17 Facts About Alfredo Costanzo

From 1980 to 1983 Costanzo won four Australian Drivers' Championships in a row, equalling the record set by Bib Stillwell from 1962 to 1965.

Under the patronage of Porsche Cars Australia distributor Alan Hamilton, Alfredo Costanzo won four Australian Drivers' Championships, the CAMS Gold Star.

Alfredo Costanzo's titles straddling the transition from F5000 to Formula Atlantic based Pacific cars.

Alfredo Costanzo commenced his Formula 5000 career racing a Lola T332 which he purchased in partnership with his brother in law and team mechanic, Marino Ciuffetelli.

In 1981 Alfredo Costanzo made the switch to race under Alan Hamilton in the same Lola T430 as part of the Porsche Racing team.

Alfredo Costanzo won the 1982 and 1983 Australian Drivers' Championships driving a Tiga FA81 powered by a 1.6-litre, 4 cyl Ford BDA engine.

Alfredo Costanzo competed in 11 AGP's between 1969 and 1984, with a best finish of 4th in 1980 and again in 1984.

Alfredo Costanzo was the leading local driver at the end, finishing behind winner Roberto Moreno, 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg, and Italian driver Andrea de Cesaris, though he did make a couple of shirt-lived comebacks.

At the insistence of his long-time open wheel rival turned touring car racer John Bowe, who to this day rates him as the best Australian driver he raced against, Alfredo Costanzo was drafted into the Volvo Dealer Team in 1986 for the Castrol 500 at Sandown and the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst.

Alfredo Costanzo 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 at Bathurst finished 2nd overall but unfortunately Alfredo Costanzo didn't get to drive.

Alfredo Costanzo finished 10th in the championship in 1997, and 8th in 1998.

In December 1984 Alfredo Costanzo accepted an offer from that year's Australian Sports Car Champion Bap Romano to co-drive the Romano WE84 Cosworth in the 1984 Sandown 1000 as part of the 1984 World Endurance Championship, the first FIA World Championship event held in Australia.

Alfredo Costanzo was famously beaten by amateur driver Greg Dodd while racing Porsche coupes in Tasmania.

Alfredo Costanzo had three attempts at beating Dodd's lap time, but proved unsuccessful each time.

Unfortunately their fears were to prove correct as over the course of the race meeting Alfredo Costanzo broke no less than 4 gearboxes, 2 of them in the race itself.

JPS Team BMW team manager Frank Gardner told Romano after the race that while standing at the back straight entry to Sandown's new infield section, he noted that Alfredo Costanzo had been changing from 5th gear straight down to 2nd gear for the hairpin, missing 4th and 3rd gears completely.