Difference between revisions of "Joe Consiglio"

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Joe Consiglio

Superleague Career
Nationality	Maltese
Active Years	6
Team(s)	Nordsjoen Racing Phoenix F1 Stealth GP
Grand Prix	47
Championships	1 (2009)
Wins	9
Podium finishes	27
Pole positions	16
Fastest laps	9
First Grand Prix	2002 San Marino Grand Prix
First Win	2003 Italian Grand Prix
Last Win	2011 French Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	2011 French Grand Prix

Joe Consiglio (born 19 April 1985 in Liverpool, UK) is a Maltese sim-racing driver currently signed to Nordsjoen Racing. He has competed in the GPVWC since 2002 and was 2009 Superleague World Champion. Joe is also the current GPVWC Masters Series Champion (Touring Cars). Aside from driving duties, Consiglio co-owns Constant Racing with friend Mark Stanton.

Early years

Consiglio began his sim-racing journey at the age of 8 years old. The pioneering Microprose Formula 1 Grand Prix had just been released and being a massive F1 fan Joe could hardly wait to get his hands on a copy. In those early days Joe would spend hours and hours practising and relentlessly developing his skills. Indeed, Consiglio attributes his recent success to the grounding he had in such an excellent simulator from a young age.

By the age of 12 Consiglio was racing on Grand Prix 2 and further developing as a driver. At this stage it was difficult to gauge his ability as the internet was not yet widespread and local competition from his friends was in short supply. It was around the age of 14 Consiglio participated in his first offline race although little is known about the specifics of the outcome.

In 2001 Consiglio purchased Grand Prix 3 and switched from joystick to keys in the process. After mastering the art of manually changing gears and not using traction control Joe began to enter hotlap competitions against the best sim drivers in the world. It was here Consiglio achieved his first taste of success, finally he was ready to join the big leagues.

GPVWC Superleague

Stealth GP

2002

Consiglio’s GPVWC career began in early 2002 at the still relatively tender age of 16. With the league using Grand Prix 3, the season was already up to round 4 by the time Joe registered in early April.

Consiglio driving for Stealth GP in 2002.

Almost instantly Consiglio's speed caught the eye of team manager Luc Lissens (MaMa Racing) in a private test session prior to the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. He was quickly signed as first driver but in a bizarre turn of events the team folded only days before the Grand Prix. Stealth GP stepped in, retaining all MaMa’s assets, including the promising 16 year old driver.

On his début Consiglio hauled the underpowered Stealth Honda all the way up to P2 on the grid. The race itself featured heavy rain but Joe brought the car home in a creditable 4th after completing his first 100% distance.

Overall Consiglio had a very solid début year in GPVWC. The Maltese driver was clearly punching above his weight all season, scoring pole positions in France and Europe as well as picking up some well earned podiums in Canada and Germany. In fact Consiglio was favourite to win the European Grand Prix after posting a brilliant pole lap in qualifying. However the Honda engine in his Stealth let him down on the formation lap and Consiglio was unable to start the race, a bitter blow for the teenager.

Despite missing six events in 2002 Consiglio finished the championship in 7th place. By mid-season he was already being dubbed a 'star of the future' and was expected to challenge for the title in following seasons if he could get his hands on better machinery.

2003

Consiglio had a short but successful season in 2003. The Maltese ace took his first ever victory at the Italian Grand Prix in the BMW powered Stealth GP.

In 2003 the league upgraded to Grand Prix 4 and Consiglio switched from Keyboard to Wheel (Microsoft Sidewinder FF2). The season promised much for Consiglio after Stealth GP pulled off a major coup by securing BMW engines for their cars.

With one of the most powerful powerplants on the grid Consiglio was now being regarded as geniune title contender for 2003. Consiglio only strengthened these predictions by breaking two track records at Magny-Cours and Monza in pre-season testing.

At the first Grand Prix of the year in Australia Consiglio lined up on pole position and was only denied victory by a late shower in the dying moments of the race. It was 2002 World Champion Mikko Jakonen who took the win with Consiglio not far behind in a career best 2nd.

Monsoon conditions were the order of the day at Round 2 in Malaysia. Despite describing the conditions as "the worst he had driven in" Consiglio took another 2nd position this time behind 2000 World Champion Jason Endean of BA Racing. With Consiglio now leading the championship it seemed Joe's first victory would only be a matter of time.

However the dark clouds at Sepang were also rumbling behind the scenes and the league was about to be rocked to it's core. For personal reasons league owner and founder Dan Lawrence unexpectedly decided to shut down the GPVWC with immediate affect. With the paddock in disarray Andy Graydon managed to rally the troops, create a temporary website and continue the league under the new name F1VWC. Around half the original drivers and teams signed up to the new league but it was at this stage the disillusioned Consiglio decided to step down his sim-racing committments to focus more on his studies.

As the season progressed Consiglio kept an eye on things from the sidelines. Stealth GP had also parted company with the league after Malaysia but by mid-season they had re-entered the F1VWC. Consiglio was approached by team manager Ted Cragg about the possiblility of a one off drive for the team at Monza. Consiglio agreed and set his sights on capturing that illusive first win.

The event went exactly as planned and Consiglio picked up pole position, fastest lap and most importantly his first ever victory. Having achieved his ambition Joe went into semi-retirement again despite offers from Stealth and other teams to continue for the rest of the season.

Phoenix F1

2004

Unable to committ to a full season in 2004 Consiglio was signed by Phoenix F1 as test/reserve driver. Joe competed in three events that season, the highlight of which was his performance at the Canadian Grand Prix. In a classic encounter Consiglio unexpectedly found himself in a three-way battle for the win with Scott Whiteman and Mikko Jakonen. The trio traded positions for many laps but it was Whiteman who eventually came out on top, crossing the finish line just ahead of Jakonen in 2nd and Consiglio a further 4 seconds back in 3rd.

Consiglio finished 4th at the British Grand Prix and was running in the points at Monza before computer problems forced him to stop on lap 18. Soon after the Italian Grand Prix Consiglio announced he was taking a break from sim-racing for the for-see-able future. His absence from competition was to last over 4 years.

Nordsjoen Racing

2009

Lured back by the draw of online racing, Consiglio made his return to the GPVWC in early 2009. The Superleague was running rFactor for the first time and after a successful test session Consiglio was signed to Nordsjoen Racing as test/reserve driver. As pre-season testing unravelled it became clear Consiglio had the pace to be fighting for wins in the 2009 season. Team manager William Ponissi was quick to spot this potential and duly promoted Consiglio to drive the #2 car alongside Adam Rouse. It was to prove an extremely successfully partnership.

At the first race in Australia things didn’t go quite to plan for Joe. After qualifying a solid 3rd, Consiglio’s online inexperience showed at the start. On cold brakes and tyres Consiglio ran wide at turn 1 and spun re-entering the track. He was then violently hit by Mark Wicks (Wood Racing) and both drivers were forced to retire. Meanwhile team-mate Rouse went on to win the race after leader Janne Tanskanen suffered a dramatic engine failure on the very last lap.

Consiglio wins his first race of 2009 in China. The title charge had begun.

Consiglio was 2nd on the grid at Shanghai and in a race of attrition kept his cool to score his first victory of the season. Leader Tanskanen seemed to have everything under control until an incident with Roberto Luis Conde ended his race before mid-distance. After Rouse blew his engine trying to chase Consiglio down all that was left for the Maltese driver was to nurse his Nordsjoen home to finish line.

Joe took pole position at Suzuka and by now was clearly at one with rFactor and his Nordsjoen Racing car. Consiglio lost the lead to Tanskanen at the start and after a safety car period Joe was given a stop-go penalty for overtaking the Finn before the start finish line. Despite protestations from the Nordsjoen pitwall that Tanskanen had “lagged out” and therefore forced Consiglio to overtake, the penalty was issued and served early on in the race. After a spirited come-back Consiglio fought his way through the field and was rewarded with 2nd place at the finish.

A round later Consiglio took a lights to flag victory at the French Grand Prix in Charade. Team-mate Rouse once again bore the brunt of the now concerningly unreliable Honda engine. With Tanskanen also retiring Consiglio was now leading the championship after four rounds.

The circus moved to Ireland for Round 5 of the championship. Consiglio lined up 2nd behind Tanskenen but after a scruffy opening few laps had dropped to 6th behind Philip Cullen. Consiglio made his way back up to 2nd but was then punted off by the lapped Michelangelo Manrique. Fighting back again the now frustrated Consiglio promptly blew his fragile Honda after trying to regain the lost time spent in the pits repairing damage.

Dave Carr-Smith crosses the finish line less than half a second ahead of Consiglio at Silverstone.

At Monaco Consiglio was in dominant form. The Maltese driver took pole position and the win to re-establish his lead in the championship.

At Silverstone Consiglio was involved in an epic duel for victory with Dave Carr-Smith. The two drivers were on different strategies which finally met in the last 10 laps of the race. Inspired by his home crowd Carr-Smith kept the quicker Consiglio at bay all the way to the flag. It was a great display of close clean racing from the pair and Consiglio’s first real taste of wheel to wheel combat.

Once again Consiglio took pole and victory in the Czech Republic. Indeed from Monaco onwards Tanskanen had been struggling to match the Maltese drivers pace and could only manage a distant 2nd.

Legendary GPVWC driver Luis Fernando Laaff returned to the league for a one off appearance at Bahrain. Laaff was drafted in to replace the absent Rouse at Nordsjoen and duly took pole position in his first outing in the car. Consiglio was 2nd on the grid but was tagged by Carr-Smith on lap 1 and dropped to 6th behind Wayne Mullins. Un-be-known to Consiglio, Mullins had made a false start and was still to serve a drive-thru penalty. Unfortunately Consiglio was lined-up in Mullins' slipstream as the Welsh driver began heading for the pits. Consiglio saw this as an attempt to break the slipstream and followed the Gear F1's move to the right. Mullins then hit the brakes to slow the car down for the pit entrance and in doing so left Joe nowhere to go. The resulting collision sent the Nordsjoen driver skywards and Mullins down the pitlane with a missing rear wing. Both drivers were out on the spot. Meanwhile Laaff went onto score a dominant victory for Nordsjoen.

Due to other committments Consiglio was forced to miss Round 10 of the championship in South Africa. Tanskanen took an easy victory and thus kept his championship hopes alive.

After a long summer break the paddock re-gathered in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. At a track that Consiglio has long regarded as a favourite the Maltese driver took pole position ahead of Tanskanen and Carr-Smith. In a tense race Consiglio resisted late pressure from the Finn and took his 5th victory of the season in style.

Mexico was next on the calendar and once again Consiglio was in unstoppable form. In an event that saw Janne Tanskanen failing to show up, Consiglio took pole, fastest lap and a comfortable victory over team-mate Rouse. At this stage of the season the championship was starting to look like a formalilty for the Maltese driver.

After starting on pole Consiglio leads the field into turn 1 at Interlagos. However a disconnection ended the Maltese drivers race with just 12 laps to go.

However Brazil was to prove the beginning of a difficult period for Consiglio. Joe took his 7th pole of the year at Interlagos and was leading with only 14 laps to go. The Nordsjoen driver was then hit by a connection problem and a likely victory was snatched away. Rouse powered home to claim his 2nd victory of the year.

Although Brazil was certainly a set back for Consiglio it wasn't until a round later in Italy that the significance of that disconnection became clear. The experienced Formula Sim Racing (FSR) driver Lee Morris had entered the league along with the new CSG Racing team. Practice times showed that Lee was a good second or so faster than the rest of the field and would therefore surely play a part in the title fight. To compound Consiglio's worries Tanskanen was now back and ready to take the championship battle down to the wire.

At Monza Consiglio lined up 2nd on the grid behind debutant Morris but crucially ahead of Tanskanen. A poor start saw Consiglio drop to 5th behind Nick Rowland and Chris Kinsmann. After some time to settle Consiglio's longer strategy came into play and he found himself 3rd at half distance. Tanskanen was in 2nd but dropped time after a spin and gave Consiglio a target for the rest of the race. With 7 laps to go Consiglio was right on the Finn's tale and the two championship rivals began an intense battle for 2nd. Consiglio came extremely close to passing the Evans Blue driver but Tanskanen defended excellently and held on to the runner-up spot all the way to the flag.

At the next race in Valencia, Morris once again lined up on pole ahead of Tanskanen and Consiglio. The podium consisted of the same drivers in the same order but Tanskanen had given Morris a real run for his money up front. Unable to keep the pace Consiglio ran a lonely 3rd, some 20 seconds ahead of his team-mate Rouse in 4th. With the Nordsjoen drivers coming home in 3rd and 4th, the Constructors Championship was thereby decided in favour of the Italian team. Indeed, Consiglio and Rouse had formed a formidable and consistent partnership all year and no-one was in doubt the right team had been awarded the 2009 crown. For Consiglio however only 50% of the task was so far accomplished...

At Spa it was Consiglio's turn to start snapping at Morris' heels. The Maltese driver qualified 2nd but impressively only a couple of tenths shy of the English pole sitter. More crucially Tanskanen was a distant 5th on the grid and seemingly struggling for pace. However all the promise of a good race came to nothing for Consiglio as he once again got disconnected from the server, this time only a few laps into the grand prix. In any case it had been a bad start to the race for Joe after an incident with team-mate Rouse at turn 1. Rouse missed his braking point at La Source and slammed into the side of Consiglio, both drivers losing vital positions in the process. By lap 3 Consiglio was down in 4th and struggling with damage, then came the disconnection. Overall it was certainly a race to forgot for the Maltese driver and with Tanskanen coming home in 2nd it was a particularly hard result to swallow.

Consiglio takes the 2009 World Drivers Championship in Zandvoort.

The pen-ultimate round of the championship was held at Zandvoort. The big pre-race news was that Tanskanen would be unable to compete due to exam committments. Consiglio had been handed a massive opportunity and he knew that a 3rd place finish was all that was required to take the championship. In the race Morris was once again in strong form and took another easy lights to flag victory for CSG Racing. However it was Joe Consiglio who followed him home to take the 2009 World Drivers Championship. A 7 year dream had finally come true.

At the final round in Singapore the fans were treated to a fantastic battle for the win between Morris and the newly crowned champion. With the pressure off Consiglio was free to express himself on the floodlit streets and after a race long battle pulled off a spectacular pass on the CSG driver to take the lead in the latter stages of the grand prix. A late spin denied Consiglio of a fairy tale ending but none-the-less he had proven he was capable of going toe to toe with the new FSR sensation.

In 'a year to remember' Consiglio took 7 poles, 6 wins and 12 podiums for Nordsjoen Racing. After all his years involved in the league the 24 year old driver finally fulfilled his early promise and took a popular and well earned title victory.

2010

Consiglio battles with Kieran Ryan in Singapore.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula.

2011

Fighting back after an incident on lap 1, Consiglio passes Christoph Lichtenstein in China.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Complete GPVWC Superleague results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.

GPVWC Masters Series

Constant Racing

2009

"Battle scars". Ryan McConkey swaps paint with Consiglio on the last lap at Surfers Paradise (Sprint).

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula.

Nordsjoen Racing

2010

Consiglio on his way to victory at the intimidating Nordschleife circuit. The Maltese driver was in dominant form all series, a total of 10 wins securing him the title.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vel diam id mauris accumsan egestas. Sed sed lorem. Integer id mi vel sapien fermentum vehicula. Pellentesque vitae lacus a sem posuere fringilla. Vestibulum dolor. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Phasellus cursus augue ac purus. Curabitur faucibus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Complete GPVWC Masters Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.