Battistuzzi, Marcelo

[Mekola]

Marcelo Battistuzzi, after his successful stint at F. Opel-Lotus Euroseries, went to International F3000 in 1998. He contested that year with Apomatox, the year that team was converted into Prost Junior Team. He played there second fiddle to Stephane Sarrazin; the Frenchman won a race and Marcelo barely scored points.

In 1999, he continued in F3000 but racing at several teams: in the International series started the season with Portman Arrows, but after the closure of that team he moved to Coloni at mid-season, an for late races was in at the Petrobras Junior Team and Monaco Motorsport; he qualified on occasions but other times not (that year had an entrylist of 40-42 cars and only 26 qualified).

That same year he entered in what it was his last formulae effort, Italian F3000. At the first year he was a title contender, racing for Redgrave and Coloni teams, but failed to clinch the title at the last round, giving the honour to Giorgio Vinella. At the second season, 2000, he entered in the Monaco Motorsport Jr. team, but can't cope with financial problems, and after three races he was out of the frame. Later planned to race with Audi in ALMS, but none was concreted.

Having realized his motorsport career was gone, he decided then to go to the virtual world: with his brother, he developed one of the ultimate and most stetically-realistic racing simulators: Virtual Grand Prix. He created a series of different racing simulators, of formula and touring cars, the most famous one has the shape of a formula cockpit with all the gadgets inside and a LCD monitor at the front. He's still now with this business and as a manager of a cattle farm in Brazil.