10 Questions With Allen Berg Racing Schools Grad Steven Aghakhani
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Steven is 16 years old and is currently competing in the IMSA-sanctioned Lamborghini Super Trofeo class where he has several pole positions and race wins in 2019. Steven also races in the Blancpain GT3 America series piloting the Mercedes AMG GT3.
Q1. You started karting at age 7. Can you share a few highlights of your karting career?
A. My karting career was shorter than most, I did electric karting for about 2 years, then tags and shifters for half a year and jumped straight into cars when I was 12 years old.
Q2. What was your first professional race, which car/series, how old were you, and how did it go?
A. My first professional race was with the NASA pro-racing series, it was in the 2016 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo, I was 13 years old and it went pretty well, finished podium both days and kept my nose clean.
Q3. What is your fitness and nutrition regimen today? And what do you do to prepare mentally?
A. I always wake up eating two eggs and toast and go to the gym after. To prepare mentally, it’s simple, I’ll sit in the race car 15 minutes before a race fully suited up and just sit picturing those perfect consistent laps and meditate.
Q4. What role does practicing on a simulator play in your development? Learn the car? the track? mental preparation?
A. Practicing on a simulator can give a driver a lot of benefits. Trackdays are hard to come by and pricing can get very high with limited space, so the simulator lets a driver focus on just the car and learning the track step by step since you can go in and out as you please compared to on-track sessions.
Q5. What and where are you racing in 2019?
A. I’m racing in the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo series and the Blancpain GT3 America series piloting the Mercedes AMG GT3.
Q6. Where would you like to be in your racing career 5 years from now?
A. I would love to win the SPA 24 Hrs, Le Mans 24 Hrs and end up in prototypes one day. The teams and the way they work really fascinates me.
Q7. How old were you when you attended your 3-day racing school with Allen Berg Racing Schools?
A. I was 12 years old.
Q8. What did you learn from Allen’s track walk on Day 1 that you continue to use to this day in your racing career?
A. No matter your skill or level of experience, knowing the track and its conditions are CRUCIAL especially since they can change in a few hours and completely decide the race.
Q9. What was your biggest takeaway from the classroom sessions at the school?
A. People come from everywhere to drive and have many different techniques to driving, pick up the ones you can perfect and use them to your advantage.
Q10. What was your biggest takeaway from the on-track instructions and feedback from the professional instructors at ABRS?
A. Everyone running the event was extremely nice, professional, and had their own personality. I would most definitely come back for another 3-day event!
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