John Pizarro Obituary, In Loving Memory Of John Pizarro

John Pizarro Obituary, Death –  Karting Australia mourns the departure of one of the sport’s most revered figures, John Pizarro OAM. John was a 15-time Australian Champion who received the Order of Australia Medal in 2019. A founding member of the Karting Australia Hall of Fame in 2011, he was also inducted into the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame in 2017. Since his début behind the wheel of a kart in Granville, New South Wales, in the early 1960s, he has rewritten the karting record books on numerous occasions. John went on to become one of the most recognizable names in Australian karting with an unmatched record in significant events after winning his first National Championship in 1968 at Sunnybank, Queensland.

He was the first Australian driver to win the Asia Pacific Championships and the first Australian karter to obtain an International Super Licence. Throughout his karting career, he competed in five world championships, the first of which was in 1975 at the Paul Ricard circuit, an event that John described as a “fire baptism.” John was a member of the DAP works squad in the 1970s alongside the late, great Ayrton Senna and Terry Fullerton, whom Pizarro considers to be the greatest kart racer he has ever seen. After his international successes, John transitioned into the manufacture of karts, his ‘Sprinter’ brand being in high demand. His karts were manufactured and sold from Parkes, and he served as a track advisor and inspector for Karting Australia.

Pizarro fought Parkinson’s disease for more than two decades. He was one of the first in Australia to endure the then-revolutionary Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, which involved electrode implants in the brain, to successfully alleviate many of the symptoms of the incurable disease in the previous decade. John worked to raise funds for disease research through the Rotary Club in his birthplace of Parkes, New South Wales, while also continuing, until quite recently, to attend many Historic kart events here and in New Zealand, where he was a frequent visitor. Pizarro’s wife Marilyn and four daughters Kristine, Lisa, Annette, and Narelle survive him. Karting Australia offers condolences on behalf of the Australian Karting Community to John’s family and many acquaintances.