Italy-based Motorsports Technical School opens Indianapolis campus

INDIANAPOLIS — The racing capital of the world is now home to the first American Motorsports Technical School location.

MTS reported that it’s prepared thousands of students for top global racing teams over the past decade of growth in Europe. So, when it was time to expand programming to the United States, Indianapolis was an obvious choice for CEO and founder Eugenia Capanna.

“I received a lot of requests from American teams that asked me for mechanics and engineers,” Capanna said. “In my opinion, this was the right choice.”

The brand new location — which is situated on the northwest side of Indianapolis — just graduated its inaugural class. Students are offered unique, hands-on instruction from experienced industry professionals to become racing mechanics and data acquisition technicians.

“As technology goes on, there’s more and more things that are done by AI, and more and more things that are done by computers,” MTS instructor Brad Kettler said. “When you get to the end of the day, someone has to do the physical assembly of the car. They have to use the wrenches, they have to understand the proper procedures for doing things.”

That’s exactly what MTS was designed to teach — technical skills like vehicle setup, electronics and how to optimize performance.

“Motorsport culture is really embedded in the Hoosiers,” said MTS senior technical advisor and instructor Rosella Manfrinato. “I, personally, am Italian, but I’ve been living in the U.S. for a long time and can feel this. So, it’s a great opportunity.”

With so many major teams based central Indiana and learning opportunities at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, recent graduates say they’re already on a fast-track to where they want to be.

“It also helped me get my foot in the door,” said graduate Parker Hughey. “All the instructors are fantastic. They were able to help me polish my resume and put me in contact with a few different teams. I’m lucky enough that I have three different teams looking into me.”