A Talent Scout of undoubted fame, Chiesa is not only a discoverer of talents on commission. What considerations are behind a choice and why there is a long-term project behind the young Spaniard. (F.M.)
A few months ago Giancarlo Tinini had wished for it on these pages: someone should believe in a girl and bet on her as Ron Dennis did when he decided to bring Lewis Hamilton to professional racing, and it seems that AMG, in its own way, has given form to this wish.
Dino Chiesa explained to us why it was Luna: «AMG had asked me to point out, among others, a female driver and, to be honest, there are several girls who are fast; the choice was not easy. There are some that are very fast, they have distinguished themselves and have won in some series, but there is one factor to consider: they are all a bit ‘old’ by now. In the case of Luna, she’s very young, it’s true, and who knows she could even have postponed her entry into OKJ, but you have to say one thing when you’re working on long-term projects of this type. Inserting her into a single-make championship, which she could have won in the first year, would still have involved, at some point, entering the FIA categories, and then, if we have to think of something long-lasting, we have to think about her future.
To have her enter a one-make Championship, even a very competitive one, that she could have won at the first year, would have meant, at a certain point, entry in the FIA categories and so, if we have to think of something long-lasting, why "lose a year"? This is international karting. The level is high and the competition is extremely high. This is a scenario that will characterize her entire life as a driver, isn't it? So we thought it would be useful to include her in the FIA competitions right away: we’re aware that she might not be able to obtain important results right away – but you never know, eh - but at the same time, it will be a year in which she will accumulate the experience to compete and compare herself with the category greats and win from next year onwards to project herself in a career that aims at the highest peak; these are the timelines.»
At Franciacorta in the CotF Winter Series, Luna performed well in the heats, gained experience and finished in 21st position in the final, learning for sure something more about how to get by in a very selective category like the OKJ: stay tuned...