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The father of 12-times Sports Sedan title holder Tony Ricciardello, Basil was the heart and passion of the West Australian team.
Born in Italy in 1943, he immigrated to Perth WA in 1963 after he became a qualified mechanic in his native Sicily. He readily became involved in motor racing scene. He raced a EH Holden to begin with, then a Fiat 2300 and later an Alfa Romeo GTA.
But after four years, he focused on the establishment of his service station and motor racing took a back seat.
However, he would continue as a car owner and entrant with Neville Cooper in the driver’s seat of the GTA. When that car was crashed Basil brought another, this one a sports sedan out of Queensland which had a Ford V8 under the bonnet. That 302cu was eventually replaced by a Chev powerplant.
When Cooper retired, Brian Smith who was racing a Valiant Charger with similar Shell backing, struck up a deal to race the Alfa and an all-new car that was built for 1984.
It was the first of two B&M Ricciardello Motors Alfetta GTVs with Chev power and Smith won the Australian Sports Sedan Championship in 1994 and the Thundersports Championship the following year.
Then young Tony would drive that car and the subsequent one, and the rest is history. Twelve nation championship/series titles followed as Ricciardello Racing made the trek across the nation for every race, most of which were on the east coast.
The team build their own motors, maintain the car themselves, they handle it all, they and they finish races when they are not necessarily the fastest.
Ricciardello Racing posted on social media:
“Finding a second on the track can change your whole weekend and in a second your whole life can change.
“On 30th November 2024 we devastatingly lost an extraordinary man and a legend in Motorsport.
“Motor Racing will never be the same without you, Dad.
“My heart will always be heavy without you; I don’t know how I’ll get in the Alfa without you. We will miss everything about you, your smile, your knowledge, your timing, your cooking, your opinion, but most of all your love and support.
“I will miss you hanging over the wall with your stop watch and your hand waving me down the straight. I’ll miss seeing you as I come out of the car to give me your hand and your thoughts. I will miss you watching me work on the car and telling me how you would do it.
“We’ll miss you forever Dad, our whole Motorsport community will miss you. You will always be a legend and pioneer in Australian Motorsport. Rest in Peace Dad.
Basil Ricciardello was passionate about his family, his son’s racing and Sports Sedans, always questioning on how to make the category stronger.
Speedcafe joins with his family, friends, competitors and fans in expressing deep sadness and condolences.
