Dino Morelli (born June 6, 1973), is a former

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

who competed sporadically in

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...

between 1995 and 2001.

Career

Morelli began racing in karts in the late 1980s before joining Irish Formula Ford in 1990, and later British Formula Ford in 1991. By 1994, he was racing in

British Formula 3 The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single sea ...

where he finished 7th in the championship. He joined Omegaland to compete in the first two rounds of the 1995 International Formula 3000 season. He retired from both races. In 1996, he joined Coloni to race in Italian Formula 3, before returning to Formula 3000 in 1997. Driving for DKS Racing, Morelli's season started well finishing 5th in the opening race at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

. He would secure his first, and only, Formula 3000 podium at Helsinki. At the next round in Germany, Morelli was involved in a major accident with Gareth Rees and Cyril Sauvage which saw his car launched over the barriers. Morelli was airlifted to hospital, suffering lacerations on the face and complex fractures to his feet. He did not race again in 1997, but did finish in 12th position in the championship. In 1998, he returned to the Formula 3000 and completed four races with a best finish of 8th at Monaco. In 1999 he represented

Coloni Motorsport Coloni Motorsport, also known as Scuderia Coloni, was an auto racing team from Italy. Founded by former racing driver Enzo Coloni in 1983, the team participated in Formula Three between 1983 and 1986, before racing in Formula One as Enzo Coloni ...

in both International F3000 and Italian Formula 3000. In Italy, Morelli completed two races finishing 4th at Misano and winning the final round of the season at Imola. Scoring 13 points he finished 6th overall in Italian F3000 that season. In International F3000, his best result was 10th at Spa. As he headed into 2000, Morelli completed two International F3000 races for WRT and

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

. Alongside this he also raced in the

Sports Racing World Cup The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and got the approval of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 2001. It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating on two ...

completing three rounds. At

Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport Race track, circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, sti ...

, he won with team mate Richard Lyons. In 2001, he completed five races for

Team Astromega Team Astromega was a racing team from Belgium, headquartered in Heist-op-den-Berg and created in 1995 by Mikke Van Hool. The team has competed in A1 Grand Prix, Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium and International Formula 3000. History Team Astromeg ...

with a best finish of 7th place. He retired from both the Monaco and British rounds of the championship after crashes.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete International Formula 3000 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Personal life

Morelli is based in

Portrush Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart in County Londonderry. The main part of the old town, including the Portrush railway station, railway stati ...

, and runs a successful business. His family were the founders of the Morelli's ice cream parlour business in Northern Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morelli, Dino Racing drivers from Northern Ireland International Formula 3000 drivers British Formula 3000 Championship drivers 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Ballymoney Formula Ford drivers Italian British racing drivers People from Northern Ireland of Italian descent Team Astromega drivers Scuderia Coloni drivers P1 Motorsport drivers Durango (racing team) drivers Motorsport people from County Antrim