Conse Motorsport

Ivan Capello (Lead Mechanic)

**BraPet** **Conse Motorsport** is an Italian team currently competing in Formula A that previously competed in the now-defunct IFS. The team has been competing since the 80s, becoming known for their small operation in rural Italy and giving many drivers their start in the IFS. Despite achieving little results historically, they have become fan favorites for their lack of corporate nature, dedication to their fanbase, and willingness to make the most of their lack of funds. The team's name is derived from the place it was founded, Conselice, a small township in Emilia-Romagna, where the team has operated since it's inception in 1982.

## **History**

### Foundation

Conse Motorsports was founded by Luca Marietta, owner of various car dealerships across Emilia-Romagna and other regions of Italy. Using a large array of funds built up and various connections to secure sponsorship money, Luca, along with his good friend and someone with various connections in the racing world, Andrea Martini, decided to create a racing team. Founded in 1975, they would enter various Formula Carlson and touring car series across Europe, primarily in Italy. The team would start well, achieving various good results driving their now iconic black and yellow liveries. Gaining notoriety in Italy, they would find sponsorships from various Italian brands, granting them the ability to further expand their operations. In 1978, the team would enter its first race in the Italian GPJ series, proving to be competitive right off the bat with talented staff and drivers in their ranks. As the team grew and expanded, they would enter various other regional GPJ series, becoming known as one of the best teams in the junior ranks. They would host various Italian drivers from 1978 to 1985, many of which ended up in either GPWC or IFS. Along with this, they would take the first championship of the Italian Touring Car Series (ITCS) in 1982, dominating the series. They would also find stable footing in Britain, entering the British Touring Car League, where they would participate until 1999. Coming out the gate swinging with excellent runs for the championship, they would fall just short against the tough competition. The team would make the jump up to the International Formula Juniors series in 1982, the first year of the new series. Although proving competitive, the team would only be good for 2nd in the championship, as flying Finn Risto Pulkkinen would dominate the series. After establishing funding and forming a partnership with Espada, the team would move up to the IFS for its inaugural season in 1983.

### IFS – Difficult Beginnings

Although the partnership with Espada seemed to bring much promise, as the chassis designer was known for success in sports cars, the first season would bring large growing pains as the team adapted to the rigorous world of IFS. Although the team did have backing from sponsors, their current sponsor payroll wouldn’t be enough to fully compensate for the program, forcing Conse to scramble for funding and large amounts of development being lost. Despite starting well, with Patrick Williams scoring points on debut after a chaotic opening round, they would only manage to finish 8th in the constructors’ championship, last out of all the teams that scored points. Continuing to build off the previous season’s chassis as a method of saving costs, Patrick Williams would once again drive his heart out, posting impressive drives throughout the season. Unfortunately, he would score 0 points, and suffer many retirements due to the unreliable nature of their engine manufacturer, Chiti, who provided engines to various backmarker teams during their tenure in GPWC. Patrick Williams would leave for Romano, starting the trend of various future champions starting their careers with Conse. 1986 would prove to have better fortunes, switching to Carlson engines. Mattia Caldarelli would join the team, and the team would finish a solid 7th in the constructors’, putting on a stellar drive at a flooded Silverstone to put the car in the points once again. Despite the good team organization, the team would continue to struggle due to a lack of funding. This would once again rear its head in 1987, when the team would miss 5 races due to a destroyed chassis in a massive accident in Belgium, causing major setbacks for the team. After 1987, Espada would end their partnership with Conse. Conse would begin doing all their development besides their engines in-house. They would hire designers from Premat, aiding them greatly as they would continue to post decent results relative to their funding. They would finish off the decade with another pointless season, continuing to struggle with reliability, and failing to qualify in Monza, with a massive disappointment to the home crowd. Despite this, they continued to cultivate an impressively loyal legion of fans, impressed with the small team’s dedication to performing.

### IFS – 90s: Surprise Performances

1990 would mark a massive change for Conse, with title sponsor Suprano giving the team a decent influx in funding, allowing them to open a second car. Mattia Caldarelli would be paired with incredible junior talent Matteo Russo. In his debut season, Russo would put on an incredible run, scoring points 3 times across the 16-race season, granting Conse their best result in the constructors’ championship since their inception with an impressive 7th. The shining star of these runs would be a 4th place finish in Adelaide, where a chaotic race would grant Conse their highest race finish yet. Russo would immediately be snapped up by McKenzie in 1991, with Conse signing various other drivers to fill the empty seat. 1992 would see Conse having another good season, with 1993 following in a similar direction. Although neither season replicated the same level of magic, the two-car effort was working, and Conse continued to perform decently, constantly scoring points each season, and finishing 7th-8th in the constructors’. The team’s morale was high and would only get higher as they would sign Austrian wunderkind Anton Hackl, who set the record for the youngest IFS starter at the time. 1994 would prove to be an incredible season for Conse, with Anton Hackl managing to take the first and only win for the team in its history on home soil at Monza, with a chaotic, rain-filled race causing chaos throughout the field. Hackl and his team masterminded the strategy with a risky gamble to slicks as the track was drying to seize the opportunity and take the win. Conse would reach a new high of 6th in the constructors’ with this feat, and Anton Hackl would finish an outstanding 12th in the drivers’ championship. Hackl would stay with the team for one more season, finishing a less impressive 15th in the standings, however; Conse had cemented themselves as a truly good team that lacked the funding to bring them to the next level. 1996 would prove to be much tougher as Hackl departed from the team, forcing them to sign Hungarian Bence Orbán. With an unsuccessful season in 1996 and 1997, struggling with reliability issues as the team would fall further to the back of the standings. Title sponsor Suprano would back out, leaving Conse stranded without a title sponsor for 1998 and 1999. They resorted to signing pay driver Cody Fox, as well as Spanish talent Antonio Ferrero. Ferrero would prove to be an excellent driver for the team; however, Fox would be mediocre at best, achieving middling results.

### 2000s – Inconsistency and Turbulence

2000 would be a fresh start for the team, signing Nico Holzmann and Lukáš Novotný for the season. Nico Holzmann would prove to be excellent for the team, achieving multiple points and finishing results in 2000. Lukas Novotny would also prove to be decent, staying with the team for an extra season as Nico Holzmann would leave to join Weston. 2001 would prove to be a difficult season, gaining and dropping sponsors in almost every single race. 2002 would prove to be more of the same, struggling to pin down consistent race by race sponsorship, being forced to run a blank car for the French Grand Prix that year. For 2003, Conse would bring on Italian banking firm Cashnow, providing them with enough funding to make it through to the end of the season and further into 2004. Lucas Costa would be the next future winner to join the ranks of Conse’s immense driver history. Despite showing clear signs of talent, the car was so underpowered it could barely challenge for any points-paying positions. Costa’s highest finish all season was 8th place. Cashnow would later reveal to be a massive money laundering scheme, with the founders being arrested and the team losing the sponsorship once again, leaving them almost entirely out of money for 2005. They would be forced to sign pay drivers Jos de Waal and Krisztian Varga. The team would languish having some of its worst seasons from 2005 to 2008, languishing at the back of the grid and going through multiple pay drivers. 2009 would also prove to be incredibly difficult for Conse, as the team would fail to develop their car throughout almost all of the season, finishing last in the standings yet again. Humaid bin Mujahid would be brought in for 2010, providing the team with enough funding to get to the end of the season, where they would once again finish last in the standings.

### Hiatus and Return

2011 would be the final season of Conse participating in the IFS, stating that they had run completely out of funding and would be unable to compete in 2012. Their final driver lineup would be Alexandre Lopes Cordeiro and David Smith, achieving middling results with David Smith managing to obtain 2 points on the season. The team would remain dormant for 5 years before securing enough funding through large Italian investment groups and entering a program for International Formula Juniors, achieving decent results in the series and bringing many drivers up through the junior ranks in typical fashion. In 2022, after Formula A’s announcement, the team would begin preparing for an entry into Formula A once again, this time partnering with Barzetti to secure consistent engines, along with a partnership with title sponsor BraPet. 2023 would prove to be a good return season for Conse, achieving average midfield results.