Nico Pino NP78 / Chile

From Lampa karting to Hypercar.

At 8 years old, Nico Pino started karting on an abandoned circuit in northern Santiago. By 20 he was already competing in the top tier of world endurance racing (WEC) aboard the iconic Porsche 963.

The Story Instagram

{years_racing}+ years racing Porsche 963 Hypercar Le Mans x3 WEC + IMSA 2025

Lampa 2013FIA KartingBritish F4 Euroformula F3Prototypes at 16Le Mans Podium 2023 Daytona Pole PositionWEC Hypercar 2025IMSA GTP Stellantis Formula EProton x Porsche 963Chile to the World

The Journey

{years_racing} years of racing.

• About

Nico Pino

Racing Driver · Entrepreneur

With a Coca-Cola bottle for the fuel mix, without a playbook but finding the way, he climbed into a professional kart for the first time. Learning on the track and in life, he reached the top tier. Building his own career, his own business, with his own resources and projects, the support of a few, against hundreds and hundreds of rejections.

general infos

nationality Chilean

Date of birth 21 Sep 2004

hometown Santiago, Chile

stats

le mans starts 3

le mans podiums 1

pole positions 2

years racing 14

2025 races 13

racing infos

team JDC Miller Motorsport

car Porsche 963

number #5

• Origins

A Coca-Cola bottle in Lampa

It started at a September 18th BBQ. Enthusiastic but not skilled at ball sports, he climbed into a rental kart out of boredom. He never got out. His family, with no idea what they were doing, bought the cheapest kart available. They painted it red and decided right there that his number would be 78.

They passed the kart between the bars of the abandoned circuit in Lampa. He lapped until the sun went down. First to arrive, last to leave. He left “normal” school behind. His team had him drive at night with barely any light, in the rain on slick tires. Life and the track, difficult at every turn.

“No sabiamos nada de lo que estabamos haciendo.”

Young Nico Pino with his first red #78 kart at Lampa

started Age 8

first kart K80 engine

circuit Lampa, Santiago

• Worldwide

From Chile to the world

From age 9, they started traveling nonstop. 8 to 10 trips a year: Argentina, the United States, Europe. Airbnbs, airports, missed flights, meetings. It was his life. Karting in Chile, quickly in Argentina, then competing as a Mini-Driver across all of Europe.

No one around them understood what they were doing. There wasn’t much precedent. That’s how the routine of international competition forced him to mature faster. Lost passports, traveling as a minor across the world, hotels, and the constant pressure of racing against the best drivers on the planet.

“Desde los 9 años comenzamos a viajar mucho. Era mi vida.”

countries Chile, Argentina, USA, Europe

trips per year 8–10

first international Age 9, Argentina

• Europe

FIA Karting Junior

years2017–18

categoryOK-Junior

seriesFIA Academy Trophy + WSK

countriesBelgium, France, Finland, Italy, Sweden

world championshipKristianstad, Sweden

highlightFIA Academy Trophy finalist, WSK podiums

Kosmic · Ferrari DA

years2018–19

categoryOK Senior

teamKosmic Racing Department

programFerrari Driver Academy

age14 — youngest in the field

seriesFIA OK World Championship + WSK Super Master

✶ ✶ ✶

• The Crash

The last session before Sweden

It was the last practice before heading home. He crashed at the end of the straight in a “KZ” shifter kart. When asked about the crash he says he remembers nothing, though the fractures and bruises were the evidence. The doctor on duty told him he would miss the FIA Karting World Championship in Kristianstad, three weeks away.

He couldn’t race the warmup events. He went anyway. Semi-fractured collarbone, broken ribs, raw fingers. Battered, never medically cleared, he raced. It went badly. But that was the moment everything transformed into a project.

“Corrí, me fue mal, pero ese fue el momento en que todo se transformó en un proyecto.”

injuries Clavicle, ribs, fingers

race FIA Worlds

decision Raced anyway

• The Pivot

Alone in London at 15

FIA British F4 at 15. In a world turned upside down by the arrival of COVID-19, alone in London, everything on the verge of ending. The little support he had was pulling out, and between the anxiety and muscle spasms in his legs facing an unknown landscape, he called his father and shared what he was going through for the first time. His father asked him: “¿Quieres devolverte?”. The question gave him strength from nowhere. He said no.

He redesigned the plan mid-flight. Simulator work. Mobilized blockchain ventures. Invested a few dollars that multiplied exponentially in crypto to keep going. Back to the track. GT4 tests with Ginetta and Porsche. Refusing to stop even when the world did.

age 15

location London, UK

series British F4

• Prototypes

2021 F3 debut at Monza (age 16)

Euroformula Open (F3) with Spanish team Drivex Driver Academy, racing his first single-seater F3 outing at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. That same year he debuted in LMP3 prototypes at Spa Francorchamps with Intereuropol Competition, the youngest driver in the category.

2022 Asian Le Mans + ELMS (age 17)

Intereuropol Competition, LMP3. Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) across the Middle East. European Le Mans Series (ELMS) at Barcelona, Paul Ricard, Monza, Spa Francorchamps, Imola, Portimão.

2022 Le Mans Cup + Petit Le Mans

First time competing at the Circuit de la Sarthe: Le Mans Cup. Then Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and Daytona with Performance Tech and Sean Creech Motorsport.

2022 Euroformula F3 + GT4

Drivex Driver Academy, Euroformula Open. Also raced GT4 in the Iberian Championship: Ginetta G55 and Porsche GT4. Multi-discipline at 17.

• 2023 Breakthrough

ELMS 2023 Duqueine Team · LMP2

Full ELMS season in LMP2 with Duqueine. Barcelona, Le Castellet, Aragon, Spa Francorchamps, Portimao, Algarve: six rounds across Europe.

Le Mans 2023 24H of Le Mans — Podium at 18

Duqueine Team, LMP2. Night stint of 3+ hours. Leading the class. The car in his hands for the final two hours. Podium celebration on the most iconic racing stage in the world.

IMSA 2023 Daytona Pole · Road America Flying Pole

Sean Creech Motorsport, LMP3. Pole and P2 at the Rolex 24H of Daytona. “Flying pole” and 2nd at Road America. Sebring 12H, Watkins Glen 6H.

• 2024

World stage

World Endurance Championship with United Autosport, McLaren #95, LMP2: Le Mans, São Paulo, COTA, Fuji, Bahrain. In parallel, the IMSA endurance championship: Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Indianapolis, Petit Le Mans.

Selected for the Stellantis Young Driver Program. Rookie test with DS Performance and Maserati MSG Racing at the Berlin E-Prix. First Chilean to officially take part in Formula E.

“Versatilidad, velocidad, adaptación y capacidad de aprendizaje.”

WEC United Autosport · McLaren #95

IMSA United Autosport · LMP2 #2

Formula E 1st Chilean · Maserati MSG

ELMS Nielsen Racing + IDEC Racing

rally Citroën Racing test

total races 20+

• 2025 Season

Hypercar

Proton Competition · Porsche 963

Youngest Hypercar driver in the field. 13 races across WEC and IMSA GTP — from Qatar to Bahrain, from Daytona to Petit Le Mans.

WEC #99

classHypercar

rounds8 races

highlight24H Le Mans

IMSA #5

classGTP

rounds5 races

highlightRolex 24H Daytona

• NP78

Corriendo, compitiendo, emprendiendo.

Running, competing, building. An unprecedented career, willed into being, from scratch. A business model many said was impossible for a Chilean driver. Against a system that has gone out of its way to confirm it with “more than 400 no’s,” he pressed on anyway. Titín, his brother and fan number one, a magical mind who shows him that nothing is impossible.

“Quisiera ser referente no por un triunfo o una movida épica. Quisiera serlo por haber hecho de este mundo y la gente que me rodea algo mejor.”

Career Record

Results that speak.

WEC 2025 Hypercar

Proton Competition, Porsche 963 #99. Full 8-race WEC calendar. First Hypercar points at Sao Paulo. Youngest driver in the category.

IMSA 2025 GTP

Proton Competition, Porsche 963 #5. Rolex 24H of Daytona, 12H of Sebring, 6H of Watkins Glen, 6H of Indianapolis, Petit Le Mans.

Le Mans 3 Starts, 1 Podium

2023: Podium with Duqueine in LMP2. Night stint of 3+ hours, led LMP2 at 4 AM. 2024: United Autosport. 2025: Hypercar with Porsche 963.

Formula E 1st Chilean

Stellantis Young Driver Program. DS Performance. Rookie test at Berlin E-Prix with Maserati MSG Racing. Also rally tested with Citroen Racing.

Daytona Pole + Podium

2023: International pole position and 2nd place at the Rolex 24H in LMP3 with Sean Creech Motorsport. Flying pole at Road America.

ELMS 3 Seasons

2022: Intereuropol, LMP3. 2023: Duqueine Team, LMP2 — Barcelona, Le Castellet, Aragon, Spa, Portimao. 2024: Nielsen Racing & IDEC.

By the numbers

0 Years old

0 Years racing

0 Flights 2.31 times to the Moon

0 Countries

La misma sangre.

Nadie nunca esta preparado 100% para algo.

— Nico Pino, from the NP78 book

2025 Season

13 races. Two championships.

WEC Hypercar

Proton Competition · Porsche 963 #99

R1 Qatar — 1812 km of Qatar
R2 Italy — 6H of Imola
R3 Belgium — 6H of Spa
R4 France — 24H of Le Mans
R5 Brazil — 6H of Sao Paulo
R6 USA — Lone Star Le Mans
R7 Japan — 6H of Fuji
R8 Bahrain — 8H of Bahrain

IMSA GTP

Proton Competition · Porsche 963 #5

R1 Rolex 24H of Daytona
R2 Mobil 1 12H of Sebring
R3 6H of Watkins Glen
R4 6H of Indianapolis
R5 Petit Le Mans — Road Atlanta

“Doce horas de guerra y real resistencia; como pasa en Sebring.”

“En el bello e iconico Imola. Old school track. Mucho trafico y mucho trabajo para nosotros.”

Endurance

Fuji 6h

Hypercar

Porsche 963.

Daytona

Formula E

Paddock

Driver change

Corriendo, compitiendo, emprendiendo.

— The NP78 philosophy

Partners

Racing becomes a platform.

NP78 is more than a racing project. It's a business model that creates measurable value for partners across Latin America and the global motorsport ecosystem.

Gallagher Mega Massiva

View Partners

Nothing has been easy

That is the point.

No rejection or attempt to sabotage outlasts conviction, work done right, and passion. Dreams are made to be reached, and NP78 is the proof.

“Es más fácil abandonar ante cada NO o cada decepción. Te van marcando, pero tú decides si te botan o te hacen más fuerte.”

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