Only the most ardent of race fans had heard of Ricardo Vera at the start of the 2011 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship Powered by Mazda season – but by the time the year was done, everyone knew the talent and drive possessed by the young Lites 1 champion.

From the karting ranks in his native Puerto Rico to formula cars in Mexico and Europe, the 18-year-old Vera has enjoyed a virtually meteoric rise through the ranks, achieving his goal this year of driving a car in the Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC) class in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. And with a full season in the ALMS just a few sponsorship dollars away, few would bet against the capable youngster.

Vera began racing go karts at the age of 12, winning a championship in only his second season. That championship garnered him the notice of Team Costa Rica, who put him into their Formula 1000 car for a test. Vera ultimately earned a ride in the 2009 Latam Challenge Series in Mexico, where he finished eighth out of 36 drivers (third in the novice category). Vera then joined Team Costa Rica at the Formula Azzurra Italian Championship and the Italian Formula 2000 Championships.

A year ago, at the age of 17, Vera came to the United States with a plan in mind; race in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship with an eye toward a couple of stints in an LMPC car during some of the ALMS endurance events. Dublin Ohio-based Intersport Racing, with their stable of Lites, LMPC and LMP1 cars, was a perfect fit.

“We were looking at other series, but we thought the Lites series was the best to be able to grow into the LMPC or LMP1 car,” remembered Vera. “I was driving formula cars in Italy last year, and I chose to be in this series because it was similar to the formula cars – but the Lites car is more aerodynamic and fun to drive! “

Vera jumped into the deep end, getting into the Lites 1 car at the IMSA Development Series Winter Test at Sebring in February. Before long, he was up to speed in the new car – with some help from the driver racing game of choice.

“I drove a Lites car for the first time at the winter test in February. I got used to it pretty quickly - the hardest part was learning the track, since it was my first time at Sebring. I used the XBOX Forza to try and learn it ahead of time – all the tracks we raced on this year are on it, so I practice each new track the week before the race, and it really helped me. It’s very realistic – like at Sebring, turn 17 is in the game, so it really helped.”

Vera worked his way through the car during that first test, getting his times close to those of series veterans. But a two-day pre season test and the first race weekend of the yea r- the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, no less – are two different propositions.

“The race weekend was harder, just getting used to the team, the media, the car, the track, everything was new. But everybody was really nice, coming over to say hello. Guys like Mike Simons and Steve Sewell came over to offer their help – it’s not like that in Europe.”

Vera’s season started quietly, with a fifth and a seventh place finish in the first two rounds at Sebring. At Lime Rock in July, Vera broke onto the podium, earning a third place finish in the fourth race of the year  - which prompted his Intersport team to put him in the ALMS line up at Mosport, driving the #37 Lenco Mobile LMPC car alongside Jon Field.

Traffic was difficult as usual during the ALMS event at Mosport, but Vera, taking the first stint, acquitted himself well. The team ran as high as third in the race before settling for fourth – still a good finish for Vera’s first race among the four ALMS classes with vastly differing track speeds.

“Having Ricardo behind the wheel with Jon was exactly the progress we had hoped for following his test back in the spring,” said then-Intersport team manager Brian Adler. “He did a fantastic job in the Lites series and he did a great job at Mosport – he was fast and showed maturity out on the track.”

“It had been our plan from the start,” said Vera, “to get into the Intersport LMPC car during the season. The car was so fast compared to the Lites car, and I had to get used to the GT cars. I didn’t feel as though I could push as much. But it was a great experience.”

In the Lites car, a fourth and a second place finish in two wild races at Mosport put him in first place in the championship ahead of veterans Antonio Downs, Jonathan Gore and Gerry Kraut, a position he would not relinquish – and set him up for his breakthrough victory at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August.

Mid-Ohio was the first familiar track to Vera, as he had tested there with his fellow Lites competitors earlier in the year. Coming off a fifth place finish in the first race of the weekend, Vera waited on the grid queue with his fellow Lites competitors, suffering through the torrential downpour that halted the ALMS race. When the Lites cars took to the track, the track was still quite wet – a situation that suited Vera perfectly.

Vera started second behind pole sitter Jonathan Gore and took the lead when Gore spun in the very wet conditions on the first lap. Vera spun several laps later in the last corner but managed to gather himself quickly and come back onto the trackin second position. He retook the lead when Gerry Kraut, who had inherited the lead, spun on lap eight. Vera never looked back.

“I’m used to driving in the rain. In karting, we’d practice on slick tires in the rain so I had to learn to control the car. I was pretty good at it. And I knew Mid-Ohio, so it was a little easier. The team gave me a good car, so I pushed it to the maximum and got the win.”

Vera followed up his victory with a sixth and fourth place at Road America before turning his attention to the final two events of the season.

At the penultimate race weekend of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Vera started fifth and finished second behind pole sitter and winner Lucas Downs in the first race, as multiple leaders took turns in the top three during the course of the 21-lap event, only to see off-track excursions send them down the field. Performance Tech’s Patrick O’Neill held onto the second position for much of the race, but went wide in turn four, which opened the door for Vera to claim the second position and valuable championship points.

But the day wasn’t done for Vera, as he jumped into the #37 Intersport LMPC car for the six-hour ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patrón, sharing driving duties with Luca Moro and Tomy Drissi and finishing fifth.

In Sunday’s second race of the weekend, a one-hour endurance event, Vera started from the pole position ahead of Antonio Downs, closest to him in the championship, and the two battled the entire event. Downs spun on the last lap, losing second position and valuable championship points as Vera took the victory, with Downs noting “he just didn’t make a mistake.”

With the Lites championship all but locked up, Vera only had to finish at Road Atlanta, which he did handily, scoring a fourth and a third place finish. The races were dominated by the youngsters in the series, including newcomer Sean Rayhall (16), and Tristan Nunez (15) who hadn’t raced in the series since Sebring. With the teenagers keeping the veterans off the podium, the championship – his goal from the first moment of the season – belonged to Vera.

“At my first race, that was my goal, to get the championship. So I’m very happy with the team, and the way it went this year!”

Vera hopes to put together a full time LMPC ride for 2012 – and with his track record, who could bet against the talented teen?

“We worked well with the team and got the championship, so we’re working on being in an LMPC car next year, if we can get sponsorship – and try to win that championship next year!”