Gianni Morbidelli (born 13 January 1968) is an Italian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. He participated in 70

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Grands Prix, debuting on 11 March 1990. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 8.5 championship points. He most recently competed in the

TCR International Series The TCR International Series was an international Touring car racing, touring car championship. The championship was promoted by World Sporting Consulting (WSC), founded by former World Touring Car Championship manager Marcello Lotti. It was ma ...

Racing career

Early career

Morbidelli was born in

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

. His father, Giancarlo Morbidelli, was the founder of the Morbidelli motorcycle company which had some success in

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

. Morbidelli started

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

in 1980. He won the EUR-AM championship in 1986, before moving to Italian Formula Three. He became Italian

Formula 3 Formula Three (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 drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

and Formula 3 European Cup champion in 1989, as well as winning two races in Italian Touring Cars. He then moved to the

Scuderia Italia BMS Scuderia Italia SpA (sometimes referred to as simply Scuderia Italia) is an auto racing team founded in 1983 in Brescia by Italian businessman and motorsports enthusiast Giuseppe Lucchini. Originally named Brixia Motor Sport (BMS), the team ...

Formula One team, doing the first 2 races of the F1 season as stand-in for Emanuele Pirro, before concentrating on

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 championship ...

. He won 1 race and finished 5th in the 1990 championship, as well as undertaking test driver duties for

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

for that year.

Formula One

Resuming his F1 career at the end of the season, Morbidelli competed in the final two races of the season with

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...

, where he remained until the end of . He briefly joined Ferrari for the 1991 Australian Grand Prix, drafted in after

Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Professor", Prost won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and� ...

was fired by the team, where Morbidelli earned his first Formula One points, earning half a point for 6th after a rain-shortened race. A lack of sponsorship led to him leaving Minardi to rejoin Italian Touring Cars for 1993, where he drove an

Alfa Romeo 155 The Alfa Romeo 155 (Type 167) is a compact executive car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 1992 and 1998. It was unveiled in January 1992 at Barcelona, with the first public launch in March 1992, at the Geneva Motor S ...

to two wins for Alfa Corse, before being hired by Footwork Arrows for . He managed four-point-scoring positions in two years with the team, including his only podium place finish in the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, earning third place in a race of high attrition. Morbidelli became Footwork Arrows' most successful driver, with a total of eight points for the team. Morbidelli also competed in the Italian Superturismo Championship for 1995, scoring two race wins, and, after spending a year out in 1996 testing for

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, gained another podium that year. Back in Formula One for , he raced in several mid-season events for

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...

as a replacement for

Nicola Larini Nicola Larini (born 19 March 1964) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . In touring car racing, Larini won the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft in 1993 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, 1993 and the I ...

. He scored no points and was not classified in the championship for that year. His unsuccessful season, and two injuries by separate testing accidents, led to Morbidelli retiring from Formula One racing.

Post-Formula One

In 1998 he drove for

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

in the

British Touring Car Championship The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), officially known as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by ...

, but was not as competitive as his teammate Rickard Rydell, who won that year's title. His only competitive showing was in the summer meeting at Thruxton, where he charged from near the back of the back to finish fourth, passing many cars in the process. Morbidelli then spent several years in various European

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

series', with a high point in the 2001

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

, where he raced the

BMW 320i Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The ...

to fifth place in the championship, winning the last race at

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

. Morbidelli raced in the Italian round of the 2004 season in a SEAT Toledo, but scored no points and did not contest in further meetings. Morbidelli drove a

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...

in several

grand tourer A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with ...

races in 2005, and moved back to touring cars for 2006. Competing in the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sing ...

for N-Technology, he managed two second places in an

Alfa Romeo 156 The Alfa Romeo 156 (Type 932) is a compact executive car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show#1997, 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155. The 156 ...

. Not as competitive as when he was driving the BMW, he moved back to GT racing for 2007, winning two races in the

ADAC GT Masters The ADAC GT Masters is a grand tourer-based auto racing series founded by the international Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and supported by the German ADAC automotive club. Similar to an earlier ADAC GT Cup series in the 1990s, the new GT ...

series. He has had considerable success in the Italian Superstars Championship, where Morbidelli won the title with both Audi RS4 and

BMW M3 The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986. The initial mod ...

three years in a row from 2007. The short-lived

Speedcar Series The Speedcar Series Championship was a stock car racing series that was active from January 2008 to June 2009 across two championship seasons. Races were held across several countries, spanning the Middle East and Asia. It featured up to 24 driv ...

gave him another championship title, where he won the 2008–09 championship. The season featured a close fight with defending champion

Johnny Herbert John Paul Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and broadcaster. He competed in Formula One from to , winning three Formula One Grands Prix over a 12-season career. In endurance racing, Herbert won the 24 Hours of Le ...

, with Morbidelli finishing one place ahead in the final round to win the title. He made his WTCC return in 2014, driving a

Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car produced by General Motors from 2008 through 2023. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, ...

for Münnich Motorsport. He made his debut in the

FIA World Rallycross Championship The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull G ...

with the same team at his home round in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Racing record

Career summary

^† Not eligible for points.

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Complete Formula One results

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded all races) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) (* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded)

Complete European Touring Car Championship results

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

Complete European Super Production Championship results

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

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete Campionato Italiano Superstars results

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

Complete International Superstars Series results

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

Complete V8 Supercar results

† Not eligible for points.

Complete TCR International Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 75% of the race distance.

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

Supercar

Complete World Touring Car Cup results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete TCR Europe Touring Car Series results

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

References

Gianni Morbidelli page on GTMasters.org

Driver for Reiter Engineering

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morbidelli, Gianni 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Pesaro Italian racing drivers Italian Formula One drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers Italian Formula Three Championship drivers Scuderia Italia Formula One drivers Minardi Formula One drivers Arrows Formula One drivers Sauber Formula One drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Speedcar Series drivers Supercars Championship drivers World Touring Car Championship drivers World Rallycross Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Superstars Series drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers European Touring Car Championship drivers TCR International Series drivers World Touring Car Cup drivers Audi Sport drivers BMW M drivers Cupra Racing drivers TCR Europe Touring Car Series drivers