Alfredo Costanzo
Encyclopedia
Alfredo Costanzo is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) is a retired Australian racing driver.
The Italian-Australian was Australia's foremost domestic open wheeler driver in the late 70s and early 80s, proving equally adapt at winning races in the powerful Formula 5000
Formula 5000
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...
class as much as the nimble Formula Pacific
Formula Pacific
Formula Pacific was a motor racing category which was utilised in the Pacific Basin area from 1977 to 1982. It specified a single-seat, open-wheeler chassis powered by a production-based four-cylinder engine of under 1600cc capacity. The formula was based on Formula Atlantic, with provision made...
cars that replaced them. Under the patronage of Porsche Cars Australia distributor Alan Hamilton, Costanzo won four Australian Drivers' Championship
Australian Drivers' Championship
The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula...
s, his titles straddling the transition from F5000 to Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic is a specification of open wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club of America Formula Atlantic.-History:The history of...
based Pacific cars.
The first of Costanzo's four Gold Stars was won utilising a conventional Lola T430, but the following 1981 title, the last Formula 5000 national level title ever held globally, utilised a McLaren M26
McLaren M26
The McLaren M26 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck for the McLaren team, to replace the aging McLaren M23 model. The car was designed to be a lighter and lower car than its predecessor, with a smaller frontal area and narrower monocoque...
, modified for the task by Tiga Race Cars
Tiga Race Cars
Tiga Race Cars Ltd. was a British auto racing constructor and team. The company was founded in 1974 by two former Formula 1 drivers, Australian Tim Schenken and New Zealander Howden Ganley. The company's name was formed by the first two letters of Tim and Ganley...
. Costanzo won the first two Gold Stars using Formula Atlantic cars of Tiga's own design.
While a more than capable touring car driver, finishing second in the 1979 Hardie-Ferodo 1000
1979 Hardie-Ferodo 1000
The 1979 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 20th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on September 30, 1979 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst...
alongside Allan Grice
Allan Grice
Allan Maxwell Grice OAM , known to motor-racing fans as Gricey, is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 , and as a privateer driver of a Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship.Grice also had a successful second...
he was unable to make the transition to racing sedans full time and the popular Italian-Australian faded from the racing scene when he left Formula Pacific in 1984 though he did make a couple of shirt-lived comebacks.
In December 1984 Costanzo accepted an offer from the Australian Sports Car Champion
1984 Australian Sports Car Championship
The 1984 Australian Sports Car Championship was a national motor racing title for drivers of Sports Cars complying with CAMS Group A regulations....
Bap Romano to co-drive the Romano WE84
Romano WE84
The Romano WE84 was an Australian designed and built closed top racing car built to CAMS Group A Sports Car specifications. The car began its life as the Kaditcha K583 when it first appeared in the 1983 Australian Sports Car Championship and was built by the Queensland based Kaditcha owner/engineer...
Cosworth in the 1984 Sandown 1000 as part of the 1984 World Endurance Championship
1984 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1984 World Endurance Championship season was the 32nd FIA World Sportscar Championship season. It was a series running under the Group C and Group B formulas, running cars in three classes known as C1, C2, and B...
, the first ever FIA World Championship event ever held in Australia. Despite never having driven the car previously, Alfie qualified the car in 13th (fastest in the special AC or Australian Cars class), almost two seconds faster than car owner Romano. After brake and gearbox troubles in the race the pair finished 109 laps, 100 laps behind the winning Porsche 956
Porsche 956
The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship...
. Unfortunately, despite still running at the end, the car had not completed enough laps to be classified as a finisher.
At the insistence of his long time open wheel rival turned touring car racer John Bowe
John Bowe (racing driver)
John Bowe is an Australian racing driver, presently racing a 1969 Ford Mustang in the historic series, Touring Car Masters....
, who to this day rates him as the best Australian driver he raced against, Costanzo was drafted into the Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
Dealer Team in 1986 for the Castrol 500
1986 Castrol 500
The 1986 Castrol 500 was an endurance race for cars complying with CAMS Touring Car regulations, which were based on FIA Group A rules. The event was staged on 14 September 1986 over 129 laps of the 3.9 km Sandown circuit in Victoria, Australia, a total distance of 503 km...
at Sandown
Sandown Raceway
Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. It is considered a power circuit with its front straight being 899m long and back straight 910m long.-History:...
and the James Hardie 1000
1986 James Hardie 1000
The 1986 James Hardie 1000 was an endurance motor race held on 5 October 1986 at the Mount Panorama Circuit, just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia...
at Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
. Driving a Volvo 240T, he failed to finish in both events. Again at Bowe's insistence, Alfie was the drafted into the Dick Johnson Racing
Dick Johnson Racing
Dick Johnson Racing is Australia's oldest operating motor racing team. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team has won seven Australian Touring Car Championship titles and has taken three victories in Australia's hallmark race, the Bathurst 1000...
Team for Sandown and Bathurst in 1988 to drive a Ford Sierra RS500. He finished 6th at the Sandown 500 with another former open wheel racer John Smith. The car he was to drive at the 1988 Tooheys 1000
1988 Tooheys 1000
The 1988 Tooheys 1000 was the 29th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 2 October 1988 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst...
at Bathurst finished 2nd overall but unfortunately Costanzo didn't get to drive. Team leader Dick Johnson's car expired on lap 22 and Bowe's car on lap 28. Both then moved to drive the Smith/Costanzo car. Smith had driven the opening stint which left Aflie a spectator on the day.
The late 1990s saw a brief comeback as the lead driver in a factory supported Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
team of production specification Maserati Ghibli
Maserati Ghibli
The Maserati Ghibli is a Gran Turismo car produced by Italian manufacturer Maserati in two generations: first from 1966–73, and again as the Maserati Ghibli II from 1992–97.- Ghibli I :...
s, but it proved to be short-lived as the cars were uncompetitive against the Porsche, Ferrari and Mazda teams.
Career results
| Season | Series | Position | Car | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Australian 1½ Litre Championship Australian 1½ Litre Championship The Australian 1½ Litre Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title contested annually from 1964 to 1968. It was open to drivers of cars complying with the Australian 1½ Litre Formula which specified open wheel racing cars fitted with unsupercharged engines using commercially... |
12th | Elfin Mono Mk2B Ford | Maranello Motors |
| 1968 | Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
15th | Elfin Mono Mk2B Ford | Maranello Motors |
| 1968 1968 Australian 1½ Litre Championship The 1968 Australian 1½ Litre Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Australian 1½ Litre Formula racing cars. It was the fifth and final Australian 1½ Litre Championship to be awarded prior to the demise of the formula at the end of 1968.-Calendar:The title was... |
Australian 1½ Litre Championship Australian 1½ Litre Championship The Australian 1½ Litre Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title contested annually from 1964 to 1968. It was open to drivers of cars complying with the Australian 1½ Litre Formula which specified open wheel racing cars fitted with unsupercharged engines using commercially... |
9th | Elfin Mono Mk2B Ford | Maranello Motors |
| 1970 1970 Tasman Series The 1970 Tasman Series was the seventh in the series, beginning on 3 January and ending on 22 February after seven races. The series was won by Graeme Lawrence of New Zealand, driving the Ferrari 246T that fellow New Zealander Chris Amon raced to win the 1969 series.It was a transitional year, the... |
Tasman Series Tasman Series The Tasman Series was a motor racing series held from 1964 to 1975, in Australia and New Zealand, and named after the Tasman Sea between the two countries... |
12th | McLaren McLaren McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup... M4A Cosworth |
Argo Racing |
| 1975 | Australian Formula 2 Championship | 2nd | Birrana 274 Ford | Alfredo Costanzo |
| 1976 | Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
5th | Lola T332 Lola T332 The Lola T332 was a race car designed and built by Lola Cars for use in Formula 5000 racing and made its racing debut in 1973. Commonly using the 5.0L Chevrolet V8 engine, the T332 was successful around the globe with race victories in places such as Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and... Chevrolet Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... |
|
| 1977 | Rothmans International Series Rothmans International Series The Rothmans International Series was an Australian Formula 5000 motor racing series which ran from 1976 to 1979.-History:When the joint Australian-New Zealand open-wheeler series, the Tasman Series was discontinued after the 1975 series, the four Australian former Tasman races became the Rothmans... |
6th | Lola T332 Lola T332 The Lola T332 was a race car designed and built by Lola Cars for use in Formula 5000 racing and made its racing debut in 1973. Commonly using the 5.0L Chevrolet V8 engine, the T332 was successful around the globe with race victories in places such as Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and... Chevrolet Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... |
Auto Sprint Motors |
| 1977 | Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
4th | Lola T332 Lola T332 The Lola T332 was a race car designed and built by Lola Cars for use in Formula 5000 racing and made its racing debut in 1973. Commonly using the 5.0L Chevrolet V8 engine, the T332 was successful around the globe with race victories in places such as Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and... Chevrolet Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... |
|
| 1979 | Rothmans International Series Rothmans International Series The Rothmans International Series was an Australian Formula 5000 motor racing series which ran from 1976 to 1979.-History:When the joint Australian-New Zealand open-wheeler series, the Tasman Series was discontinued after the 1975 series, the four Australian former Tasman races became the Rothmans... |
2nd | Lola T430 Chevrolet Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... |
Porsche Cars Australia |
| 1979 1979 Australian Drivers' Championship A 1979 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 1 racing cars. The championship winner was awarded the 1979 CAMS Gold Star... |
Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
3rd | Lola T430 Chevrolet Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... |
Porsche Cars Australia |
| 1980 1980 Australian Drivers' Championship The 1980 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 1 racing cars.The winner of the championship, which was the 24th Australian Drivers' Championship, was awarded the 1980 CAMS Gold Star.... |
Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
1st | Lola T430 Chevrolet Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... |
Porsche Cars Australia |
| 1981 | Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
1st | McLaren M26 McLaren M26 The McLaren M26 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck for the McLaren team, to replace the aging McLaren M23 model. The car was designed to be a lighter and lower car than its predecessor, with a smaller frontal area and narrower monocoque... Chevrolet Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... |
Porsche Cars Australia |
| 1982 | Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
1st | Tiga Tiga Race Cars Tiga Race Cars Ltd. was a British auto racing constructor and team. The company was founded in 1974 by two former Formula 1 drivers, Australian Tim Schenken and New Zealander Howden Ganley. The company's name was formed by the first two letters of Tim and Ganley... FA81 Ford |
Porsche Cars Australia |
| 1983 1983 Australian Drivers' Championship The 1983 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to drivers of Australian Formula 1 racing cars. The winner of the title, which was the 27th Australian Drivers' Championship, was awarded the 1983 CAMS Gold Star.-Calendar:... |
Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
1st | Tiga Tiga Race Cars Tiga Race Cars Ltd. was a British auto racing constructor and team. The company was founded in 1974 by two former Formula 1 drivers, Australian Tim Schenken and New Zealander Howden Ganley. The company's name was formed by the first two letters of Tim and Ganley... FA81 Ford |
Porsche Cars Australia |
| 1984 1984 Australian Drivers' Championship The 1984 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title open to drivers of racing cars complying with Formula Mondial regulations. The winner of the title, which was the 28th Australian Drivers' Championship, was awarded the 1984 CAMS Gold Star... |
Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
2nd | Tiga Tiga Race Cars Tiga Race Cars Ltd. was a British auto racing constructor and team. The company was founded in 1974 by two former Formula 1 drivers, Australian Tim Schenken and New Zealander Howden Ganley. The company's name was formed by the first two letters of Tim and Ganley... FA81 Ford |
Porsche Cars Australia |
| 1997 1997 Australian GT Production Car Championship The 1997 Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars.The title was contested over an eight round series with two races per round.... |
Australian GT Production Car Championship Australian GT Production Car Championship The Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title, organised by PROCAR Australia Pty Ltd, for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars.PROCAR had first promoted a national series for production based cars in 1994... |
10th | Maserati Ghibli Cup Maserati Ghibli The Maserati Ghibli is a Gran Turismo car produced by Italian manufacturer Maserati in two generations: first from 1966–73, and again as the Maserati Ghibli II from 1992–97.- Ghibli I :... |
Cisco System Maserati |
| 1998 1998 Australian GT Production Car Championship The 1998 Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars. The championship, which was promoted by Procar Australia, was the third Australian GT Production Car Championship.... |
Australian GT Production Car Championship Australian GT Production Car Championship The Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title, organised by PROCAR Australia Pty Ltd, for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars.PROCAR had first promoted a national series for production based cars in 1994... |
8th | Maserati Ghibli Cup Maserati Ghibli The Maserati Ghibli is a Gran Turismo car produced by Italian manufacturer Maserati in two generations: first from 1966–73, and again as the Maserati Ghibli II from 1992–97.- Ghibli I :... |
House of Maserati |