| Michele Rugolo | |||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 31 August 1982 | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Montebelluna, Italy | ||||||||||
| Nationality: |  Italian | ||||||||||
| Racing Licence: | FIA Silver
| ||||||||||
Michele Rugolo (born 31 August 1982 in Montebelluna) is an Italian racing driver.
After competing in karting championships from 1992 to 1999, Rugolo competed in the Formula Renault 2000 Italy from 2000 to 2002, and then switched to Formula Nissan part-way through 2002.
Rugolo competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003, finishing 11th overall in a Durango-Judd. In 2005, he competed in the American Le Mans Series, driving a Dodge Viper GTS-R. For 2007, he competed in the GT2 class of the FIA GT Championship, and moved into the International GT Open championship the following year.
He joined Krohn Racing in 2011 for its Intercontinental Le Mans Cup GTE-Am class effort, which saw class wins at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Rugolo, Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson helped take the team to a second-place finish in the class championship.
In 2012, Rugolo will return to Krohn Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
On Wednesday before the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lucas di Grassi wasn't able to get fast enough out of the car due to an ankle injury. Michele was asked to step in at the last moment, to replace Lucas di Grassi.[1]
Rugolo has also competed in single seaters, coming fourth in Italian Formula Three in both 2004 and 2006.
Rugolo's success in F3 and connections with Durango, who also ran a Formula 3000 team, saw him called up to the series for the final race of the 2004 season; his home race at Monza. He retired from the race.
Rugolo is also one of A1 Team Italy's drivers for the 2006–07 season, although he did not compete in a race in favour of Enrico Toccacelo or Alessandro Pier Guidi.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Automotive Durango SRL |  Sylvain Boulay Jean-Bernard Bouvet | Durango LMP1-Judd | LMP900 | 277 | 24th | 9th | |
| 2011 |  Krohn Racing | Tracy Krohn Niclas Jönsson | Ferrari F430 GTC | GTE Am | 123 | DNF | DNF | |
| 2012 | Krohn Racing | Tracy Krohn Niclas Jönsson | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | GTE Am | 323 | 25th | 3rd | |
| 2014 | AF Corse |  Stephen Wyatt Sam Bird | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | GTE Am | 22 | DNF | DNF | |
| 2017 | AF Corse | James Calado Alessandro Pier Guidi | Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE Pro | 312 | 46th | 11th |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Krohn Racing | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari F142 4.5 V8 | SEB | SPA | LMS | SIL | SÃO | BHR | FUJ | SHA | 57th | 3.5 | ||
| 2014 | AF Corse | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari F142 4.5 V8 | SIL | SPA | LMS | COA | FUJ | SHA | BHR | SÃO | 7th | 68 | ||
| 2017 | AF Corse | LMGTE Pro | Ferrari 488 GTE | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | SIL | SPA | LMS | NÜR | MEX | COA | FUJ | SHA | BHR | 24th | 1 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Spirit of Race | GTD | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5L V8 | DAY | SEB | LGA | DET | WGL | MOS | IND | ELK | VIR | COA | COA | 37th | 63 | |
| 2015 | AF Corse | GTD | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5L V8 | DAY | SEB | LGA | BEL | WGL | LIM | ELK | VIR | AUS | ATL | 35th | 29 |