Dino Morelli

Dino Morelli (born 6 June 1973), is a former racing driver who competed sporadically in Formula 3000 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 seventh 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 fifth 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, Morelli returned to the Formula 3000 and completed four races with a best finish of 8th at Monaco. In 1999, he represented Coloni Motorsport in both International F3000 and Italian Formula 3000. In Italy, Morelli completed two races, finishing fourth at Misano and winning the final round of the season at Imola. Scoring thirteen points, he finished sixth overall in Italian F3000 that season. In International F3000, his best result was tenth 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 with a best finish of seventh place. He retired from both the Monaco and British rounds of the championship after crashes.

Racing record Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F.Laps Podiums Points Position 1990 Formula Ford Festival ? 1 0 0 0 0 0 22nd 1991 British Formula Ford Championship Fulmar ? 2 ? ? ? 157 4th 1992 Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries ? ? 0 0 0 0 0 NC 1993 British Formula Three Championship P1 Engineering 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries David Sears Motorsport ? 1 0 0 0 0 NC 1994 British Formula Three Championship P1 Engineering 15 0 0 0 1 63 9th Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 0 11th 1995 International Formula 3000 Omegaland 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC 1996 Italian Formula Three Championship Coloni Motorsport 5 0 0 0 0 9 12th 1997 International Formula 3000 DKS Racing 4 0 0 0 1 6 12th British Formula 3000 1 1 1 1 1 0 NC 1998 International Formula 3000 Auto Sport Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC 1999 International Formula 3000 Coloni Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC Italian Formula 3000 2 1 1 0 1 13 5th 2000 International Formula 3000 World Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC Italian Formula 3000 Durango 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC Sports Racing World Cup - SR2 Tampolli Engineering 2 0 1 0 1 17 27th 2001 International Formula 3000 Team Astromega 5 0 0 0 0 0 NC

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 and runs a successful business. His family were the founders of the Morelli's ice cream parlour business in Northern Ireland.