Gianni
Morbidelli

Gianni Morbidelli was born in Pesaro on 13 January 1968. His father, Giancarlo, founded the Morbidelli motorcycle company, which competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Gianni took up karting in 1980, won the EUR-AM championship in 1986 and then moved into Italian Formula 3. In 1989 he became Italian Formula 3 champion and also won the Formula 3 European Cup.

In 1990 he stood in for Emanuele Pirro at Scuderia Italia for the first two races of the season, then raced in Formula 3000, winning one race and finishing fifth in the championship, while also working as a Ferrari test driver. He returned to Formula One at the end of that season with Minardi and stayed with the team until 1992. At the 1991 Australian Grand Prix he drove for Ferrari in place of Alain Prost and finished sixth in a rain-shortened race, earning half a point, his first in the world championship. He ended 1991 24th in the standings.

In 1993 Morbidelli raced in Italian touring cars, winning two races for Alfa Corse in an Alfa Romeo 155. He drove for Footwork in 1994 and 1995. At the 1995 Australian Grand Prix he finished third, his only Formula One podium. That year he was 14th in the championship, after 22nd in 1994. In 1995 he also won two races in the Italian Superturismo Championship. In 1996 he tested for Jordan. In 1997 he replaced Nicola Larini at Sauber during the season, scored no points and then ended his Formula One career. In total he started 67 Grands Prix.

Morbidelli continued in touring cars and other categories. In 1998 he drove a Volvo in the British Touring Car Championship. In 2001 he finished fifth in the European Touring Car Championship in a BMW 320i and won the final race at Estoril. In 2006 he took two second places in the World Touring Car Championship in an Alfa Romeo 156. In 2007 he won two races in ADAC GT Masters. From 2007 he won the Italian Superstars title three years in a row, with the Audi RS4 and the BMW M3. In 2008-09 he won the Speedcar Series title by finishing one place ahead of Johnny Herbert in the last round. He returned to the World Touring Car Championship in 2014 and made his World Rallycross Championship debut in 2015.

Source: Wikipedia, “Gianni Morbidelli”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.