Antonio 'Tony' D'Alberto (born 9 December 1985) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.11
Ford Mustang GT
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
for
Dick Johnson Racing
Dick Johnson Racing (formerly DJR Team Penske), is Australia's oldest motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team currently fields the #11 and #17 Ford Mustang GTs for Anton de Pasquale and Will Davison respective ...
as a co-driver in the
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...
.
Racing career
Formula Ford
D'Alberto began his career in the early 2000s running a
Formula Ford
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...
in his home state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, making a brief appearance in the
2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship.
V8 Supercar Development Series
2003 saw D'Alberto venture into V8Supercars for the first time, stepping into a
John Faulkner Racing
John Faulkner Racing (JFR) was an Australian motor racing team that competed in AUSCAR, NASCAR and V8 Supercars racing in the 1990’s and early 2000’s
History
John Faulkner Racing was formed by former Toyota Team Australia driver John Faulk ...
Commodore at the third round of the second tier
Konica V8 Supercar Series held at
Eastern Creek Raceway
Sydney Motorsport Park (known until May 2012 as Eastern Creek International Raceway) is a motorsport circuit located on Brabham Drive, Eastern Creek (40-kilometres west of the Sydney CBD), New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the Western Sy ...
. In just his sixth race he had climbed into the top ten at
Phillip Island
Phillip Island (Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explorer ...
and finished his first partial season with a fifth place overall at the series final at
Mallala Motor Sport Park
Mallala Motor Sport Park is a bitumen motor racing circuit near the town of Mallala in South Australia, 55 km north of the state capital, Adelaide.
Mallala Race Circuit (1961–1971)
The Mallala Race Circuit, as it was originally know ...
.
Joining the
Independent Racing Cars team for 2004 D'Alberto evolved into a regular top ten runner, but podiums eluded him as he raced to eighth place in the championship. That first podium came, though, on the biggest stage at the non-championship round held as a support race for the
2004 Bathurst 1000, driving a
Ford Falcon
Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide.
* Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970.
* Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991.
* Fo ...
for the first and thus far only time he gave his temporary
Howard Racing team a third-place finish.
Tony D'Alberto Racing was formed around the developing racer and a serious attempt for the champion was run for the first time in the 2005 season and he claimed third places at the Adelaide Street Circuit, Eastern Creek and Bathurst rounds of the championship on his way to fifth place. His form, however, did translate to his first invite to race in the main series endurance races and he stepped into the second
Tasman Motorsport
Tasman Motorsport was a V8 Supercar racing team. It was formed in 2004 out of what was Lansvale Racing Team V8 Supercar team and was associated with Greg Murphy Racing as a satellite operation.
Tasman Motorsport entered the series in 20 ...
Commodore but did not finish either enduro.
2006 was frustrating for D'Alberto as the team expanded to a second car for
Mark McNally but slid backwards and apart from again starring at the Bathurst round, heading for the familiar third place, was absent from the Fujitsu Series podiums, although the enduros this year saw him join the championship winning team
HSV Dealer Team
The HSV Dealer Team, previously known as the K-Mart Racing Team, was an Australian V8 Supercar team. The team ceased operations at the end of 2008, with Walkinshaw Racing and Kelly Racing being formed by owners and staff of the former team. The ...
although a confused driver swapping situation with
Holden Racing Team
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche 91 ...
saw D'Alberto deposited into the combined squads fourth car and results were not strong.
Series champion
2007 would see a season long battle between a revitalised Tony D'Alberto Racing team and the big new team in the Fujitsu series, the Jim Morton run Ford team,
Ford Rising Stars Racing and its lead driver
Michael Caruso. Second at the
Adelaide Clipsal 500 round lead to his first race win at
Wakefield Park Raceway in the third race of the weekend, which also gave him his first round win, and the points lead as Caruso faltered. Consistent seconds and a third at
Winton gave D'Alberto another round win, but
Queensland Raceway
Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at Willowbank in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The circuit did host Supercars Championship until 2019, drifting as well as club level racing and ride days.
Qu ...
was a miss-step and Caruso gained ground.
Owen Kelly
Owen Kelly (born 12 March 1977) is an Australian professional racing driver. Son of Chas Kelly, he has competed over the course of his career in V8 Supercars and NASCAR among other series.
Racing career
Kelly started his circuit racing career ...
took over the
Oran Park Raceway
Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan south west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from February 1962 until its closure in January 2010. The track was designed and started by George Murray and Jac ...
round as D'Alberto slid to sixth for the round but it was worse for Caruso. Bathurst, too, was a mixed result, but Caruso gained ground as
Luke Youlden
Luke Youlden (born 28 January 1978) is an Australian Supercars series racing driver. He is the son of two-time Australian Production Car champion Kent Youlden. Youlden currently drives for Kelly Grove Racing as a co-driver alongside David Rey ...
took the win. At the Phillip Island finale Caruso reigned supreme but a late race collision with
Dale Wood saw D'Alberto limp to the line for the first race in ninth place. A repaired Commodore raced home to fifth position, more than enough to secure the crown despite Caruso's race win.
[D'Alberto Wins Fujitsu Series](_blank)
GMAC Racing. Retrieved 30 January 2008
In the 2007 enduro season might have looked modest as D'Alberto joined the smallest team in the series, the Independent Race Cars run
Rod Nash Racing
Rod Nash Racing is a Supercars Championship racing entity, owned by Rod Nash. Nash co-owns Tickford Racing and since 2018, Rod Nash Racing has run under the Tickford name.
Racing history Privateer entry
Rod Nash first appeared in the series in ...
Commodore driven by
Steve Owen. Eleventh place had been a good result at the
2007 Sandown 500 but the team starred at
Bathurst. Despite the team's relative lack of resources they were involved in the fight at the fringe of the lead pack in the desperate, rain-affected final stage of the race and Owen brought the car home in a superb sixth position.
Supercars Championship
Tony D'Alberto Racing
Tony D'Alberto Racing, was a motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship, an Australian based motor racing series. The team, which was owned by the D'Alberto family, operated a single entry for Tony D'Alberto while on occasi ...
ran under the
Rod Nash Racing
Rod Nash Racing is a Supercars Championship racing entity, owned by Rod Nash. Nash co-owns Tickford Racing and since 2018, Rod Nash Racing has run under the Tickford name.
Racing history Privateer entry
Rod Nash first appeared in the series in ...
franchise for the team's first assault on the V8 Supercar Championship Series in 2008, fulfilling the team's long held ambitions. While a long running court case over past ownership of the No. 55 franchise threw some doubt over the team's entry in that series,
[A full field](_blank)
motorsport enews. Retrieved 29 January 2008 it was able to compete in all events in the 2008 championship.
![Holden VF Commodore of Tony D'Alberto 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Holden_VF_Commodore_of_Tony_D%27Alberto_2013.JPG)
In 2013, under the new Car of the Future rules, D'Alberto drove the
Walkinshaw Racing
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche ...
-backed No. 3
VF Commodore
The Holden Commodore (VF) is an executive car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufa ...
under the standalone team of
Tony D'Alberto Racing
Tony D'Alberto Racing, was a motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship, an Australian based motor racing series. The team, which was owned by the D'Alberto family, operated a single entry for Tony D'Alberto while on occasi ...
. Although his success was limited, with his best race results being a 4th at Winton, and a 4th at Surfers Paradise (with co-driver
Jonny Reid
Jonathan Ross Reid, more commonly known as Jonny Reid, (born 18 October 1983, in Auckland) is a New Zealand racing driver.
Career
Early career
Reid started his career in karting at the age of 8. In 1996, Reid won his first title, the New Z ...
), D'Alberto finished the Championship season in 16th place, his best result yet.
In 2014, due to insufficient sponsorship and funding,
Tony D'Alberto Racing
Tony D'Alberto Racing, was a motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship, an Australian based motor racing series. The team, which was owned by the D'Alberto family, operated a single entry for Tony D'Alberto while on occasi ...
sold their car and equipment to
Walkinshaw Racing
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche ...
, leaving D'Alberto without a full-time drive. D'Alberto will drive with Walkinshaw Racing's
Tim Slade
Tim Slade (born 3 August 1985) is an Australian racing driver who competes in the Repco Supercars Championship. Slade currently drives the No. 3 Ford Mustang GT for Blanchard Racing Team.
Early career
Slade first appeared at a national level ...
, as co-driver of the No. 47
VF Commodore
The Holden Commodore (VF) is an executive car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufa ...
in the enduro races in 2014.
In 2016 Tony will be joining Scott Pye in No. 17 as co-driver at DJR Penske
FG X Falcon for the enduro series (Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast) of the V8 Supercar Championship.
Career results
Complete Bathurst 1000 results
TCR Australia results
References
External links
Tony D'Alberto RacingV8 Supercars Official ProfileDriver Database profileProfile on Racing Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Alberto, Tony
Supercars Championship drivers
1985 births
Living people
Formula Ford drivers
Racing drivers from Victoria (Australia)
Australian people of Italian descent
V8SuperTourer drivers
Australian Endurance Championship drivers
Team Penske drivers
Dick Johnson Racing drivers
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers