======Mazzacane, Gastón======
>>**Name:** Mazzacane, Gastón
**Date of birth:** May 8th, 1975
**Place of birth:** La Plata, Argentina
**Minardi link:** Gastón made his debut with Minardi in 2000. Out of 17 attempts he finished 12 races scoring no points for the Faenza based squad.
**Original article:** Robert-Jan Bartunek
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Whether you are up to it or not, if you are an F1 driver from Argentina you'll always be compared to Argentina's most famous son Juan Manuel Fangio. Gastón Mazzacane was a Formula One driver and he was from Argentina, but was he the new Fangio? Unfortunately not. He even had the reputation of being a pay driver (because he brought in some Argentinian cash) who didn't deserve his F1 seat. Still I sincerely believe that Mazzacane was the most underrated driver of the 2000 season.

No wonder. Gastón Mazzacane started his career with Minardi and he had the questionable pleasure of making his first step into the pinnacle of motorsport together with the likes of Nick Heidfeld (Prost) and Jenson Button (Williams). While Button was hailed by the press as the new Senna, a future world champion and the saviour of the British (racing) empire, Mazzacane was not ranked among [[http://www.plussizetrendyclothing.net/c-46-cheap-plus-size-dresses.aspx plus size dresses]] the drivers who deserved to be on the grid. Unfortunately there was little Gastón could do to improve his reputation.[[http://www.clothlands.com/ forzaminardi Halloween Costumes]]

But let's have a look into Gastón's career before he made it into F1 in 2000. As with so many drivers he started his career with karting. He was quite good at it, won some races and regional championships and moved onto touring cars and South American F3. With three pole positions and five wins in his first year it was time for him to try his luck across the Atlantic. It was 1994 when he became Italian F2000 champion and did some testing in International F3000. He raced in F3000 (with Astromega and Team Autosport) for three years (96-98) until [[MinardiGianCarlo Gian Carlo Minardi]] and [[RumiGabriele Gabriele Rumi]] appointed him as Minardi's "third" driver in 1999. Gastón's backer PSN (Pan American Sportsnetwork; an Hispanic, Miami-based 24 hour sports TV-station focussing on Latin American countries) brought in some cash and suddenly Gastón found himself in Minardi's [[M02]] teaming-up with [[GeneMarc Marc Gene]].

Yet another "paydriver" was what most people thought. Still Gastón made some eat their words when he came in 12th for the very first practice session at the Australian GP in Melbourne ahead of both Heidfeld and Button. Unfortunately he wasn't able to keep up this performance during qualifying where he was outpaced by his team-mate Marc Gene (who, by that time, already had a full F1 season under his belt) and occupied the infamous 22nd spot on the grid. On race day Mazzacane also did a very good job until he had to leave the race with flames shooting out of his [[M02]]. The rest of the season was typical of a number two driver at Minardi, not very spectacular. However Gastón Mazzacane proved to be worth his seat. Out of 17 races he finished 12.[[http://cebu-beach-resorts.blogspot.com/ Cebu beach resort]]. He brought the car to the finish line in spite of severe gearbox problems from time to time. Still, he wasn't very popular in the paddock because he blocked lapping drivers every now and then. ""McLaren""'s David Coulthard and Ron Dennis slated Mazzacane for being a "mobile road block" after the Hungarian GP. The Minardi team reacted [[http://www.supplementstoweightloss.com/t-dietpills.aspx diet pills]] and sent out a press release [[http://www.supplementstoweightloss.com/ weight loss pills]]. It revealed that DC didn't lose any time while lapping Mazzacane during the race. ""McLaren"" didn't complain [[http://www.shoppharmacycounter.com/c-397-whey-protein.aspx whey protein powders]] about blocking after this incident.

Gastón's supreme moment was at the very first US GP at Indianapolis. In the changing conditions Gastón suddenly found himself in 3rd position with Mika Hakkinen behind. Hakkinen was still fighting for the 2000 championship and was trying hard to pass Mazzacane. But the double world champion had no chance to pass the Argentine until he went in for his pitstop. Mazzacane retired later in the race with engine problems. Pictures that showed a devastated ""McLaren"" fan throwing a can of beer from the grandstand onto Mazzacane's retired [[M02]] went around the world.

At the end of the season Mazzacane's sponsor PSN was poised to buy the Minardi team. What really happened was never revealed but the outcome was that Minardi didn't have a sponsor, faced a severe crisis and Mazzacane moved onto [[http://www.americanhomemoving.com/c-26-moving-and-storage-services.aspx moving storage]] Prost GP. There Mazzacane never seemed to be very welcome. After four races he was replaced by Luciano Burti and left F1.

I cant imagine a situation when the team does not have a sponsor to support its activities and brand name. Finding the right sponsor is a difficult task but if you get the right one then most of the future problems would be solved [[http://www.shoppharmacycounter.com/ weight loss supplements]]. To make the right team that is fit for the race is like having our car assembled with the best engines, tires,[[http://www.b2bmedia.com Car wraps]], great spares etc. 
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