Mario Casoni
Mario Casoni (born September 4, 1939 in Finale Emilia ) is a former Italian racing driver and entrepreneur.
Entrepreneur
Mario Casoni was born into a well-known and wealthy family of spirits producers in Northern Italy. In the 1950s he studied business administration , finished his studies in 1958 and joined his parents' company, where he soon became managing director - a position that he held well into old age. The CASONI FABBRICAZIONE LIQUORI - SPA belongs with a production of 25 million bottles and turnover of 60 million euros of the largest private spirits manufacturers in Italy. From 1996 to 1999, Casoni was Vice President of Confindustria , the largest employers' association in his home country. Since March 2005 he has been a member of the Management Board of Modena Capital Holding SpA .
Motorsport
1960s
In addition to his work as an entrepreneur, Casoni was closely associated with national and international motorsport for many years. He gained his first experience in national mountain races in the early 1960s . Great talent was attested to the young driver, which was reflected in factory cockpits at sports car races from 1965 onwards. In the sports car world championship he drove for Bizzarrini and finished fifth with the Belgian Pierre Noblet in an Iso Grifo A3C in the 1000 km race in Monza this year . His long friendship with Enzo Ferrari , who entrusted him with a works car for the first time in 1965 , also came from this time . Ferrari repeatedly urged Casoni to run the racing business professionally and to transfer the management of the company into other hands. A career in Formula 2 and later in Formula 1 would have been possible, according to Enzo Ferrari. But Casoni renounced a full professional career and always saw himself as an amateur racing driver. He drove his first Ferrari in 1965 at the Le Mans 24-hour race . Whereby this first mission for the Italian sports car brand came about via a detour. Casoni was originally registered with Bizzarini and was supposed to drive an A3C again. Giotto Bizzarrini withdrew the message from two cars, so that Casoni was suddenly without a cockpit. Enzo Ferrari offered him a place in the team and Casoni became partner of Giancarlo Baghetti in a Ferrari Dino 166P . In the race, the car only got two laps, then the engine went on strike.
He celebrated his first race win in August 1965 in a Ferrari 250LM at the Coppa Cittá di Enna , a race for the 1965 World Sports Car Championship . In 1968 he became a works driver at Alfa Romeo . At the Targa Florio he was third overall. He shared the cockpit of the Alfa Romeo TT33 / 2 with the Belgian Lucien Bianchi . At the end of 1969 he left Alfa Romeo and restricted his racing activities in the following two years for professional reasons.
1970s
At the beginning of the decade, Casoni was hardly to be found on the racetracks. He drove a few races for Abarth and came fourth in 1971 with his compatriot Marsilio Pasotti in the 1000 km race in Zeltweg .
The American racing driver Tony Adamowicz , with whom he contested the 9-hour race in Kyalami in 1971 , described him as a paydriver who paid for his cockpits and had to let his faster teammates drive more and longer; a subjective representation that does not do justice to Casoni's driving ability.
In 1972 he got back into motorsport more intensively and celebrated one of his greatest international successes with third place overall in the Le Mans 24-hour race . His teammates were Reinhold Joest and Michael Weber . Reinhold Joest became a key figure in Casoni's racing activities in the 1970s. The German from the Odenwald , born in 1937 , was just beginning to build his own racing team. The sponsorship money from Casoni came in handy. In 1974 and 1975 the two drove sports car races with a Porsche 908 with great success for two years . In Le Mans , Casoni finished fourth overall with Joest and Jürgen Barth , a position that he also achieved in the 6-hour race at Watkins Glen . The duo Joest / Casoni finished third in Pergusa and at the Österreichring . Casoni also won two races with the Joest-Porsche in the Italian sports car championship; the Enna Cup and the 2 hours of Vallelunga .
After 1975 the races became less again. Casoni's entrepreneurial activities left little room for motorsport.
1980s
In 1982 he made his last appearance in a car race. At the 1000 km race in Monza , he drove a Lancia Beta Montecarlo together with Joe Castellano and Mark Thatcher in fifth place in the overall standings.
Monoposto
Little is known about Casoni's monoposto activities. In 1963 he contested a few races in Formula Junior and in 1968 a race with the Ferrari Dino 166 F2 in the Formula 2 European Championship . In 1972 he drove the Rothmans 50000 at Brands Hatch on a Lola T280 , a race in which vehicles from Formula 1 and 5000 , as well as sports cars, were allowed to start. Victory went to Emerson Fittipaldi in the Lotus 72 ; Casoni finished twelfth.
statistics
Le Mans results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 |
 Spa Ferrari SEFAC
|
Ferrari Dino 166P |
Giancarlo Baghetti
|
failure | Engine failure | |
| 1966 |
Scuderia San Marco
|
Ferrari Dino 206S |
Nino Vaccarella
|
failure | Leak in the water tank | |
| 1967 |
 Scuderia Filipinetti
|
Ford GT40 |
Umberto Maglioli
|
failure | overheated cylinder | |
| 1968 |
Autodelta SpA
|
Alfa Romeo TT33 / 2 |
Giampiero Biscaldi
|
Rank 6 | ||
| 1972 |
Jo Siffert ATE Racing
|
Porsche 908LH |
 Reinhold Joest
|
Michel Weber
|
Rank 3 | |
| 1975 |
Joest Racing Ovoro
|
Porsche 908/03 |
Reinhold Joest
|
Jürgen Barth
|
Rank 4 |
Sebring results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 |
Bizzarini Automobili
|
Iso Grifo A3C |
Silvio Moser
|
failure | accident |
| 1967 |
Scuderia Brescia Corse
|
Ferrari Dino 206S |
 Jonathan Williams
|
failure | Cylinder overheated |
| 1969 |
Autodelta SPA
|
Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 |
Andrea de Adamich
|
failure | Cylinder overheated |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
.svg){kind=small}
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information about Mario Casoni (Italian) ( Memento from July 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Mario Casoni as an entrepreneur (Italian) ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Information about Mario Casoni (Italian) ( Memento from July 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Tony Adamowicz and Mario Casoni in Kyalami 1971
- ↑ Casoni in Formula Junior and Formula 2
- ↑ Casoni at Chicane F1
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Casoni, Mario |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian entrepreneur and racing car driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 4, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Finale Emilia |