My early days
10/07/2011
By David Martinez
With Steve Jobs passing away this week, one of many extraordinary comments he made, created an impact on me and got me to think about my early days. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
My dad grew up in the farming business inside a wealthy and large family. He is the oldest of 5 brothers and developed an interest for motorsports when he was young. After a while, dad finally convinced my grandfather to buy him a go kart and he was successful right away. He would go to a local track every day after school and practice until the light was gone.
Gerardo “Platano(Banana)” Martínez as the people knew him, went to win many national championships, but once he finished college he stayed in the family business. While being successful professionally, he got married to my mom and had two sons. Until that day my brother and I had no idea about racing, we were raised in a small town called Mante City located in the State of Tamaulipas.
As time passed. dad reached his 40´s, and found an opportunity to go racing. He didn´t hesitate and moved our family to Monterrey, Mexico. Like in most of his life, he was successful right away and after only a couple of years, he was already about to start what would be one of the most successful racing teams in Mexican History.
For me, racing started when I was 4. My dad had just brought us to Monterrey to start a new life. I can still remember the first times I went to a race track, the loud noise and the heat did not do too much for me then. A couple of years later my older brother Gerardo, was already eager and pushing dad to go karting. I will never forget this day. Dad took us to a local rental karting facility. I got in the kart, got to turn 1 and I just knew it. This is what I want to do all my life.
Now, I will never need to answer this question ¿How did I know I would be good enough to succeed? I have no idea. It was just something I knew and it came from the heart.
Stay tuned for Racing for Mexico Race Car Driver David Martinez
