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Christian Menezes is still at least two years from getting his driver's licence. But the Canadian championship go-kart driver, who whips around tracks as fast as anyone his age in this country, will have mom Sheri's blessing when he's old enough to drive. "We'll be one of the few parents -- here's the keys, off you go dude," said Sheri Menezes, Christian's mom and chief mechanic on Team Menezes Racing. Christian's next challenge is the biggest race of his career so far: the World Championship Rok Cup Superfinal in Italy. It's the culmination of a racing journey that started when he was just seven, said Sheri. "We were in the Walden Galleria (near Buffalo) and he drove the go-kart for the first time and just immediately fell in love with it. The following summer, someone I worked with said, 'Your son really loves go- karting, you should do an 'arrive and drive' program at a local track. We signed him up for that at Goodwood Kartways and he finished 34th out of about 100 kids," said Sheri. She said in 2018, a year later, Christian won a championship. But a turning point came in 2019, when she said he won the youth championship at both Mosport and Goodwood tracks and set a points record at Goodwood no adult or child has eclipsed before or since. So in 2020, the year Christian turned 12, Sheri said, "I guess we're buying a go-kart" -- and that was his first year of competitive racing. For Christian, it's serious stuff. He said when he's behind the wheel of his kart, "it's a sensation of realizing the speed you're going and at the same time, it doesn't feel like you're moving at all, it feels like everything is coming toward you. It's a matter of learning where to turn, learning how to use the brakes, the sensation of the speed you're going and having that much going on around you is unworldly," he said. And learning to catch and pass competitors takes on the same strategy a grand master might use in a chess match. A lot of thinking and planning ahead goes into it. "It takes a lot of experience," he said. "I'm going through the track. I've consciously memorized the track so I know where my braking points are, I know where to turn in and let the kart flow, and out, and when I'm around people, it's about learning the people you're driving with. I learn how they drive and I can adapt and learn what they do on the track and how I can take advantage of that," he said. He watches what's going on in front of him and plans his next moves. Christian has dreams of eventually making it to the top of the racing world: Formula 1. He has a couple of role models to follow, Canadian F1 drivers Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi, who both started out as go- kart drivers, Christian said. Getting to the Italian World Cup race won't be cheap for the Menezes family. They are looking for sponsors and hoping to raise $10,000 before the big event, which is Oct. 19 to 22. You can reach Sheri Menezes at team_menezes@yahoo.ca. WHITBY TEEN AIMS FOR WORLD GO-KART TITLE TIM KELLY tkelly@durhamregion.com NEWS Christian Menezes relaxes with his father Peter behind his Go-Kart at the Canadian Open in July. Sheri Menezes photo