Christine Giampaoli Zonca (born 22 July 1993), more commonly known by her nickname Christine GZ, is an Italian-Spanish rally and off-road race driver. After an off-road racing career in America, competing with the team Dynamic Racing, Zonca raced in Europe with the Avatel Telecom Race Team. In late 2020, Zonca scored a third-place win in the Andalucia Rally round of the FIA World Cross Country Championship.

Biography

GZ was born to Italian parents in

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, where she lived for eight years before moving to

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, and then to the

Tenerife, Canary Islands Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

. She completed a degree in motorsports technology at

Birmingham City University Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 and gai ...

. She initially worked at her neighbor's garage. The first chassis she bought was a 1988 Golf MKII, followed by a 1989 Rally Corolla that she named "Lolla". In 2014, GZ won her first title, the overall Championship of the Canaries. In 2016, she was a member of an all-female rally team competing in the

Rally Catalunya The Rally Catalunya (formerly: Rallye Catalunya) is a rally competition held in Catalonia region of Spain, on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Costa Daurada ...

. Christine is a

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...

Ambassador. In 2020, GZ re-launched her racing career after a long COVID lockdown. Together with the Avatel Telecom and co-driver Edu Blanco she competed in the

Andalucía Rally The Andalucía Rally is a rally raid that has been held in Andalucia, Spain since 2020. The event has been part of the World Rally-Raid Championship since 2021. The rally is organized by ASO and the ODC company, represented by the rally driver ...

. Christine completed the rally with a 3rd place. She was racing with the Avatel Telecom Racing Team during the 2021 season reaching the 2nd place at the T1N Cross-Country Spanish Championship this year. On 15 December 2020 she was announced to have signed with formerly known as

Hispano Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...

Xite Energy Team to compete in the new all-electric off-road racing championship

Extreme E Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations are chosen to raise awareness ...

along with

Oliver Bennett Oliver Roy Bennett (born 7 November 1992) is a rallycross driver from Bristol, United Kingdom. He is the co-founder of the Xite Energy drink company, and competes in the FIA World Rallycross Championship and Extreme E for the Xite Energy Ra ...

. She made her debut at the 2021 Desert X-Prix in

Al-'Ula Al-'Ula ( ar, ٱلْعُلَا '), is a city of the Medina Region in north-western Saudi Arabia. Historically located on the incense route, the city lies within the Governorate of 'Ula ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ٱلْعُلَا, Muḥāfathat A ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, where she finished 5th. The team was re-branded Xite Energy Racing ahead of round 2. At the end of the 2021 season GZ and Bennett classified 9th. She also became a

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

for Italian broadcaster Sport MediaSet, covering the

FIA Formula E World Championship Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...

and driving the

BMW i8 The BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW. The i8 was part of BMW's electrified fleet and was marketed under the BMW i sub-brand. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and was rele ...

Safety Car on the

Circuit de Monaco Circuit de Monaco is a street circuit laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the Principality of Monaco. It is commonly, and even officially, referred to as "Monte Carlo" because it is largely inside ...

. In addition, she also took part in the Eco Rallye Mallorca, driving the

Porsche Taycan The Porsche Taycan is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric Saloon (automobile), saloon and shooting brake produced by German automobile manufacturer Porsche. The concept car, concept version of the Taycan, named the ''Porsche Mission E'', ...

. She participated in the Spanish date

Baja Aragón The Spanish Baja is a Rally raid event held in the region of Aragon in northern Spain. This event was launched in 1983, based on the popularity of the African Adventure rallies, such as the Paris Dakar and the Pharaons Rally. The event's creator ...

of the FIA World Cup Cross-Country Bajas with her co-driver Ricardo Torlaschi finishing 5th at the T3 category. She competed in the 2023 season of the all-electric off-road racing championship

for Carl Cox Motorsport with

Timo Scheider Timo Scheider (born 10 November 1978 in Lahnstein) is a German racing driver who competes in the FIA World Rallycross Championship for Münnich Motorsport. He won the DTM title in 2008 and 2009. Career Karting Like most other drivers, Scheider ...

as her teammate. She was replaced by Lia Block, daughter of the late

Ken Block Kenneth Paul Block (November 21, 1967 – January 2, 2023) was an American professional rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block was also one of the co-founders of DC Shoes. He also ...

, at round 5 for the rest of the season. She has previously competed for

Veloce Racing Veloce Racing is a British motor racing team founded by Jean-Éric Vergne, Adrian Newey and Rupert Svendsen-Cook that competes in the all-electric off-road racing championship Extreme E and formerly in the all-female single-seater racing series, ...

and Xite Energy Racing.

Racing record

Complete Extreme E results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) ^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

Christine Giampaoli Zonca
Website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zonca, Christine Giampaoli 1993 births Alumni of Birmingham City University Female rally drivers Italian female racing drivers Italian rally drivers Living people Off-road racing drivers Extreme E drivers Spanish rally drivers People from Pondicherry Italian expatriates in India