News/

One of the great attractions to this year’s Global Rallycross season is the addition of Global X Games events on three continents, attracting more international drivers to the series. Among those drivers in the season opener at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil is Eduardo Marques, who came from Sao Paulo to become a successful stunt driver in the United States.

Marques will bring the XRC Team Brasil Peugeot 207 to this year’s season opener, taking on a field of 14 other world-class drivers. But before he makes his Global Rallycross debut, he let us get to know him away from the track:

What was the last car you bought?
The last car I bought for myself was actually a Subaru STi, and that’s to practice rally. But this last week, I helped buy a 1978 Corvette C3 with only 27,000 miles for my cousin, and I went to pick it up. So now it’s here at my house, and I’m just waiting for him to come and pick it up. It’s black, it’s very, very cool looking. It’s like the Batmobile!

What advice can you offer young drivers—both on and off the track?
If you like speed, please do it properly—it is not worth it. We’ve seen so many ugly things happen on the street, it’s not worth it for a few seconds of pleasure and fun. You can affect your life and somebody else’s life. When you are at the race track, that’s the time to go as fast as you can, and enjoy! I think the best advice I can give for a young race car driver is, don’t give up, because it is a very hard road to follow.

What’s on your iPod right now?
Funny, funny! For the Brazilians to recognize, I have a band that’s been on the road forever called Ultraje a Rigor, which is very traditional in Brazil. But the main things I listen to over here are a lot of Iron Maiden. I think I may be stuck in a different era!

What’s something that most people don’t know about you?
Actually, people that are close to me know, but I don’t think a lot of people know that I play drums. And I don’t only make noise, but I play properly!

My favorite pre-race meal is:
Ooh… in Brazil there’s an amazing thing called pão de queijo, they’re cheese and bread rolls. They’re not very good for your diet, but they’re delicious, and they’ll go well before the race.

If you could convince any other driver in the world to join Global Rallycross, who would you pick?
For me, I think it would be very, very fun to have Bruno Senna to race with us.

Who was your biggest inspiration in racing?
Ayrton Senna, of course. As far as drivers, Ayrton Senna was a huge inspiration for us in Brazil. But for me, (it’s) for many reasons—because of his work ethic as well, and his love for family, all of the values that he carried. Not only inside the racecar, but outside as well. From the new generation, I’ve met him a couple of times, and I’ll actually be racing against him, but I think Travis Pastrana is an amazing race car driver, and an amazing athlete. And Tanner Foust, that’s the guy to beat.

If I wasn’t a race car driver, I would be a:
Oh, for sure a drummer!

What’s your training regimen away from the track?
I do a little bit of running and specific core exercise. One of the best things for me, because my wife is an aerial artist—Cirque de Soleil type of silks and all that—when you train with that, you start to have amazing core strength. So that’s what I’ve been doing a lot. You use a lot of different muscles that usually you don’t get to in different exercises, so I do a lot of aerial arts away from the track.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received from another driver?
It was to keep blue on the top and dirt on the bottom—this way you’re not upside down! The other one I love is, if you’re not going where you want to go, don’t go there faster.