OUR TEAM
Marco Zanello
Born in Turin in 1974, Marco, in addition to carrying out editorial activities, is responsible for managing the website. He graduated in Political Science at the University of Turin and previously obtained a technical diploma at ITIS Avogadro. He then continued his studies, earning a Master’s degree in Health Economics and Policy at CORIPE in Moncalieri. Between 2001 and 2003 he spent several months as a Visiting Student at the Université de la Méditerranée in Marseille, where he carried out research activities, while from 2004 to 2023 he worked as a consultant for the Healthcare Management of the Molinette Hospital in Turin. Since 2013 he has been a member of the Italian Order of Journalists. His interest in the world of motor racing blossomed at a very young age, when he had the opportunity to attend some unforgettable races in person, among which Monaco ’84 and Zeltweg ’86 stand out. As the years went by and he reached adulthood, he added to this passion an interest in classic road cars, with a particular preference for those designed with a sporting nature. An eclectic spirit, he focuses his activity on the study of Grand Prix cars, Formula 1 cars from the early 1980s and the world of modern Endurance racing, while remaining open to interviews and especially to commenting on historic car races, which he considers “the ideal environment in which to perceive the true essence of a racing car”.
Stefano Costantino
Like the tides, he comes and goes depending on timing and work commitments. The affection remains for the project he helped to create and for the friends who carry on Connectingrod on a daily basis. So, if every now and then he disappears, sooner or later he comes back.
Born in 1977 in the province of Turin, after obtaining his high school diploma in science he earned a degree in Political Science with an economics focus and then completed a course as a Management Control Officer, which remains his professional dream. His entry into the job market was troubled, moving from internship to call center, and then spending two and a half years working as an employee in a funeral company. Fortunately, one improves with age, and he now works as a consultant and trainer in the SAP environment on the Financial and Controlling modules. But you can bet this will not be his final destination…
For Connectingrod he mainly takes care of content about cars of the past, combining in his articles several different passions: writing, history, racing and technology. Through this experience he has had the opportunity to collaborate occasionally with several specialist magazines, enjoying the satisfaction of seeing his articles published in print as well.
When recounting the past of racing cars, he likes to capture the effort and the combination of human factors involved in the pursuit of victory, believing that technology may change, but behind it there is always the human being with his dreams, emotions and sometimes brilliant intuitions that drive progress. His gaze is not exclusively turned to the past but also to the future, at a time when the automobile is searching for new tools to guarantee mobility at a lower energy cost. In this sense he is a strong supporter of the need for sporting regulations that place greater emphasis on creativity in the field of energy saving, so that racing can once again become a testing ground for new solutions to be transferred to series‑production cars.
Giacomo Zanello
Born in Pontestura, in the province of Alessandria, in 1940, Giacomo is Connectingrod’s official photographer. He moved to Turin in the early 1960s to complete his secondary education and obtained a diploma as an Electrical Engineering Technician. He then focused his professional activity on the study and design of on‑board electrical and hydraulic systems for vehicles, first at Fiat Research and later at Iveco Engineering. Since 2001 he has worked as a consultant for Italian and foreign car manufacturers and since 2013 he has been a member of the Italian Order of Journalists. Alongside his professional activity, he has always cultivated a passion for cars and photography, initially landscape and nature photography and then, from the 1980s onwards, motorsport photography, through which he tries to capture the essential relationship between speed and technology.
Riccardo Romanelli
A mechanical engineer who graduated from the Politecnico di Milano and a lifelong motorsport enthusiast, he works in the industry as a designer and specialist in sensor systems for dynamic and performance analysis. In addition to having been involved for years in sports prototype car projects, in 2015 he was race engineer for the Ibanez Racing team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Antonio Pannullo
An advertising graphic designer passionate about sports prototypes since 1974, he has specialized in technical drawing, following in the footsteps of Paolo d’Alessio. He can boast numerous prestigious publications, among which the most renowned is perhaps his collaboration with Racecar Engineering Magazine, where some of his drawings are used in the columns of Eng. Paolo Catone. For years he has also managed his own blog (http://lemansprototypes.over-blog.it/), well known to prototype enthusiasts.
Gino Allegritti
Born in Rome in 1980, he has always been passionate about engines. In 2001 he founded the portal automodellando.it. Since 2005 he has worked in photography and online image management. He created the new version of connectingrod.it. In his activity more closely related to the world of photography, his ten‑year collaboration with Photo4, the leading motorsport agency in Italy, stands out, for which he has produced photo reports of major events such as Formula 1 Grands Prix, international Motor Shows, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the FIA GT World Championship, WTCC and others. He is a member of the Order of Journalists.
About us
Connectingrod.it was founded in 2003 from an idea by Marco Zanello and Stefano Costantino. Having met in 2001 at the University of Turin and brought together by a shared passion for cars and racing, the two dreamed of diving into the emerging world of the internet to carve out a space for their passion. The involvement of Giacomo Zanello was almost natural, as he too was driven by his love for racing cars and photography. But amid so many skills, a webmaster was still missing, and in 2002 Fabio Carrera joined the group, looking after the website for twelve years. In 2014, growing IT needs made it necessary for Gino Allegritti to step in as webmaster, while Fabio’s work shifted to focusing on graphic design.
The ambition is to produce highly polished, in‑depth content, often accompanied by images of outstanding graphic quality, going against the grain of the concise and superficial communication that generally characterizes the internet. It is a demanding approach that favors quality over quantity, but over the years it has yielded many rewards: members of the Connectingrod.it team have been able to attend international events as accredited journalists and photographers, not only in the world of historic cars but also at contemporary racing series, with a particular preference for the world of Endurance. Another great satisfaction has been the collaborations with Italian and foreign print media for the publication of reports and articles.
In 2026 Connectingrod refreshed its online image with a new website more in step with the times, while maintaining its original vocation for high‑quality communication.