Stefano Modena facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Stefano Modena

Born	(1963-05-12) 12 May 1963 (age 62) Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1987–1992
Teams	Brabham, EuroBrun, Tyrrell, Jordan
Entries	81 (70 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	2
Career points	17
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1987 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry	1992 Australian Grand Prix

Stefano Modena (born 12 May 1963) is a former racing driver from Italy. He raced in Formula One, which is the highest class of international racing, from 1987 to 1992.

Stefano grew up in Modena, Italy. He started his racing journey in kart racing, which is like go-karting. He won the Junior Karting World Cup in 1978. He also won the European Championship two times in a row in 1983 and 1984. After that, he moved up to Italian Formula Three in 1985.

He won several races in 1986 and even got the top starting spot at the Macau Grand Prix. In 1987, Stefano joined International Formula 3000 and won the championship in his very first year! He took part in 81 Formula One races for teams like Brabham, EuroBrun, Tyrrell, and Jordan. He got on the podium (finished in the top three) twice and scored 17 championship points during his six seasons in Formula One.

Stefano's Early Racing Days

Stefano Modena was born on May 12, 1963, in Modena, Italy. He was a champion in 125cc Junior Karting in Italy. After karting, he spent two seasons racing in the Italian Formula Ford series.

In 1985, he joined the Euroracing team in the Italian Formula 3 series. He finished 15th overall that year. In 1986, he switched to Team Seresina and won three races. He finished 4th overall and also came in second at a support race in Monaco. He even won a race in the European Formula 3 series at Imola.

In 1987, Stefano joined the Onyx team for the Formula 3000 series. He won three races and became the champion!

Joining Formula One

Many people thought Stefano had a lot of talent and could become a future champion. Because of his speed, he got a chance to race for Brabham in the very last race of the 1987 Formula One season. He did well, starting 15th at the 1987 Australian Grand Prix. However, he was new to the powerful turbo-charged BMW engine. He had to stop three times to change flat tires and eventually retired because he was too tired.

Stefano really wanted to be a full-time Formula One driver in 1988. He tested for the Benetton team before the season. But for a full-time spot, he joined the new EuroBrun team. This team had many of the same mechanics he worked with in 1985. Their car, the EuroBrun ER188, wasn't very fast. Stefano often raced at the back of the field that year. Still, he proved to be faster than his teammate, Oscar Larrauri.

Racing with Brabham and Tyrrell

In 1989, the Brabham team returned to Formula One after taking a break in 1988. Stefano was offered one of the racing spots. He often started races well, getting into the top 10 eight times. This was impressive because his car used a less powerful engine. His best result that year was finishing 3rd at the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix. This was his first time on the podium in Formula One.

In 1991, Stefano got a big opportunity when he joined the Tyrrell team. He replaced Jean Alesi, who moved to Ferrari. With good sponsors and Honda engines, many people expected Stefano to win races. He started the season well with a 4th place finish in Phoenix. In the wet conditions at Imola, he was in 3rd place before his car broke down.

At the next race in Monaco, he did even better. He started on the front row, right next to the World Champion, Ayrton Senna. He stayed close to Senna until his engine broke down. In Canada, he finished 2nd after Nigel Mansell retired on the last lap. After that, Stefano's performance dropped. The tires were hard to manage, and the heavy Honda engine made the car difficult to control. He still often qualified well, but he struggled in races. He only scored one more point that year, finishing 6th in Japan.

Moving to Jordan and Retirement

The 1991 season was a bit disappointing for Stefano. He left Tyrrell and joined the Jordan team for the next season. Jordan had a strong first year in 1991, so many thought Stefano was lucky to get a spot there. However, their car in 1992 had a weak Yamaha V12 engine. Stefano had a tough season and failed to qualify for four races. He became less popular with his team because he was moody and didn't seem to be careful with the car.

Despite these challenges, he scored the team's only point of the year at the final race in Australia. After the 1992 season, he couldn't find a spot in Formula One for 1993.

Stefano then raced for Alfa Romeo in Italian and German touring car races from 1993 to 1999. He won some races but was never a top contender for the championship. After racing for Opel in 2000, he retired from motorsport.

Life After Racing

After retiring from racing, Stefano took part in some 24-hour karting races. In 2003, he started working for Bridgestone, a company that makes tires. He tested both racing tires and regular road tires. Over the years, he has done many tests in different weather conditions and places around the world. He also helped promote and develop new road tires for Bridgestone.

Since the late 1990s, Stefano has lived in Rome with his wife, Sveva Altieri. They have two children: Ascanio, who is an archaeologist and journalist, and Vittoria, who is a lawyer.

Stefano was known for having some interesting habits during his racing career. For example, he didn't like his car to be parked on the left side of the team garage. He also didn't let anyone touch his race car once he was inside, except for the team member who helped him with his seatbelts. Sometimes, he would even get out of his car and get back in if he saw someone else touch it before the warm-up lap. Stefano also used to race with his gloves turned inside out, but he said this wasn't because of superstition.

Racing Highlights

Career Summary

See also

In Spanish: Stefano Modena para niños