Dino Morelli (born June 6, 1973,

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated i ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

), is a former racing driver 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 championships ...

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 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. 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. Formed by Enzo Coloni in 1983, the team participated in Formula Three between 1983 and 1986, before racing in Formula One as Enzo Coloni Racing Car Systems bet ...

in both International F3000 and

Italian Formula 3000 Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series. The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...

. 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. Alongside this he also raced in the Sports Racing World Cup completing three rounds. At Donington Park, 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 competed in A1 Grand Prix and Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium. History Team Astromega was created in 1995 by Belgian In ...

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. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, ...

, and runs a successful business. His family were the founders of the Morelli 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 People 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 drivers