2017 -Campeón de Costa Rica DD2
2017 -Cuarto en la S1 Pro de Las Vegas
2017 -Ganador en tres grandes premios en la DTS de República Dominicana

2017 -CTCC Campeón
2018 -CTCC Bicampeón
2019 -KZ Supernats World Champion