Fabrizio Giovanardi

I am Fabrizio Giovanardi, an illustrious Italian racing driver who has won 10 prestigious touring car titles throughout my career. I am hailed worldwide as the most successful touring car driver there is. I have been privileged to race for Alfa Romeo and Vauxhall all these years, and in my free time, I love renovating houses and taking light aircrafts out for a spin. Besides my passion for adrenaline-pumping speed, I'm also a family man; married to Patrizia and blessed with one son. In addition, I also continue my late father's business and work a little overtime as a content consultant at Karting Racer.

My career

Racing has been my passion since my childhood, and I’m proud to say that I’ve achieved some pretty impressive victories so far in the competitive sport. Starting out as a karting racer, I had two great successes in 1986 where I won both the Italian and World Formula C titles for 125cc karts. After that, I moved up to the Italian Formula Three Championship in 1987 where driving a powerful Reynard 873 with an Alfa Romeo engine, I managed to get a podium – not bad for my first season!

European/World Touring Car Championship

During the transition from the European series to the World Touring Car Championship in 2005, I had the opportunity to join the Alfa Romeo factory team. Alongside Tarquini, James Thompson, and Augusto Farfus, we formed a formidable quartet. In Macau, André Couto also joined us for his home round. That season, I achieved four victories, making me the highest-placed Alfa Romeo driver in the championship. Although Andy Priaulx and Dirk Müller in their BMWs finished ahead of me, I was proud of my performance. In 2006, I had the chance to replace Pierre-Yves Corthals in Curitiba, Brazil, and joined Corthals in Macau for JAS Motorsport. One of my standout moments during this period was a fourth-place finish in the opening Macau race.
Giovanardi and Giuseppe Cirò collide during the first race at Oschersleben in 2005.
Giovanardi driving the VX Racing-run Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch during the Oulton Park round in 2006.

British Touring Car Championship

It was a challenging year for our team and me. I came close to my first win at Donington Park, but my hopes were dashed in the final corner due to a collision with Colin Turkington from West Surrey Racing. I was leading into the chicane when Turkington made an outbreaking move, putting our side by side at the apex. After the collision, both drivers cut the chicane, and Turkington crossed the finish line first, securing his second win of the season. My first win, which also marked the 100th win for Vauxhall in the British Touring Car Championship, came at Knockhill. Interestingly, I received congratulations from John Cleland, the man who secured Vauxhall’s very first win, on live TV. I went on to secure a second win at Brands Hatch, finishing my first BTCC campaign in fifth place. At the final meeting of the season at Silverstone, I surpassed James Thompson by a single point. Both Tom Chilton and I continued with the team in the 2007 season, driving the team’s new Vauxhall Vectra to the championship.

Good memories in my career