Chasing the dreams - Valentina Piaz

Growing up with a motorsport background and experiencing it from an early age with your father is something worth cherishing. But Valentina took it to the next level by immersing herself in everything that background had to offer.

"I grew up surrounded by motorsport because of my father. He used to race motorcycles, and when I was five years old, I started riding motorcycles as well. I began with trail riding and later moved on to supermoto."

But to the misfortune of the motorcycle community, Valentina saw something that intrigued her even more – and it hasn’t let go of her for nearly a decade now. And it’s hard to blame her – drifting is a real spectacle that leaves many people in awe.

"When I was 10 years old, I was riding with my dad at a racetrack. While we were on the lower track, I saw someone drifting on the upper track and said to him, “That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

"A year later, at the age of 11, I had my first drift lesson at Hot Wheels. Since then, I’ve been chasing that dream, improving every season and growing both as a driver and as a person."

Drifting has a very strong community – it’s fun, dynamic and offers many opportunities to express yourself and find your path, so it’s no wonder that many young and talented people are involved. Growing together there inspires everyone to reach for their dreams and goals.

"I feel incredibly happy to be part of this sport, especially because I have the opportunity to represent young people and women."

"It’s very special to see how much drifting has grown and continues to gain more recognition every year. Being part of that growth and inspiring others to believe that they can achieve their dreams as well means a lot to me."

While Samsonas Motorsport’s roots are more in rallying and cross racing, nowadays drifting is a huge thing for us, and we are very happy and proud to work and evolve with top drivers in this field. Working with many excellent drivers and teams gives us recognition and the opportunity to connect with even more great people.

"When I signed my partnership with Pop Race, one of my requests was for my Supra to be equipped with a Samsonas sequential gearbox.

It had always been a dream of mine to have a car with a Samsonas sequential gearbox, so that made it very special for me. I’m extremely happy with my choice – the gearbox is truly excellent."

"In Brazil, no drift driver is currently using a Samsonas sequential gearbox, so it’s a great honour to represent the brand in this way."

Another important thing for us is to help personalities reach their dreams, while providing tools that deliver the performance and reliability they need so that they can focus on driving, pushing, reaching and expanding their limits. And of course, it’s amazing to share new projects from which we can learn something, and that’s exactly what the future looks like for Valentina, who, besides being part of the Brazilian motorsport community, is now making big steps into a one-of-a-kind world – Japanese car culture.

"My plans for the future are to keep competing, continue improving as a driver, and race in the biggest drift championships in the world. I also want to develop unique projects."

"My biggest dream is to become a reference point in motorsport, gaining more recognition both on and off the track. I want to use my story to inspire other people to believe in their dreams and never give up on them."