Pierluigi Martini | |
|---|---|
 Martini in 2016 | |
| Born | (1961-04-23)23 April 1961 (age 63) Lugo, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| Relatives |
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| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Active years | 1984–1985,1988–1995 |
| Teams | Toleman,Minardi,Scuderia Italia |
| Entries | 124 (118 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 18 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1984 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1995 German Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1984,1996–1999 |
| Teams | Lancia,Joest,Italia,BMW |
| Best finish | 1st(1999) |
| Class wins | 1(1999) |
Pierluigi Martini (Italian pronunciation:[ˌpjɛrluˈiːdʒimarˈtiːni]; born 23 April 1961) is an Italian formerracing driver, who competed inFormula One from1984 to1985 and from1988 to1995. Inendurance racing, Martini won the24 Hours of Le Mans in1999 withBMW.
Born inLugo, Emilia-Romagna, Martini is the nephew ofFormula Two driverGiancarlo Martini and the older brother ofOliver. He finished runner-up toIvan Capelli in the1986 International Formula 3000 Championship. Martini contested 124Formula One Grands Prix between1984 and1995 forToleman,Minardi, andScuderia Italia, achieving 18 championship points.
Martini's uncle,Giancarlo Martini, raced during the 1970s, including some non-championship races in aFerrari312T entered by Scuderia Everest, a team owned byGiancarlo Minardi. Pierluigi's younger brother,Oliver, is also a racing driver.[1]
Martini participated in 124Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 9 September 1984, driving forToleman in place of suspendedAyrton Senna at the1984 Italian Grand Prix. He scored a total of 18 championship points and was synonymous with theMinardi team (run by the sameGiancarlo Minardi who had previously ownedScuderia Everest).
Indeed, aside from a single outing with Toleman and a one-season dalliance withScuderia Italia in1992, Martini's entire Formula One career was spent with the Italian outfit. He raced with the minnow team in three different stints, drove for them on their debut in 1985, scored their first point in the1988 Detroit Grand Prix, and their only front-row start at the1990 United States Grand Prix (where unexpected rain on Saturday meant that the grid was decided entirely by times from Friday's session. Pirelli's soft qualifying tyres caught Goodyear off guard, and the Italian manufacturer put five of its teams in the top ten positions). Both Martini and Minardi led a race for a single lap at the1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, and their joint-best finish was 4th at the1991 San Marino Grand Prix and1991 Portuguese Grand Prix, the latter being Martini's single finish on the lead lap.[2] Initially out of a drive for1993, he was recalled back to the little Italian team midway through the season in place ofFabrizio Barbazza, Martini impressed by outpacing his young teammateChristian Fittipaldi.
Martini was also one of the drivers with a reputation for ignoringblue flags. Examples given are the1991 Monaco Grand Prix when he held upEmanuele Pirro in theDallara,Stefano Modena in theTyrrell, andRiccardo Patrese in theWilliams for several laps despite running towards the back of the field, and the1995 Canadian Grand Prix where he blockedGerhard Berger in the Ferrari when the Austrian tried to lap him. On both occasions Martini was called in for a 10-second stop and go penalty for ignoring blue flags.
Quizzed about this attitude on the occasion of the1995 San Marino Grand Prix, where he held up winnerDamon Hill, Martini replied: 'What should I exactly apologise for? My trajectories are always clean. Should I just park the car on the grass? I'm here to do my race like anybody else. I've always been correct. Those who complain about my conduct should explain why they cannot overtake me when their car has at least 150 hp more than mine'.[3]
Prior to commencing his Formula One career, Martini drove aLancia LC2 in the1984 24 Hours of Le Mans. After leaving Formula One, he began a successful career insportscar racing. He contested the1996 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche run byJoest Racing. 1997 brought a fourth-place finish in aPorsche 911 GT1 which he also raced in theFIA GT Championship that year. In 1998, he joined the brand new Le Mans program of BMW Motorsports.
In 1999, Martini,Yannick Dalmas andJoachim Winkelhock won theLe Mans 24 Hours.[1] The trio drove for BMW. The team had to fight both Toyota and Mercedes works cars and won the race by a lap from the runner-up Toyota.
Martini returned to motorsports in 2006, competing in theGrand Prix Masters series for retired Formula One drivers.
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(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Minardi Team Srl | Minardi M283 | BMW | SIL | THR | HOC | NÜR | VAL | PAU | JAR | DON | MIS 2 | PER | ZOL | MUG | 11th | 6 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Pavesi Corse | Ralt RB20 | Cosworth | SIL 19 | VAL 10 | PAU DNQ | SPA 11 | 2nd | 36 | |||||||
| Ralt RT20 | IMO 1 | MUG 1 | PER 2 | ÖST 7 | BIR 2 | BUG Ret | JAR 1 | |||||||||
| 1987 | Pavesi Racing | Ralt RT21 | Cosworth | SIL 5 | VAL Ret | SPA Ret | PAU 7 | DON 8 | BRH 20 | BIR Ret | IMO Ret | BUG 7 | 11th | 8 | ||
| Ralt RT20 | PER 2 | JAR 9 | ||||||||||||||
| 1988 | First Racing | March 88B | Judd | JER 8 | VAL 11 | PAU 3 | SIL 10 | MNZ Ret | PER 1 | BRH 2 | BIR 3 | BUG | ZOL Ret | DIJ 10 | 4th | 23 |
(key)
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 |  BP Résidences Malardeau Scuderia Jolly Club | Xavier LapeyreBeppe Gabbiani | Lancia LC2 | C1 | 117 | DNF | DNF |
| 1996 |  Joest Racing | Michele Alboreto Didier Theys | TWRPorsche WSC-95 | LMP1 | 300 | DNF | DNF |
| 1997 | BMS Scuderia Italia | Christian Pescatori Antônio Hermann de Azevedo | Porsche 911 GT1 | GT1 | 317 | 8th | 4th |
| 1998 | TeamBMW Motorsport | Joachim Winkelhock Johnny Cecotto | BMW V12 LM | LMP1 | 43 | DNF | DNF |
| 1999 | BMW Motorsport | Joachim WinkelhockYannick Dalmas | BMW V12 LMR | LMP | 365 | 1st | 1st |
(key) Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap.
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Team Global Logistics | Delta Motorsport GPM | Nicholson McLaren 3.5V8 | QAT 6 | ITA C | |||
| Team Motorola | GBR 7 | MAL C | RSA C | |||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | European Formula 3 Championship Champion 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1999 With:Yannick Dalmas &Joachim Winkelhock | Succeeded by |
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