Marlon Stockinger: From racing karts in Cavite
to winning in Monaco
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Driven: Mario Stockinger quit school to pursue racing fulltime.
“So I told my parents, ‘I know it’s a risk but give me a chance to really commit myself to it.’”
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Before you easily dismiss him as just another good-looking
half-Filipino celebrity, know that he is the first Filipino to be taken in as a
junior driver for a Formula One team. After winning the GP3 series of 2012 in Monaco, he is
now one step away from being the first-ever Filipino racing driver in the
prestigious F1. Here are 10 things you should know about Marlon Stockinger.
1. Marlon grew up on
the streets of Malate playing patintero and tumbang preso.
He was born and raised in Malate, Manila,
finished high school in the British International School,
then moved to Europe when he was around 16
years old. “We lived in an apartment building on Syquia. We usually just ran up
and down the stairs then played out on the streets. We’d come home really dirty
and my mom would be so angry,” Marlon fondly recalls. He also spent a lot of
time with his grandparents on his mother’s side in La Huerta, Parañaque. “In
the beginning we really didn’t have much. It’d be me, my sister, my tito all in
one bed. It’s not like we had separate rooms. We didn’t have hot running water,
we’d have to heat water up first before taking a shower. It was really simple.
I had so much fun growing up and being in that environment taught me a lot.”
He currently lives in Switzerland,
but divides his time between the Czech
Republic where his team is based, and London where F1 is based.
Plus, he comes home to Manila
around 10 times a year.
2. He placed sixth in
the first karting race he joined when he was 10 years old, and remembers
proudly placing his glass trophy on top of their TV set at home.
“I was nine years old. My father had started racing in
go-karts and I honestly didn’t know anything about the sport. I went, he just
put me in a really small go-kart that I didn’t even own. I didn’t even do one
lap, it was straight lang, I didn’t even do any corners. I stopped, I looked at
him and I said, ‘I wanna race.’ That was it,” Marlon recalls. “It just has this
stereotype that it’s elitist, it’s unpopular, because people can’t relate, but
I truly believe it’s more popular and has more of a following than what most
people think.
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“I came home with my first trophy, I was happy,” he recalls
of his first Philippine Karting Championship experience. Every day, I looked at
it and I was like, ‘Yeah, I got that!’ It wasn’t like a win or anything, but it
just felt really cool that you could take these home after a race.” Marlon says
he enjoyed karting not just because it was a hobby he shared with his dad, but
also because it’s where he got a taste of “independence.” “To be out there on
your own in your little go-kart, you just get to do your own thing. No one is
telling you that you can’t do that, you can’t go this fast.”
3. On his first car:
“It was not very impressive, I didn’t like her a lot.”
“It was a 1.2-liter Polo Volkswagen, parang mukhang paa ni
Voltes V. It was incredibly small. I got it when I moved to England,” he
shares. His first passenger? His dad. That was the start of his living alone
and abroad. “It was quite a scary experience being out there and trying to
learn everything. I’m really thankful, I learned things beyond my own, and it
gave me a lot of responsibility.”
He was juggling college at CATS Cambridge with his racing career when he
decided to quit stop school. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t handle both because it
was like falling between two stools. Neither of them were doing really well. I
was always away from the racing, and when I would come back I was always behind
in school. So I told my parents, ‘I know it’s a risk but give me a chance to
really commit myself to it,’” he reveals. He admits being somewhat jealous of
his sister Audrey who is currently taking up law, saying, “She’s on campus, she
has friends, she’s out every night!”
4. Marlon Stockinger
in numbers:
11: Age when he won his first championship at the Cadet
Class Philippine Shell Super Karting Series.
350: Measurement in kilometers per hour of the fastest speed
he’s ever driven.
11,000: Number in kilometers of the farthest distance he’s
driven in one day. “From Switzerland
to the South of France.
It was tough, I was with a friend so we shared the drive. We played music and
games, and I like eating small chocolates to keep the energy up.”
0: Cash prizes from all the tournaments he’s won. “Its the
respect, the name, and the prestige. And hopefully with that you get
endorsements and sponsors. The drivers of F1, their salaries can be anywhere
from 250,000 euros to 25 million euros a year.”
30: Approximate number of people on his team, the Lotus F1
Junior Team. “On my car, there are two mechanics, the engineer, two data
engineers, then another set for the other car. Then our team manager, physical
trainer, press officer, and others.”
5. On his biggest
flaw: “I’m a really bad loser.”
“I’ve lost a lot, definitely. Obviously, in the media,
people only see your highs. If I didn’t go through that process of losing and
accepting that people on their day can be better than you, I don’t think I’d be
able to win also,” he shares. “I think it’s important that you not only learn
how to win but learn how to lose at the same time.”
On what he’s like the day after a loss: “It’s terrible!
Sometimes I have to watch myself, honestly. Every time I have a really bad
race, I can’t talk to anyone. I sometimes carry it even until the next race,
which is two weeks after. I hate it. I think everyone hates losing, but I’m
quite tough on myself.” He says that he usually gets out of a rut by cycling or
running. “Just doing physical activity takes your mind away from it. I think in
anything, it’s one of the best ways to feel good about yourself.”
6. His life has
flashed before his eyes twice: once during an accident, and the other time
during a big win.
“It actually happened in my high, when I won in Monaco. I
remember the start. I mean, it was Monaco and I was starting in pole
position, it’s such a historic event. For whatever reason, when I lined up on
the grid with all the lights illuminated, I suddenly felt all the pressure that
was on me. I swear to God, I was so nervous, my left foot was shaking on the
brake. I was waiting for the lights to go out and I almost stalled it,” he
recalls. “After the race, when I won, I thought to myself, ‘Sh*t, Marlon, if
you messed up that start, you would’ve missed your biggest opportunity.’ And my
life just flashed before my eyes. Imagining one day from being in Carmona, Cavite, just racing karts, to winning on the streets of Monaco. I mean,
it’s just been this incredible journey.”
And the other time? “Also, when I had my big accident in Barcelona. I was driving
then suddenly saw a car that stopped. I hit the car in third place and I was at
260 kilometers per hour. The whole car just blew up. I was closing my eyes, and
I thought I could keep going because I didn’t feel anything. But then I felt
liquid spraying on my face, so I jumped out of the car.”
Marlon shares that as racing drivers, they experience
G-forces of four to five, which is around five times your body weight at one
point. Would he ever go skydiving? “Oh, never. No way. I’d pee my pants,
honestly. Just because I’m a control freak. If I died because of someone else’s
mistake, then that’s my fault for trusting him,” he says, laughing.
7. On romancing cars
and girls: “I don’t understand how a guy could ever like a car more than a
girl.”
“Not always, no,” he says when asked if his girlfriends
understand the kind of career he has. “Because you’re always traveling, and you
have to devote yourself a lot more than people think,” he says of racing. When
asked if he’s in a relationship right now, he says: “Technically, no.”
“The only relationship I have right now is with my car,”
Marlon reveals. “I have yet to name her. There was Serious Sally, she looked
quite serious and her colors weren’t so vibrant. She has to have some
character. My car now is black and gold... maybe she’s Black Beauty.”
8. He’s been caught
by the MMDA on EDSA.
Marlon says he hardly drives himself when in Manila. “Just because I’m
always driving by myself. So when I’m here I just like to chill out and drive
the least I can,” he explains.
On his driving speed: “I drive normal, simply because racing
gives you a perspective. I’ve had many accidents and I understand how much I’d
be putting myself at risk, and also other people on the road. At the end of the
day it’s not just your life, and to risk harming someone else, it’s not worth
the risk of going fast on the road.”
On driving violations: “I came from an event and was just
coming out on EDSA. Driving out, I forgot to put on my seatbelt, not because I
didn’t want to but because we had just come out. My car wasn’t tinted and
literally as we got out of the hotel they stopped us. They were writing a
ticket, and I said, ‘Oh, what did I do?’ ‘Sir, no seatbelt.’ And my tito was
like, ‘Don’t you know who he is?’ Because he didn’t want the ticket, he was
like, ‘Marlon, this is stupid. Don’t you know him?’ ‘No, sorry,” they said.
‘Haven’t you seen those Tattoo advertisements? That’s him!’ They said, ‘Oo
nga,’ and they crumpled up the ticket and said to go on. I was lucky.”
On Manila traffic: “I’m
used to it, I grew up here. If you’re gonna stress yourself you’re just going
to make it worse. You can’t do anything about it so might as well just sit
there and tweet or go on Facebook.”
9. He loves cooking.
His best dish: “Honey-glazed salmon with sesame seeds and parmesan risotto.”
“I live alone,” he shares, “so as much as I can, I cook for
myself and learn new dishes. I like quite a lot of Jamie Oliver’s 30-minute
dishes. It’s nice also after a race, just to be at home in the quiet. I don’t
feel like going out and I just cook myself a meal.”
He’s also into sport fitness (“The triathlon type of
training, not necessarily to compete, but just doing the long distances for
cardio”) and he loves traveling (“Nice thing is that because of racing, I can
do it on my own. I enjoy being out there, seeing new places and experiencing
it”).
10. He has very
specific routines before going into a race, one of which is going to Baclaran Church to pray.
“I always have a certain ritual. I have to sleep a certain
number of hours, wake up a certain way. I have to shave, I don’t know why,
maybe because you never know when you’re gonna be on the podium so you you
gotta look good. I always organize my suit, when I’m gonna warm up, when I’m
gonna talk to the engineers,” Marlon explains. “Professional athletes, whether
they know it or not, they’re actually superstitious. We hang on to things that
we think will bring us good luck. I think you need that because mentally, it’s
so easy to be negative.
“My mom always says, ‘You need to pray.’ I don’t go to
church every Sunday but I’d like to think I have my own special relationship
with God,” he says. Marlon reveals that it has been his habit to go to Baclaran
before he leaves, and that every time he goes there, either they get a good
race or secure more sponsors. “It has this vibe, this aura. You go through all the
sari-sari stores and stalls before you get there, suddenly you’re at this
church. It’s really nice and simple, you can just go there and have your
thoughts to yourself. It’s always been good luck.”
* * *
Marlon reveals he’s doubted himself many times. He was always guessing
when his big win would come, if it was ever going to happen, why it was taking
so long. “These people from Europe, America,
South America, they’re all too good. But then
you realize when you win the race, hey, they’re no more special, they’re just
from a different country. At the end of the day they’re normal people too.
That’s when it sank in that this is possible,” the 21-year-old says of his F1
dream. “With more success comes greater ambition. You just believe in yourself
more. It was just a dream, but now it’s becoming reality.”
