Stefano Alfonso
Encyclopedia
Stefano Alfonso is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) was a speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
rider who raced for the Scottish Monarchs and Edinburgh Monarchs in the UK.
Career Summary
After starting out as a MotoCross rider, Alfonso switched to speedway in 1992 at the age of 24.In 1995 Alfonso finished second in both the Continental Semi Final in Lonigo and the Continental Final in Miskolc
Miskolc
Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
before finishing 15th out of 16 in the Grand Prix Challenge in Lonigo.
These performances were enough to get him noticed by British League clubs and he signed for the Scottish Monarchs for the 1996 season.
The highlight of Alfonso's career came during the 1996 season when he competed in the 1996 Italian Grand Prix
1996 Speedway Grand Prix of Italy
The 1996 Speedway Grand Prix of Italy was the second race of the 1996 Speedway Grand Prix season. It was take place on 1 June in the Santa Marina Stadium in Lonigo, Italy It was first Italian SGP and was won by Danish rider Hans Nielsen...
, a meeting where he defeated the eventual 1996 World Champion, Billy Hamill
Billy Hamill
William Gordon Hamill is an American international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a former Speedway World Champion, winning the title in 1996.-Early career:...
.
An arm injury in June interrupted his British League season in 1996, and he only made a few more appearances before the end of the season.
Alfonso didn't return to the UK in 1997 after being banned from racing due to failing a drugs test at the Italian Championships in 1996.
After competing on the Continent during 1998, Alfonso returned to the UK with Edinburgh Monarchs near the end of the season. However, he didn't make the expected impact while competing on sub-standard, borrowed machinery and failed to return to the Monarchs after a return home for an Italian Championship meeting. His failure to complete the necessary 6 matches to gain a new league average saw him excluded from the 1999 team and he never raced in UK speedway again.
He continued to compete on the Continent, including racing in the Italian League in 2002, before a broken leg ended his career.