Ugo Ugochukwu, the 17-year-old Nigerian-American racing prodigy, clinched the 2024 FIA Formula Regional (FR) World Cup title on Sunday at the 71st Macau Grand Prix.
He is the son of Oluchi Onweagba-Orlandi who won The Face of Africa contest as an 18-year-old in 1998 in Lagos and Luca Orlandi, an Italian fashion designer.
Now based in New York City, the Nigerian model grew up in the suburbs of Lagos.
Her young son dominated the race from start to finish, representing R-ace GP, with Olivier Goethe of MP Motorsport and Noel León of KCMG IXO by Pinnacle Motorsport finishing second and third, respectively.
With this victory, Ugochukwu became the first American driver to claim the prestigious Macau Grand Prix title in more than four decades.
Reflecting on his historic achievement, Ugochukwu credited his resilience and confidence as the keys to his success. “I can’t describe the feeling; of course, I’m super happy. It was quite a tricky race. I was pushing the whole way, but I was confident in the pace – ever since Q2, we’ve been really quick,” he said.
“Of course, we won the Quali race as well, but there was still one more thing to do, which was win the main race, and we managed to do it. I can’t thank the R-ace GP team enough. We had a great weekend, and yeah, I’m super happy to finally get the job done.”
Ugo Ugochukwu, a Nigerian-American driver born on April 23, 2007, in New York, USA.
He began his racing journey in 2014 by competing in the Micro ROK Cup USA. He quickly made his mark, winning his first American championship title that year. His exceptional talent and charisma propelled him to claim two more American championships in 2014 and 2015.
In 2016, Ugo expanded his horizons by competing in the European series, securing second place in the Mini ROK Cup and Mini 60 Italian Championship. The year 2017 was a breakthrough, as he won the Mini X30 IAME All-Star Finals and the IAME International X30 Mini Cup, showcasing his prowess on the global stage.
Ugo continued to dominate in 2018, earning the title of Junior ROK-Challenge of the Americas champion and finishing as vice-champion in the Junior ROK – Florida Winter Tour. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he remained focused and was signed by Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren F1 Racing Team, as the first member of the McLaren Junior driver program. That year, he secured second place in the OK Junior Champions of the Future Championship and won the OK Junior FIA European Championship.
Before transitioning to single-seater racing in 2022 with Carlin Racing in the British F4 Championship, Ugo concluded his karting career on a high note by finishing second in the OK Senior WSK Euro Series in 2021. His journey reflects relentless determination and a bright future in motorsport.
Vanguard
