There are only a few young stars who catch my eye, with Dino Zamparelli being one of them. He first came to my attention in 2008 when he raced in the Ginetta Junior championship. He was catapulted into the public eye when he raced alongside the BTCC championship. Dino dominated that championship before then taking the step up to single seaters.
That transition, from tin-tops to single seaters, can seem daunting to some, but Zamparelli finished his first season of single seaters, the Formula Renault BARC Championship, in 3rd place. He then had a year out of racing due to financial problems ;as he could not drum up enough sponsorship. 2011 saw him come back better than ever and win the championship in which he did so well in during his debut season in single seaters.
He was one of the Autosport BRDC young driver finalists and i am not surprised, his race craft is superb and he is one of the brightest young talents out there. He, like many others however, struggles to raise sponsorship and funds to compete but with the platform he has after 2011 I am sure he will be moving up the ranks.
I got the chance to interview with young racer, asking about his past results and future ambitions.
1) Firstly thanks for agreeing to do this interview Dino, Firstly What made you realise "I want to be a racing driver"?
2) When and where was your first racing experience, and what did you think about it?
4) You dominated the Ginetta Juniour 2008 championship, that’s when you really caught the eye of the motor sport fans (including me) what were the highlights of that year and how much did that help your race craft?
6) How difficult was it stepping up from tin top sports cars, to single seaters?
7) You seemed to make the transition look easy, 2009 you finished 3rd in the championship in your debut year in single seaters, what were your highlights of that year?
Answer: Yeah! I missed out on 2nd place overall by a point and the two guys ahead of me had done about 3 years in single seaters! However, 3 wins and 9 podiums out of 13 races was a strong year, so overall I was pleased. My two poles, two wins and just the 1 fastest lap at Donington were the highlight...it felt good to finally win in a single seater.
8) 2010 must of been a difficult year, how did you find out you could not race and how did you feel at the time?
9) Did a year out of racing have any benefits for you?
That’s the goal..and I’m working extremely hard to make it happen!
That transition, from tin-tops to single seaters, can seem daunting to some, but Zamparelli finished his first season of single seaters, the Formula Renault BARC Championship, in 3rd place. He then had a year out of racing due to financial problems ;as he could not drum up enough sponsorship. 2011 saw him come back better than ever and win the championship in which he did so well in during his debut season in single seaters.
He was one of the Autosport BRDC young driver finalists and i am not surprised, his race craft is superb and he is one of the brightest young talents out there. He, like many others however, struggles to raise sponsorship and funds to compete but with the platform he has after 2011 I am sure he will be moving up the ranks.
I got the chance to interview with young racer, asking about his past results and future ambitions.
1) Firstly thanks for agreeing to do this interview Dino, Firstly What made you realise "I want to be a racing driver"?
Answer: When I was 6. Apparently I looked up at the TV and saw Michael Schumacher winning and said “I want that to be me!”
2) When and where was your first racing experience, and what did you think about it?
Answer: I remember my first every kart race in France when I was 10 years old, at a track called Brignoles. I was so scared, but I managed to qualify about 18th of out 20th I think. The main thing for me was to just finish the race. I had a race long battle with a driver and I managed to overtake him on the last lap. I was so happy to have just won my battle…even if it was for nearly last! It didn’t matter!
3)Something some people would not know about you is that your fluent in 3 different languages, explain which ones are you fluent in and will this help you in your racing career, or is it just something useful to have?
Answer: I lived in France for 7 years, so I can speak French really well now...as you would expect! I also spent a lot of time in Italy so can speak Italian too. It helps having the Italian heritage and the Italian name and being able to speak Italian! I’m also quite good at Spanish and I tried to teach myself German. German wasn’t quite as easy as I’d hoped for so I’m currently just on 3 languages! Having languages is always useful – you never know when you might need them!
Answer: To have been racing in front of about 30 thousand motorsport fans week in week out as part of the Touring Car package when I was just 15 years old, was special. The first race of the year I managed to win by 0.0020 seconds across the line I think; but it was my first ever race win in a car. From there I went on to win a further 9 races and picked up 15 podiums.
It was just great to win on on live TV in front of so many fans, and in front of such a big audience. It taught me a lot as well. The races didn’t all go to plan in the middle part of the year and that made me a lot stronger.
The highlight will certainly be Donington Park. I spun off from 3rd position on the first lap. I rejoined in about 14th spot and about 10 seconds down...however, from the moment I rejoined, I just got my head down and pushed like crazy. I made some really good moves and managed to get back into the lead on the penultimate lap and win the race…crazy!
5) In 2008 you were also selected as a BRDC "rising star" how did that feel? All the hard work must of felt worth it then?
Answer: To have been recognised as ‘the one to watch’ in British motorsport after a successful campaign in 2008 was a cherry on top of a very successful cake (year!)
Answer: It was harder than I thought. In some respects it would have been easier to step straight from a top level karting championship into a Renault. The reason for that is that in Ginetta Junior’s, we used treaded tyres, as oppose to slick tyres. In karting, they also use fresh slicks, so it would have been easier in that respect.
Having learnt everything in a sports car, I almost had to un-learn it for the single seater. So it took slightly longer than I’d hoped, but once I got the hang of it, it was great.
7) You seemed to make the transition look easy, 2009 you finished 3rd in the championship in your debut year in single seaters, what were your highlights of that year?
Answer: Yeah! I missed out on 2nd place overall by a point and the two guys ahead of me had done about 3 years in single seaters! However, 3 wins and 9 podiums out of 13 races was a strong year, so overall I was pleased. My two poles, two wins and just the 1 fastest lap at Donington were the highlight...it felt good to finally win in a single seater.
8) 2010 must of been a difficult year, how did you find out you could not race and how did you feel at the time?
Answer: It was disappointing not to have secured the sponsorship to race in the Renault UK Championship – but I never let it get me down. I was constantly pushing and keeping myself fit. I was always making sure I stayed sharp in case the opportunity arose for me to jump back in a car.
9) Did a year out of racing have any benefits for you?
Answer: It definitely made me stronger and hungrier to achieve my goals. It taught me that no one is going give you sponsorship, you’ve got to go out there and get it. Apart from that? No, it had no benefits!
10) After winning the 2011 Formula Renault BARC title you were selected as a finalist for the Mclaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the year award, was that just the icing on the cake after a great year?
Answer: Yes! From watching TV in 2010 to driving 500 BHP cars around Silverstone and drifting a DTM car in the wet, was something special. To have won the championship was the main goal, and then to be selected as one of 6 drivers to have had a standout year in British Motorsport was great. It was a great experience and one that I’ll hold with me forever.
11) What are your plans for 2012?
Answer: For this year, I’m working hard on raising the sponsorship for the FIA Formula 2 Championship. I think it’s a great series and the prize for winning it (a F1 test with Williams) is particularly attractive. I drove the F2 car in the award and loved it.
That’s the goal..and I’m working extremely hard to make it happen!
(c) Dino Zamparelli
You can keep up to date on Dino's progress on his website: www.DinoZamparelli.com or on Facebook or @DinoZamparelli.
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