Pierluigi
Martini

Pierluigi Martini was born in Lugo on 23 April 1961. His uncle Giancarlo Martini raced in the 1970s, and his brother Oliver also became a racing driver. In 1983 Martini won four races with Luigi Pavesi Racing and took both the Italian and the European Formula 3 titles. In 1986 he finished runner-up to Ivan Capelli in the International Formula 3000 Championship.

He was entered by Toleman for the 1984 Italian Grand Prix as a replacement for the suspended Ayrton Senna, but did not start. In 1985 he drove for Minardi, who were in their first Formula One season, and started 14 races. He was absent from Formula One in 1986 and 1987. From 1988 he drove for Minardi again, and that year he scored the team's first championship point at Detroit.

In 1989 he led the Portuguese Grand Prix for a single lap. At the 1990 United States Grand Prix he started from the front row, the only time the team did so. Rain on Saturday meant the grid was set purely by Friday's times. His best results were two fourth places in 1991, at San Marino and in Portugal, and that year he also reached eleventh in the drivers' standings, his best championship position. In 1992 he drove a Dallara for Scuderia Italia. In 1993 he returned to Minardi mid-season, replacing Fabrizio Barbazza. His Formula One career ended after the 1995 season. In 117 starts he scored 18 championship points, without a podium.

He had already raced at Le Mans in 1984 in a Lancia LC2. After Formula One he raced in sports cars. In 1996 he drove a Porsche run by Joest Racing, and in 1997 he finished fourth in a Porsche 911 GT1, which he also raced in the FIA GT Championship. In 1998 he joined BMW's new Le Mans programme. In 1999 he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Yannick Dalmas and Joachim Winkelhock, by a lap from the second-placed Toyota. In 2006 he raced in Grand Prix Masters, a series for former Formula One drivers.

Source: Wikipedia, “Pierluigi Martini”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.