Zeccoli in the ‘Periscopio’ Alfa T33 prototype at the Nurburgring, 1967. (Photo credit Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo, Arese, Zeccoli Archives)
By Vladimir Pajevic
The below tribute is from the AutodeltaGoldenYears.com Rome Senior Corresponding Editor. Vladimir was there on the ground with Autodelta during its formative years and still gathers the few remaining Autodeltisti to reminisce about the Golden Years….he is one of the few who have a well-formed atmospheric view of Teo Zeccoli (Dorino) and the period in which he did his magic.- Bob Little
Another Maestro has left worldly racing circuits forever in search of heavenly paddocks. Sometimes, it is difficult to find the right words at one’s leave; too many memories, too many unanimous words and feelings to express. It is always some part of our lives that remains on that ship that is leaving the harbor.
The racing world will remember Teo Zeccoli as a first class driver, a kind and educated person who was born with an extremely rare talent and ability to listen and communicate with engines.
He, in a way, was the alter ego, a kind of the extension of the physical senses of Carlo Chiti, almighty regent in Autodelta reign, the one man who Chiti trusted blindly, and the must-have adviser in numerous technical solutions that the great ‘Chitone’ had to underwrite.
A pit stop on the Targa Florio with the lightweight aluminium bodied ATS GT, which was raced in 1964. Zeccoli archives.
Their fellowship was born in the days of the ATS adventure, where he was lured by Chiti from the position of the chief test driver and racing pilot for Carlo Abarth, toward new challenges with uncertain borders with Alfa Romeo.
Zeccoli was a refined, sophisticated driver with an incredible sense to capture every detail in the complex reality of racing engine and chassis development.
Better, much better than any dynamometer, he could point to the weak details of the motor, explain the problems and indicate solutions. As a racer, he was second to no one, and only his respect for mechanical devices interfered sometimes, preventing him from asking more than possible from the engine.
Truly a determined race driver; Zeccoli at Le Mans in 1965. Photo credit Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo, Arese
I remember him standing joyless in his underwear …in a sand bank …beside his derailed off-track TZ during the 1965 Le Mans race. He sacrificed his driving overalls and placed them under the rear wheels of his TZ in a desperate effort to return to the track.
That was true Teo Zeccoli, and that is why in every racing Alfa Romeo car, where Teo’s touch left his indelible imprint during hours and hours of testing, every victory owes some debt to his big heart and his development skills.
I was aware of his recent health problems, though, as always, we try to hide from ourselves the real degree of imminent ominous oncoming. But dear Teo, you were already immortal to every true Alfista, and we will remember you as the present part of our big Family. Riposa in Pace Dorino!
Tiziano Cherubini, Consigliere of the Club Ruote Classiche Prato, attended the funeral on March 8 in Lugo di Romagna, took this photo and wrote, “In a very small church in the Romagna countryside near Lugo, we greeted ‘Dorino’ Zeccoli. Everything, including the ceremony was in the style and simplicity that has always been his choice in life. A few were present, regretfully, but maybe he would have preferred it that way! We have brought our embraces to his son Andrea.”