Stefano Modena was born on 12 May 1963 and is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1987 to 1992.
17 Facts About Stefano Modena
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Stefano Modena participated in 81 Formula One Grands Prix for Brabham, EuroBrun, Tyrrell, Jordan, debuting at the 1987 Australian Grand Prix.
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Stefano Modena achieved two podiums and 17 championship points across six seasons.
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Stefano Modena was born on 12 May 1963 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
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Stefano Modena was intent on becoming a full-time Grand Prix driver for 1988, testing for Benetton before the season.
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However, for a full-time drive he had to join the new EuroBrun team, who included many of the same Euroracing mechanics Stefano Modena had worked with in 1985.
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The EuroBrun ER188 with its 3.5 litre Ford Cosworth V8 engine was not competitive however, and Stefano Modena was consigned to run near the rear of the field for the year.
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Stefano Modena did however prove to be faster than his teammate, fellow F1 rookie and former Brun Motorsport sportscar driver, Argentina's Oscar Larrauri.
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Stefano Modena was offered one of the seats, driving alongside Martin Brundle.
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Stefano Modena raised the team's spirits by finishing 5th at the season-opening United States Grand Prix but after that results were rare.
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Stefano Modena finally got his big break in 1991 when he was signed as replacement for Ferrari-bound Tyrrell team leader Jean Alesi.
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The wet conditions at Imola saw similar attrition allowing Stefano Modena to reach 3rd place before transmission failure.
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However, their car was hindered by the underpowered Yamaha V12 engine and Stefano Modena struggled all season.
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Stefano Modena failed to qualify for four races and became unpopular with his team for his lack of mechanical sympathy and moody behaviour compared to teammate Mauricio Gugelmin.
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Stefano Modena drove instead for Alfa Romeo in the Italian and German touring categories from 1993 to 1999, winning occasional races but never looking like a serious contender for the title.
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Stefano Modena was known for being an eccentric character with bizarre habits verging on the obsessive, including not wanting to have his car parked on the left side of the team garage, and not allowing anyone to touch his race car once he was inside other than the team member who helped him with his safety belts.
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Stefano Modena was known to race with his gloves inside out.