THE ABRS TEAM

LU BERGANDI
Operations Manager

Born in Argentina, the son of motorsports illustrator and journalist Hector L. Bergandi, you could say Lu was destined for a life involving racecars.

Steeped in the history of our sport, and surrounded by racing books and photos since birth, it was only a matter of time until he started working in the field.

Once in the States, by age 11, his father was not keen on his boys wanting to get behind the wheel, understandably so, since as a journalist his father had covered the sport at the highest level during it's most dangerous times. So, the itch began to be scratched with work as a journalist/photojournalist for publications in both Argentina and Spain.

Lu worked as an assistant to another well known motorsports artist (Hector Cademartori) laying down basic sketches in pencil, or whatever the need was.

Then began the journey into the mechanical side of things... It started with motorcycles and just kept progressing from there. Lu's been fortunate enough to have worked on top level teams as a mechanic and even lead mechanic on a Grand Am GS effort, with a Porsche GT3 Cup car. Among others, he's worked with GS class winners, GT class winners, and Daytona Prototype top finishers.

Having raced in many types of production based cars for a bit and with a good mechanical understanding of what it takes to drive a car at the limit, paired with the data analysis briefings he'd been a part of so many times while working for race teams, Lu had developed a way of explaining techniques, and mentoring drivers that many appreciated, so a fellow competitor and General Manager for the American Racing Academy asked him to join the team. Not long after, Lu was asked to be one of a handful of coaches selected for the Lamborghini Academy test program in the US.

Lu has continued racing, as an amateur, in vintage cars, on desert motorcycles, supermoto... or whatever he can get his hands on.

Now with ABRS for the past few years as Allen's Operations Manager, he strives to make every event a great experience for every student, with safety and learning as the key focal points.

Lu and his wife Emily live in Huntington Beach, Ca.