Durango Automotive SRL was an Italian

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

team founded in 1980 by Ivone Pinton and Enrico Magro, which competed in

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championships ...

, the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

and the

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...

. The team finished racing after withdrawing from the Italian round of the

2009 GP2 Series season 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

, although it was linked to

Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...

and his bid to return to

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

for the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

season.

History

The Durango team took part in the

Italian Formula Three Championship The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy. History Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's care ...

from 1987 to 1992. They expanded to compete in the

International Formula 3000 The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become t ...

Championship and the British Formula Two Championship in 1991, and entered a

Lancia LC2 The Lancia LC2 (sometimes referred to as the Lancia-Ferrari) was a series of racing cars built by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia and powered by engines built by their sister company Ferrari. They were part of Lancia's official factory-bac ...

in the

1991 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 59th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 22 and 23 June 1991. It was also the fourth round of the 1991 FIA Sportscar World Championship season. Pre-race An entirely new complex along the front stret ...

, under the banner of Veneto Equipe. Durango took part in the Renault

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

championship and Euroseries in 1994 and continued to race in

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

until 1999. In 2003, Durango designed and built a

Le Mans Prototype A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...

car, the PM02, to compete in the

FIA Sportscar championship The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and was eventually taken control of by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating ...

and the

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

. The car was powered by a Judd GV4

V10 engine A V10 engine is a ten-cylinder piston engine where two banks of five cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V10 engines are much less common than V8 and V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder pis ...

. The team participated for the 2nd time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished in 24th position, after qualifying 18th. The car's best result was a 4th place at the

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has host ...

round of the FIA sportscar championship. The car was never raced again after the 2003 season. In 2005, Durango became part of the

, a new series designed to help young drivers enter into

. In 2006, the team participated in Formula Azzurra, a series supported by the Italian Karting Federation. Due to financial problems the team was forced to withdraw from the final races of the

, and pulled out of competing in the 2009-10 GP2 Asia Series season.

Formula One entry bid

Durango attempted to enter

in 2010, when the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...

opened an entry process for an additional thirteenth team. The team principal Ivone Pinton stated there were investors only interested with competing in F1, and announced a partnership with 1997 Formula One champion

. The team would compete as Villeneuve Racing and Villeneuve would initially be one of the two drivers. The FIA did not accept any of the applications for the 2011 season.

Results

GP2 Series

In detail

(

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 ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Formula 3000

In detail

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Sports car

Other Series History

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durango (Racing Team) Italian auto racing teams GP2 Series teams GP3 Series teams International Formula 3000 teams 24 Hours of Le Mans teams Formula Renault Eurocup teams 1980 establishments in Italy 2016 disestablishments in Italy Auto racing teams established in 1980 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2016 Auto GP teams World Series Formula V8 3.5 teams FIA Sportscar Championship entrants