Brophy Racing Club is hosting the first-ever 10-week Grand Prix circuit for Brophy students. They host these weekly events at Octane Raceway at discounted rates and keep points and rankings for each racer.
Kamdin Missaghi ’30 and Parker Rivera ’30, both avid racing enthusiasts, founded the club at the start of this year. “I figured, what if other Brophy Broncos wanted to race as well? So that’s how it started,” said Rivera
Karting usually has high barriers to entry because of its cost. “Karting and racing are incredibly expensive,” club moderator Mr. Jonathan Londono said. “The gear is expensive, the karts are expensive, and then even the tires. Imagine having to buy four new sets of tires for your cars after every three drives.”
Rivera and Missaghi found a way around these prices for Brophy students. After negotiations, Octane Raceway discounts Grand Prix events to $20 per event instead of the usual $70 – based on the per-race price.
The club held a practice night Oct. 5 so members could become familiar with how these nights work. No points were awarded. Mr. Londono said the turnout beat what he expected.
“I was hopeful we would get a good number, and it delivered,” Mr. Londono said. “The students showed strong interest.”
Now the club will continue with monthly Grand Prix races where members are scored based on placement. These scores will be kept track of, leading eventually to a Brophy go-kart champion.
Rivera, Missaghi, and their moderator, Mr. Jonathan Londono, have visions for the club to expand further than just go-karting and get into simulator racing. “If we’re lucky, we can get the simulator fully built and up and running by the end of the school year,” Missaghi said.
Apart from just the simulator, Rivera, Missaghi, and Mr. Londono want to do as much as they can with the club over their next four years.
“We want to be able to grow the passion for motor racing on campus and, as far as we can, grow motor racing at the high school level in whichever way makes sense,” Mr. Londono said. “And I think what we have with the Brophy Karting Series is a great start.”
