🏳️ Rafa Martinez

Rafa Martinez is a competitive amateur driver, rated 2,648. This level describes drivers racing in club and regional fields, or at the entry end of professional-am racing; Martinez competes as a Bronze-graded amateur in endurance and sportscar racing, the FIA's categorisation for gentleman drivers typically racing alongside professionals rather than full-time competitors. His 2026 season marks his debut in the racing index with eight starts in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, where he finished on average in sixth place but did not score a podium.[1]

Racing for RAFA Racing in a field dominated by professional and semi-professional Silver-graded drivers, Martinez has shown occasional competitive moments despite being substantially outpaced by the series' front-runners. He finished ahead of Westin Workman, a 1-time champion rated 500 points higher, once across their eight shared races; he also beat Jeff Westphal, a Gold-graded former champion, once in six encounters. However, these isolated results sit against a broader pattern: against Workman he finished behind him seven times, and he trailed Justin Di Benedetto, another Silver-graded professional, in all six races they shared. His most frequent rival was Jon Brel, a Bronze amateur like himself, against whom he held an even four-four head-to-head record.[2]

Martinez entered 2026 intending to use the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge as a stepping stone toward GT3 racing. His season in the entry-level sportscar category has left him at the back of a professional-heavy field, racing for a team that has fielded multiple drivers and generated wins in stronger classes, but one that has not yet delivered him into the upper tier of sportscar competition.