Name: Alessandro Gelsomino
Age: 37
Place of birth: Palermo, Italy
Residence: Los Angeles, California.
Citizenship: Italy and USA
Occupation: Rally Codriver
First Rally: 1992
Year turned Pro: 2004
First WRC event: 2007
Total events competed: 145
Overall wins: 17
Marital status: Married
Daily driver: Ford Focus
Hobbies: Running, Reading, R/C cars, Collecting Italian Handguns, Riding his Motard.

Alex was born and raised in Italy, where Rallies are more than a tradition. He has a College degree in accounting and business administration, and speaks three languages fluently.
Alex started competing in 1992 when, just 17 years old, applied for the Rally license the same day he obtained his driving permit. His first years were spent competing in the very popular "one make series" in the Italian Championship, with Opel, Peugeots, and Renaults.
Those early years, spent learning the proper use of pace notes, were an important boost when Alex moved to USA, in the mid nineties and resumed his Rally career in the California Rally Championship.
Alex has actively competed in the major North American Rally championships since 1998, always sitting in "Open" and "Group N" cars.
After co-driving for several privateer teams, Alex joined Arizona based AVSport for the 2002 season. The opportunity resulted in sitting with a couple of the team's customers and collecting several important results. Notably a third place in class at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, second in Group N at the Oregon Trails Rally as well as competing at the International Rally of Wales, in the British Championship.
The end of the 2002 season brought Alex's first international outright victory, when he and American driver Mark Nelson put an AVSport-prepared Subaru Impreza on top of the podium at the FIA Laughlin International Rally, in front of the factory backed Mitsubishi Team.
Soon after his victory at the Nevada Rally, Alex was hired to codrive for veteran U.S. driver Tim O'Neil in the 2003 ProRally season with the Air Force Reserve sponsored Ford Focus SVT. That partnership resulted in first place privateer and fourth overall in one of the most competitive seasons recorded in North American Rally history.
After competing in 2004 with Michigan's Autosport Engineering and collecting another prestigious win at the Laughlin International rally, Alex joined Vermont Sports Car for 2005, partnering driver Ken Block in the DC Shoes sponsored Subaru WRX STi. The Team had a strong season, finishing 3rd in Group N with Ken Block collecting "Rookie of the Year" honors in his first year of competition.
For 2006, the Southern California duo was selected to pilot the second Factory Subaru WRX STi for Subaru Rally Team USA in the Rally America Championship, alongside teammate and MotoX star Travis Pastrana and his codriver Christian Edstrom. They eventually placed second outright in the Rally America Championship, scoring two wins and a bronze medal at the Summer Xgames held in Los Angeles.
2007 saw the international debut of Alex and Ken, by competing at their first WRC event at the Corona Rally Mexico, but also running a program in the New Zealand Rally Championship. In September of that year Alex and Ken competed at the WRC event in Rally New Zealand, won the Colorado Rally and placed on the podium on the last round of the New Zealand Championship at Rally Nelson. The season also saw the team collecting silver medal at the Summer Xgames.
2008 and 2009 saw the duo competing still with Subaru Rally Team USA and collecting numerous outright wins.
For 2010 a new deal with Ford Motor Company sees Ken and Alex debuting the new 2011 Ford Fiesta in the Rally America Championship as well as a prestigious program in the World Rally Championship in the Ford Focus World Rally Car run by M-Sport.
Stay tuned!!