(
December 23 ,
1956 -
April 25 ,
2001 ) was a
Formula One driver who participated during seasons
1981 to
1994 in
Tyrrell ,
Ferrari ,
Larrousse ,
Arrows , BMS Scuderia Italia and
Minardi .
Born in
Milan , Alboreto studied design, and started racing in 1976 in a car designed by himself; it was called CMR and was raced in Formula Monza without success. He moved to
Formula 3 in 1978 and in 1979 finished third in the Italian F3 series. He moved to the European Championship in 1980 while doing endurance races for
Lancia . In 1981 he won the Euroracing title, which resulted in a move to the Minardi
Formula 2 team, while maintaining his connections with Lancia and partnering with
Riccardo Patrese to win the Watkins Glen Six Hours. He scored Minardi's only Formula 2 victory, at Misano, and made his Formula One debut in the 1981
San Marino GP, on board a
Tyrrell . While with that team, he gained the distinction of giving the famous
Cosworth DFV its last F1 victory (of 155!), at the Detroit GP in 1983.
After leaving Formula One he competed in the
1996 Indianapolis 500 and won the 1997
24 Hours Of Le Mans with
Stefan Johansson and
Tom Kristensen in a TWR-run
Porsche .
He was killed testing an
Audi R8 Sports Car when he suffered a high-speed tire failure at the
Lausitzring in eastern Germany.
To this day he holds the record for the most fastest laps in a season (5) – set at 1987 Japan .
