ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — 10 Tampa Bay first told you about a local 15-year-old striving to be a professional race car driver in March. He's 16 now and is a race car driver — in Italy.
Alex Bowen is back in the Bay area after racing in Italy and for the first time, he has a trophy to prove it.
Two weeks ago, in only his second race, his team placed third, landing them with the leaders in this year's Italian Gran Turismo Endurance Championship.
“In this last race, we led the race for a long time,” he says. “In my whole first stint, we led the race against these guys that have been doing it for a long time.”
It's an incredible start to a unique career. When we first met Bowen in March, he was showcasing his talent at Sebring International Raceway to hopefully sign with a team. Italy wasn't on his radar until an offer came.
“I’m the only 16-year-old in GT3, the GT3 category,” he adds. GT3 is a class of gran turismo racing, which is a type of road track racing with supercars, like Bowen’s Lamborghini Huracan.
“On my off days when I’m not racing or the days before practice starts, before like the race weekend even starts, we do a lot of traveling and just like exploring," he explained.
And it's been a family affair, his dad is the only parent of a driver hanging out in the garage.
“We're sort of a one-off, our group, because he's so young and with us there. I try to get mom in the garage, but she won't come in," his dad, Kris Bowen, joked.
One thing Alex still has yet to master — his Italian.
“I've just been so stressed about the racing part that I can order a croissant and a coffee, and I think all I need right now," he said.
In case you're wondering, “cornetto” is croissant, and “café” is coffee. Champion is “campione,” a title this 16-year-old might just earn later this fall.
“I want that just so bad,” Bowen says. “When you finish somewhere behind what you think you could have done, it just, it makes you want to just get it more than ever.”
Bowen's race team is tied for second place right now in its category. The whole family flies back to Italy in August for a race later that month. Right around that time, he'll start his junior year of high school, which he'll do virtually.