Michele Rugolo (born 31 August 1982 in

Montebelluna Montebelluna is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, Italy, approximately northwest of Venice. It has an estimated population of 32,000. Montebelluna borders the following municipalities: Altivole, Caerano di San Marco, Cornuda, Crocetta del Montello ...

) is an Italian racing driver.

Career

Formula Renault

After competing in karting championships from 1992 to 1999, Rugolo competed in the Formula Renault 2000 Italy from 2000 to 2002, and then switched to

Formula Nissan In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...

part-way through 2002.

Sports Cars

Rugolo competed in 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 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 ...

in 2003, finishing 11th overall in a Durango- Judd. In 2005, he competed in the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

, driving a

Dodge Viper GTS-R The Dodge Viper is a sports car that was manufactured by Dodge (by Street & Racing Technology, SRT for 2013 and 2014), a division of American car manufacturer Chrysler, FCA US LLC from 1992 until 2017, having taken a brief hiatus in 2007 and from ...

. For 2007, he competed in the GT2 class of the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

, and moved into the

International GT Open The International GT Open is a grand tourer-style sports car racing series founded in 2006 by the Spanish GT Sport Organización. It was a spin-off of the now-defunct Spanish GT Championship, but is now a distinct series featuring FIA GT3-spec ca ...

championship the following year. He joined

Krohn Racing Krohn Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Houston, Texas. The team competes in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Prototype class, and has competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Intercontinental Le Mans ...

in 2011 for its

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

GTE-Am class effort, which saw class wins at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Rugolo,

Tracy Krohn Tracy W. Krohn (born August 26, 1954, in Houston, Texas) is an entrepreneur and auto racing enthusiast who was a new addition to the 2006 Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans, at #320. Biography He has a petroleum engineering degree from ...

and Nic Jonsson helped take the team to a second-place finish in the class championship. In 2012, Rugolo will return to

in the FIA World Endurance Championship. On Wednesday before the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lucas di Grassi wasn't able to get fast enough out of the car due to an ankle injury. Michele was asked to step in at the last moment, to replace Lucas di Grassi.

Formula Three

Rugolo has also competed in single seaters, coming fourth in Italian

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 dri ...

in both 2004 and 2006.

Formula 3000

Rugolo's success in F3 and connections with Durango, who also ran a

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 ...

team, saw him called up to the series for the final race of the 2004 season; his home race at Monza. He retired from the race.

A1 Grand Prix

Rugolo is also one of

A1 Team Italy A1 Team Italy is the Italian team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. Management ''A1 Team Italy'' owner is Piercarlo Ghinzani. History 2008–09 season ''Drivers: Edoardo Piscopo, Fabio Onidi'' For the 2008–09 season, ...

's drivers for the 2006–07 season, although he did not compete in a race in favour of

Enrico Toccacelo Enrico Toccacelo (born 14 December 1978 in Rome) is an Italian auto racer with karting, GT and Formula 3000 experience. He won three F3000 events and briefly led Vitantonio Liuzzi in the 2004 championship before Liuzzi went on to win the next thr ...

Alessandro Pier Guidi Alessandro Pier Guidi (born December 18, 1983) is a racing driver from Italy. He drove two races for the Italian A1 Team. A Ferrari factory driver since 2017, he won LMGTE-PRO 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship and 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, a ...

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 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 ...

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

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(

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

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(

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

References

*Michele Rugolo career statistics a
driverdb.com
retrieved 14 January 2007.

External links

Rugolo's official website.
1982 births Living people People from Montebelluna Italian racing drivers A1 Grand Prix Rookie drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers International Formula 3000 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American Le Mans Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers International GT Open drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers Sportspeople from the Province of Treviso {{Italy-autoracing-bio-stub AF Corse drivers Durango drivers Target Racing drivers Le Mans Cup drivers