Students at the University of Northwestern Ohio got the chance to meet a professional motorsports driver on Tuesday, after a couple classmates showed off their skills on the track.
Rome Charpentier has been a professional Formula Drift driver for five years, after spending twelve as a stunt driver. Within the first two years of racing, he won two Pro-Am Championships.
Last month, Jack Reusch and Jackson Orr, two High Performance Motorsports Tech Students at UNOH, reached out to the racer for a chance to be on his crew. Charpentier was so impressed with their passion that he didn't even read their resumes, and agreed to fly them to a race in Florida.
"They really amazed me. They knew a lot more than what they had thought they knew, and they were very good hands on, they were very quick to respond and very professional. So, we got everything done really quick and had an amazing weekend working with them," explains Charpentier. "And it was the first time I ever, I guess 'subleasing out' my team, and it allowed me to open up the door to some other people and experience some cool things."
After working with the pair, the 2020 Formula Drift Pro 2 Rookie of the Year was interested in visiting UNOH. He spoke with dozens of students on Tuesday, and was impressed with the dedication everyone has for their trade.
"I'm really amazed at how much opportunity there is here," says Charpentier. "Most of the other schools are probably very, they seem very basic level and they just get you through a class, get finished, and get onto the next one. Here they spend a lot of time on actual race car stuff."
During his visit on Tuesday, Charpentier also took his BMV for a spin. Since he is from Southern California, he says the unpredictable rain showers made it a unique experience.
