Mario Hart biography: racing driver, reality star and father

If you grew up watching Peruvian television in the 2010s, you probably know the name Mario Hart. Captain on Combate, contestant on Esto es Guerra, driver with nine national titles and performer of “Yo no fui,” the reggaeton song much of Peru sang along to while claiming to hate it. In 2026, he returned to the headlines for another reason: the end of his relationship with Korina Rivadeneira, the Venezuelan woman he married in Huaral in 2017. Here is his story, from the karting track to one of the year’s most discussed breakups.

Who is Mario Hart?

Mario Hart is a Peruvian racing driver, singer, businessman and television personality born on April 15, 1987, in Callao. He became widely known as captain of the reality show Combate in 2011 and later appeared on Esto es Guerra. He has won nine national motorsport championships. In 2026, he confirmed his separation from Korina Rivadeneira, the mother of his two children.

Mario Hart: childhood and early years

Mario Hart del Águila was born in Callao to Milagros del Águila and racing driver Mario Hart Potestá. He grew up around cars and circuits: his father first put him in a kart as a child, and speed became part of family life.

Results came quickly. At just 15, he won his first national karting championship in 2002, then repeated the achievement in 2003 and 2004. While other teenagers in Callao played football, Mario spent weekends among tires and stopwatches.

He studied in Lima and, according to interviews, pursued a university degree that he never used professionally: television and racing drew him elsewhere. By 2010, he was known on the local racing circuit, but people outside motorsport barely recognized his name. That changed in 2011.

Mario Hart’s career

His broad popularity began when ATV chose him to captain the green team at the launch of Combate in 2011. Mario Hart became one of the show’s leading faces and, years later, a regular on América Televisión’s Esto es Guerra alongside Nicola Porcella, Patricio Parodi, Said Palao and Alejandra Baigorria. He has said that he earned 4,500 dollars a month on Combate.

He never stopped racing in parallel. His main milestones:

• 2002, 2003 and 2004: wins three consecutive national karting championships.
• 2011: makes his television debut as captain of Combate’s green team.
• 2012: wins the national circuit-racing championship.
• 2013: releases “Yo no fui” with Pancho Rodríguez and David “Pantera” Zegarra. The song began as a response to entertainment journalists and became a viral hit.
• 2015, 2016 and 2017: wins three consecutive national rally championships in the Peruvian Automobile Club’s S2000 class.
• 2016: wins the S2000 class at Caminos del Inca, Peru’s leading motor race.
• 2026: competes in RallyMobil with Ashley García, finishing fourth overall and first in the UTV class. He also takes part in Truckers Day 2026.

At Famosix, we see Hart as an unusual case in Peruvian entertainment: a reality-show contestant who was already a champion before television and kept winning titles after the cameras stopped rolling.

Mario Hart’s notable work

Mario Hart’s personal life

Mario Hart’s relationships made headlines for years. He dated singer Leslie Shaw and fellow reality-show contestant Alejandra Baigorria before meeting Venezuelan model Korina Rivadeneira.

He married Korina on April 21, 2017, in Huaral, barely two months after they made their relationship public. The wedding was controversial from the start: Korina later acknowledged that it had been brought forward to avoid her deportation from Peru. In 2021, a Huaral court annulled the marriage over documentation irregularities, although the couple continued to present themselves as spouses.

The couple had two children: Lara, born on September 6, 2020, and Mario Jr., born on August 7, 2022. In 2024, their younger child was hospitalized with a lung virus and recovered.

Their separation became public in 2026. In May, Israel Dreyfus suggested on his podcast that Hart was close to Brazilian performer Paloma Fiuza, who later said he was “in the process of ending his relationship.” In June, Hart confirmed the split with a remark widely shared online: “I have been single for about two years,” referring to the annulment of his legal marriage. He later clarified that they decided to separate in January 2026, that he moved out of the family home and that he had never tried to keep his daughter from her mother, rejecting rumors of a custody dispute.

Interesting facts about Mario Hart

• “Yo no fui” came out of frustration. Hart was upset about a news story concerning him and decided to respond with a song alongside Pantera Zegarra. A producer friend recorded it, and it became an unexpected anthem.
• He won his first national title at 15, in karting, before he had a driver’s license.
• His marriage to Korina was annulled in 2021, but they continued to appear as married in Peru’s Reniec registry for years.
• Doctors found a benign tumor in his pituitary gland around 2025 after he experienced severe headaches. He revealed this in an August 2026 interview with Magaly Medina and said he did not need surgery.
• He admitted Paloma Fiuza was “one of his crushes” when asked about romance rumors in 2026.
• He is still racing. In 2026, he competed in RallyMobil’s UTV class and finished first in his category.

Mario Hart in 2026

For Mario Hart, 2026 was marked by separation. Between May and June, he confirmed the end of his relationship with Korina Rivadeneira. In August, he revealed his benign pituitary-tumor diagnosis. In September, they put controversy aside to celebrate Lara’s sixth birthday together, posting family moments on social media.

On October 1, 2026, Korina commented on one of Hart’s posts with a message she deleted minutes later: “Thank you, we tried. I will always wish you well.” The episode revived speculation about reconciliation, which Hart has not entirely ruled out: in September he said they would be “connected for life” through their children.

He remains active in national rallying and events such as Truckers Day. To see what happened to his former reality-show colleagues, read the biographies of Nicola Porcella, Patricio Parodi and Alejandra Baigorria.

Conclusion

Mario Hart has spent more than two decades in the Peruvian public eye and still makes headlines. A driver before fame, an accidental singer and a father of two, his 2026 story combines a highly publicized separation with a medical diagnosis he has managed calmly. Famosix will update this profile as new developments emerge. You can also explore our biographies of reality-show contestants.

Sources consulted

• RPP: Mario Hart confirms split from Korina Rivadeneira: “I have been single for about two years”
• Infobae: Mario Hart says he never wanted to keep his daughter from Korina Rivadeneira
• Infobae: Mario Hart reveals doctors found a tumor after severe headaches
• La República: Korina Rivadeneira “says goodbye” to Mario Hart in a firm message she later deleted
• La República: Mario Hart and Korina Rivadeneira: how they married in Huaral and why the wedding caused controversy
• Perú21: Mario Hart wins a ninth motorsport championship