Just turned 17, high school senior Derek Dimandja is already a 5-time regional karting champion, including both All Star Karting 2025 Spring and Fall Super Series Championship. He has his sights set on Formula One, Indycar, or even Le Mans!
But there’s more to this competitive spirit than just speed. Derek balances his time on the track with a passion for computer science, math, and technology, aiming to pursue Mechanical Engineering in college. Get ready to learn more about the rising star who’s fueled by both adrenaline and academics with these 5 fast facts!
He caught the racing bug at an early age!
I got into karting at the age of 8, after going to an indoor karting center in California ( K1 Speed) and it was just for fun. The thrill of being in a kart and the speed is something that I couldn’t have ever imagined, and all I wanted was more. However, I realized that racing was something that I wanted to pursue when I signed up to race in the local championship and going against other people fueled my competitive spirit even more. I also got lucky to work with 2 great racing coaches over the years and I learned a lot on how to get even better at Karting through them.
His biggest confidence boost didn’t come from a championship win — it came from something way more hard-earned.
There have been a lot of special moments but my most unforgettable racing moment so far wasn’t actually winning the championships. It was something else that happened recently.
Last year when I moved up classes from the Junior class to the more popular and competitive Senior class, I went from winning every single race in Junior to fighting hard for a podium finish in Senior. The positive thing was that as a Rookie, I was already running at the front regularly in the Senior class. Race after race I kept trying to win, but I could never step on the top of the podium.
At one point, I finished 4 times in a row in 2nd place. However, a few months ago, I finally got my first win in the more competitive class. It helped me realize that I finally got to where I was meant to be, and the boost of confidence that it gave me is indescribable.
His pre-race routine isn’t what you’d expect from a 5x champion.
My pre-race ritual isn’t very complex, but it can be surprising to others. I usually listen to music to calm myself down, or to get my brain up and running. Sometimes, I also do some school work to keep myself sharp and to not get distracted.
Away from the track, he geeks out over something most racers never touch.
People are often surprised to learn that I really enjoy physics and engineering concepts outside of racing. Most drivers usually only focus on the sport, but I feel like learning things like computers and mechanical systems help me learn about things I am interested in and to me, it’s extremely fun to work with technology. I also like to play Basketball and Football.
His biggest dream in motorsports comes with advice every ambitious teen needs to hear.
My ultimate dream in motorsports is to either become an engineer or race in series like Formula One, Indycar or in the World Endurance Championship where three or four drivers race as a team for six, 12 or 24 hours. It would be cool to race at the 24 hours of LeMans for example.
Some advice that I would give is to not stop when things eventually get hard. Progress sometimes isn’t seen right away, but that doesn’t mean that it is not happening. Every setback is proof that you are still trying. If you keep pushing through, the results will eventually come.
Follow Derek:
https://www.instagram.com/derekd16racing?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==