American driver Andy Cantu hasn’t had a traditional start to his racing career, but has already shown huge potential in the Am class aboard an NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Jumping into GT4 racing for the first time without having even tested the car ahead of the first race weekend, Cantu has already scored two podium finishes and runs fourth in the class championship at the year’s halfway point. While he began the season sharing with Dilantha Malagamuwa, Spaniard Guillermo Aso partnered him at Spa, meaning Cantu is now fighting for a championship top-three solo. Quite a jump from volunteering and racing $500 cars back home…
Andy, a new face to the championship this year. Where did your love of the sport come from?
“I started doing track days when I was about 18, and I’m 31 now… so it’s taken me quite a while to finally get properly involved in the sport. I’m from Texas and would go to the Texas World Speedway often to work as a flagger [marshal] on Saturdays and get some instruction on driving on Sundays. That’s where it all started for me, and I loved the volunteering side of the sport, but you can’t beat the driving.”
How did you go from marshalling to driving?
“I started driving properly in track days, just learning how the sport works and getting the techniques, but I figured if I wanted to start racing properly I should probably get some karting experience. I scrounged together enough cash to buy a chassis and do some regional stuff and then some national events, progressing through the usual ranks like senior and then shifter [gearbox] karts, just to get enough experience to help when I did finally move into cars.”
So where did you start in car racing?
“I think the first time I ever got into a proper racing car it was a Lamborghini Super Trofeo car in 2019 for two races… at the time I didn’t realise that was perhaps not the best first step, but you gotta aim high! It was after that experience that I actually started doing grassroots events like the 24 Hours of LeMons [this is not a typo… it’s an endurance racing series in America where entrants use cars bought and prepared for $500 or less. It actually holds a world record for the most cars entered into a single race, with 216] and spec Mazda Miata [MX-5] racing and things just grew from there. I never really did a full season, just dipped in and out whenever I could.”
How did you find your way into GT racing?
“About five years ago I did a few tests in a GT3 car and loved it, but then Covid hit and everything shut down. But right before that I was aiming to do my first full year of pro racing in GTs in America, so it all got delayed. I was determined to make a serious effort to do a full year of something for this season and one of my friends knew somebody at the NM Racing Team so we started talking and one thing led to another… and here I am! Ironically, I’m from Houston in Texas, the exact same place where Alex Papadopulos who drives in the sister #15 Mercedes-AMG is from. Pure coincidence, small world…”
There’s a lot of American drivers in the championship this year…
“Yeah, quite a few of us! I don’t really know one reason why… it tends to be a little cheaper to race here, but mostly the level is much higher in Europe. The scale of the events is amazing and there’s so many cars. I love it.”
You mentioned GT3 testing, but what about GT4?
“Nope, I’d never driven the car before round one! I didn’t do pre-season testing and went straight to Circuit Paul Ricard. It wasn’t a bad weekend with that in mind because the pace wasn’t too far off, but I was just learning the car and the style of racing as we went. There was a lot to learn about the car, especially with the braking as the ABS system was all new to me because that wasn’t in the GT3 cars I tested years ago. That first weekend was all about paying attention and learning the small things that add up to help you go fast.”
What’s your ambition for this season?
“I want to get into the fight at the front of the Am class, and be up there fighting for a race win or two. From what we’ve shown so far, we’re not far away from being able to do that, and I’ve been on the podium twice already and kinda like it up there! If we can keep things clean, work with my team and team-mates well then we can get there. It’s all about learn and go faster.”
