Patrick Liddy ’12

Patrick Liddy ’12 was never good at team sports. In fact, as a kid, his youth soccer coach kindly recommended to his father that he try something else. Patrick chose cars. From Go Cart to Radical racing, it didn’t take long for success to come his way. 2018 was his big year: Patrick, who had graduated from Loyola High School in 2016, was studying pre-law, philosophy, and English at the University of California, Santa Barbara, when he got a call from a friend who worked on a team for Lamborghini. They were looking for a young driver for an opening round at an upcoming race. It was his first time racing in this kind of car at this level, and he won. Lamborghini invited him into their young driver program, and he’s never looked back. 

We had a chance to talk with Patrick this summer when he was back in Los Angeles. He decided to move to Europe after racing for a couple of years, while he finished college. It was May 2020—He had a deal with Lamborghini and sponsorships in place, but with the uncertainty of international travel at the time, he wasn’t quite sure what would happen when he arrived in Rome. “With letters from Lamborghini in hand,” he told us, “I donned all my Lamborghini gear - hat, pants, jacket and got on the flight.” It was a good call, as security straight off the plane, “…looked at me said ‘oh, Lamborghini,’ stamped my passport and let me in.” 

Living in Italy and Monaco during the nine-month racing season was a great experience, and Patrick returns to Europe every year. As a Group GT3 (Cup Grand Touring Car) driver for Lamborghini, Patrick races all over the world, assists in product testing and launch, works with engineers on drive development, and has gained business and marketing experience exploring sponsorship opportunities for his team. He recently participated in the launch of Lamborghini’s new off-road vehicle, the Huracán Sterrato, spending ten days out near Joshua Tree National Park doing testing and media promotion. He has also consulted and assisted with stunt driving and sound for recent films about motorsports, including Gran Turismo.

The question of speed inevitably came up, and Patrick admitted he’s driven over 200 MPH but not in the race car. “The speed in the race car is track dependent, and the skill comes from how late you can break in the corner and how much speed you can carry through it. It’s fine-tuning yourself and being at the car’s limit without going over it.” To prepare for races, Patrick meditates, and the team participates in guided stretches and brain work to boost reaction times. Once in the race, focus is critical, and the biggest obstacle is heat. “It can be 135F in the cockpit, and you are basically wearing fire-proof pajamas.”

At home, Patrick admits he drives slowly and safely, although, like every young driver growing up in Los Angeles, he got early training for racing on the curves of the 110 North to Pasadena. He was at Mayfield for only 7th and 8th grade; however, is still close with many of his Mayfield friends.

With his growing experience in the many sides of professional racing, Patrick has clear goals for the future. Joining the elite group of Formula 1 drivers is certainly one of them. Right now, he is focused on the next couple of years. “Continuing with the GT3 series this year will be fantastic, and next year, I hope to compete in the Asian Le Mans Series in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai in a new prototype, the LMP2 car.” Formula 1 may be closer than he thinks.

Profile originally published in the Maypoll 2022-2023 Annual Report Issue