{{Short description|Australian racing driver}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2012}} {{Infobox person |name = Steve Pizzati |image = <!-- Only freely-licensed images may be used to depict living people. See WP:NONFREE. --> |caption = |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|04|23|df=y}} |birth_place = Melbourne, Victoria |death_date = |death_place = |other_names = |known_for = ''Top Gear Australia'' |occupation = {{hlist|Race car driver|instructor|TV presenter|journalist}} |website = }}
'''Steve Pizzati''' is an Australian race car driver, driving instructor, television presenter and freelance motoring journalist. He was born in Melbourne to Italian parents and did not speak English until he was at school.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/steve_pizzati__top_gear_australia_host_547980|title=Steve Pizzati – Top Gear Australia host|publisher=SBS|access-date=2008-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913232012/http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/steve_pizzati__top_gear_australia_host_547980|archive-date=13 September 2008}}</ref> He attended Cathedral College, East Melbourne and St Kevin's College, Toorak.
In 2008, he was selected from over 4,000 applicants to be one of the presenters of ''Top Gear Australia'' on SBS TV.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2008/05_may/top_gear_australia.shtml|title=Australian Top Gear presenters revealed|publisher=BBC Worldwide Press Releases|date=28 May 2008|access-date=2008-09-01}}</ref> In 2010, when Nine Network purchased the rights to the entire Top Gear franchise, he was the only host selected to continue with the new broadcaster, thus making him the only host to have been a part of all four series of the show.
Prior to ''Top Gear Australia'', Pizzati competed in various national categories of Australian motor sport including winning races in the Australian GT championship, Formula Ford, Improved Production and Production racing. Alongside his motorsport activities, he has also been a professional driving instructor for various manufacturers in Australia and Europe, (mainly Porsche and Audi) since 1996.
In addition to the television show, Pizzati was a regular host of the Top Gear Live and Top Gear Festival shows having joined ''Top Gear'' UK hosts Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond for the Top Gear Live stadium show at Acer Arena in Sydney in 2009 and 2015 as well as joining Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Shane Jacobson for the Top Gear Festival at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2013 and 2014 in front of an audience of over 30,000 people.
Since 2008, Radio 3AW Melbourne have used Pizzati as their motoring expert where he still has a regular program called "The Upshift" with Tom Elliott on the ''Mornings'' show every Tuesday at 10.30am.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{twitter|stevepizzati}}
{{Top Gear Australia|state=expanded}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzati, Steve}} Category:1975 births Category:Australian television presenters Category:Living people Category:Racing drivers from Melbourne Category:Australian people of Italian descent Category:Sportspeople of Italian descent Category:Racing drivers from Victoria (state)