In the early morning, while most are sleeping in on the weekends, PPCHS Junior Volga Ozturan is at the AMR Motorplex, hard at work on race karts. What once started as a mere fascination in Istanbul, Turkiye turned into a relentless dedication and determination to get the job of his dreams, becoming a Formula One pit crew mechanic.
Volga’s love for cars started overseas back in Turkiye (known as Turkey). “Before I was born, my father was the lead engineer for the national bike challenge, so I guess you can say I was introduced to this young,” Ozturan stated.
While racing isn’t a big thing in Turkiye like in the US, “my dad went to a couple of F1 races and showed me videos of it,” Ozturan mentioned. Volga later moved to the USA with his parents when he was five years old for a better life. With NASCAR and Formula One being prevalent in Florida, it didn’t take long for Ozturan’s appreciation of racing to grow.
This year, Ozturan’s interest in racing turned into a determination to secure a job as a mechanic. His dedication paid off as he landed a job as a race kart mechanic one month ago. “I had this love for racing but didn’t do much about it. Finally, I thought, yeah let me do something productive,” Ozturan remembrances.
As a race kart mechanic, Ozturan’s job is to ensure all the racekarts work smoothly for the racers. From carrying heavy karts to the track to working under the hood, Volga has to do it all. That includes fixing rims, changing tires, and helping his boss with managing the race karts.
With heavy competition for this job, Ozturan’s relentless dedication to acquiring the position eventually prevailed. “I’ve now been working for a month on the track, and all the racers there say how insanely lucky I was,” he said.
To get to the race track hours away, Ozturan has to get up at 6:20 to get there at 8:30 on a Saturday. “I know some kids are sleeping in, but this is something I want to do in the future, so why not go for my goal now,” he stated.
As a junior, Ozturan is keeping his options open when it comes to college, but Duke University is high on his list for their mechanics classes. For now, though, Ozturan continues to persevere in his job, with hopes that the knowledge he learns here helps secure a spot in the race to become a Formula One pit crew mechanic.
