Nicola Larini Explained

Nicola Larini

Nationality:

Italian

Birth Date:

19 March 1964

Birth Place:

Lido di Camaiore, Italy

Years:

–,,

Races:

75 (49 starts)

Championships:

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First Race:

1987 Italian Grand Prix

Last Race:

1997 Monaco Grand Prix

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Last Series:

World Touring Car Championship

Years Active:

2005–2009

Former Teams:

Chevrolet RML

Starts:

107

Wins:

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Podiums:

Best Finish:

5th

Year:

2007

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Last Series:

European Touring Car Championship

Years Active:

2000–2003

Best Finish:

3rd

Year:

2002

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Last Series:

Super Tourenwagen Cup

Years Active:

1998–1999

Former Teams:

Alfa Corse

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Best Finish:

26th

Year:

1998, 1999

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Last Series:

International Touring Car Championship

Years Active:

1995–1996

Former Teams:

Alfa Corse

Best Finish:

4th

Year:

1995

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Last Series:	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft
Years Active:	1993–1995
Former Teams:	Alfa Corse
Championships:	1 (1993)
Starts:	58
Wins:	14
Podiums:	26
Poles:	13
Fastest Laps:	17
Prev Series:	Italian Superturismo International F3000 Italian F3 Formula Fiat Abarth
Prev Series Years:	1991–99 1986–87 1984–86 1983
Titles:	DTM Italian Superturismo Italian F3
Title Years:	1993 1992 1986

Nicola Larini (born 19 March 1964) is an Italian racing driver. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 6 September 1987. He finished second in the tragic 1994 San Marino Grand Prix on a substitute outing for Ferrari, but only scored points once more in his career. He enjoyed greater success in touring car racing, primarily for Alfa Romeo.

Early career

Born in Lido di Camaiore, Tuscany, Larini began car racing in Formula Italia in 1983, then moved up to Formula Abarth in 1984, placing third overall. He also started in Italian Formula Three the same season. In 1986 he won the title for Coloni in a Dallara, and briefly drove for the same team in Formula 3000 the following year.

Formula One

Larini's rapid ascendancy in motorsport continued when Coloni entered the final two European rounds of the 1987 Formula One season. Larini failed to qualify for the Italian Grand Prix, but got into the Spanish Grand Prix, only to retire early on.

For the 1988 season he was signed by the Osella Formula One team, and drew good notices for his valiant performances in the hugely uncompetitive car, with a best result of 9th in the Monaco Grand Prix. He would continue with Osella in the 1989 season, their much-improved car suffering from the lottery of pre-qualifying. However, Larini continued to shine, running 6th at the San Marino Grand Prix until a hub failure, and running third at the Canadian Grand Prix until an electrical failure. He would also qualify 10th for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 1990 Formula One season saw a move up the grid to the Ligier team, but the well-funded French team were at a creative dead-end and the car was a distinct midfielder. A brace of seventh places were Larini's best results in a low-key year, although he easily outshone Philippe Alliot in the other Ligier.

Larini then moved to the new Modena team for the 1991 season, once again having to face pre-qualifying. He got through in the opening round, the United States Grand Prix, and held on for seventh place, but the team would develop acute financial difficulties, and were unable to progress. As a result, Larini would only qualify for four more races.

For the 1992 season, he was out of luck for a Grand Prix drive, but was signed by Ferrari to develop their active suspension system. Larini kept his racing instincts sharp by winning the Italian Touring Car Championship for Alfa Romeo, and was called up to the Ferrari Formula One team for the end of the year, replacing Ivan Capelli to race-test the active suspension car. He made a fair impression, but started both races from the back of the grid for technical reasons. However, 1993 saw more Ferrari testing and touring cars, this time taking the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft title in Germany for Alfa Romeo.In 1994, he would have another chance with Ferrari in Formula One, replacing the injured Jean Alesi early in the season. He qualified seventh at the Pacific Grand Prix, but along with Ayrton Senna was eliminated at the first corner by Mika Häkkinen. Then at the San Marino Grand Prix he took second place, but his first points score was overshadowed by the tragic deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna. It was back to touring cars with Alfa for the rest of the year, with Larini placing third in the German series.

Alfa would drop off the pace for the next two years, with Larini placing sixth in the German series in 1995, and 11th in the ITC in 1996. However, 1997 would see his Ferrari connections land him a seat with Sauber, who were using rebranded Ferrari engines. Larini scored a point on his return at the Australian Grand Prix, but left after five races after a series of disagreements with Peter Sauber.

Later career

After that, Larini was a stalwart in touring cars, for Alfa Romeo for many years in the European Touring Car Championship, and between 2005 and 2009 for Chevrolet in the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship). On November 21, 2009, he announced that he would quit his professional racing driver career, but would not stop racing completely.^[1] For example, in 2016 he won Race 1 in Imola at the European Lotus Cup, in 2017, made his NASCAR Whelen Euro Series debut at Autodromo di Franciacorta, driving the No. 1 Ford Mustang for Alex Caffi Motorsport.^[2]

Championships

1986 – Italian Formula 3 Champion Dallara Alfa Romeo Marlboro
1992 – Italiano Superturismo Champion – Alfa Romeo 155 GTA turbo
1993 – DTM Champion – Alfa Romeo 155 V6 2.5 TI DTM

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1985	FIA European Formula 3 Cup	Team Gulf Coloni	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	4th
1986	FIA European Formula 3 Cup	Team Gulf Coloni	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	3rd
1986	International Formula 3000 Championship	Coloni Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1987	International Formula 3000 Championship	Forti Corse	4	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	World Touring Car Championship	Alfa Corse	2	0	0	0	1	30	35th
	Formula One	Enzo Coloni Racing Car Systems	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1988	Formula One	Osella Squadra Corse	10	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1989	Formula One	Osella Squadra Corse	8	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1990	Formula One	Équipe Ligier Gitanes	16	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1991	Formula One	Modena Team SpA	5	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1992	Italian Superturismo Championship	Alfa Corse	20	10	7	10	15	284	1st
1992	Formula One	Scuderia Ferrari	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1993	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft	Alfa Corse	22	11	3	12	15	261	1st
1993	FIA Touring Car Challenge	Alfa Corse	2	0	0	0	2	54	2nd
1994	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft	Alfa Corse	18	2	1	5	8	150	3rd
1994	Formula One	Scuderia Ferrari	2	0	0	0	1	6	14th
1995	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft	Alfa Corse	14	0	1	1	5	71	6th
1995	International Touring Car Championship	Alfa Corse	9	1	2	3	3	59	4th
1996	International Touring Car Championship	Martini Alfa Corse	26	2	1	2	4	95	11th
1997	Formula One	Red Bull Sauber Petronas	5	0	0	0	0	1	19th
1998	Italian Superturismo Championship	Nordauto Engineering	20	3	0	2	13	331	3rd
1998	Super Tourenwagen Cup	Alfa Corse	2	0	0	1	0	23	26th
1999	Italian Superturismo Championship	Nordauto Engineering	20	3	1	4	13	343	4th
	SportsRacing World Cup	Target 24	4	0	2	1	2	27	17th
	Super Tourenwagen Cup	Alfa Corse	2	0	0	0	1	20	26th
2000	European Touring Car Championship	Nordauto Engineering	20	0	0	3	9	195	4th
2001	European Touring Car Championship	Alfa Romeo Team Nordauto	20	3	1	4	11	604	2nd
2002	European Touring Car Championship	GTA Racing Team Nordauto	19	4	2	4	11	86	3rd
2003	European Touring Car Championship	GTA Racing Team Nordauto	20	1	4	2	7	92	4th
2004	Porsche Supercup	Porsche AG	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2005	World Touring Car Championship	Chevrolet RML	19	0	0	0	0	9	16th
2006	World Touring Car Championship	Chevrolet RML	18	0	0	0	2	24	12th
2006	TC 2000 Championship	Chevrolet Pro Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2007	World Touring Car Championship	Chevrolet RML	22	0	0	0	6	71	5th
2008	World Touring Car Championship	Chevrolet RML	24	0	1	2	4	48	11th
2009	World Touring Car Championship	Chevrolet RML	24	1	0	0	1	27	13th
2010	Superstars Series	Rangoni Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2011	24 Hours of Nürburgring - E1-XP2	Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd
2011	Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup	N/A	1	0	0	1	1	0	NC
2012	24 Hours of Nürburgring - E1-XP	Global Partner Enterprise SA	1	1	0	0	1	N/A	1st
2012	Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup	N/A	1	0	0	0	1	0	NC
2013	Superstars Series	Petri Corse	2	0	0	0	0	3	31st
2013	Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup	N/A	2	1	1	0	1	0	NC
2016	Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe - Pro	Petri Corse	5	0	0	0	0	26	11th
2017	NASCAR Whelen Euro Series	Alex Caffi Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	116	29th
2018	Italian GT Championship - GT3	Petri Corse Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	6	30th
2018	24 Hours of Nürburgring - TCR	Hyundai Motorsport N	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		Pts
1986	Coloni Racing			SIL	VAL	PAU	SPA	IMO	MUG	PER	ÖST	BIR	BUG	JAR	NC	0
1987		Dallara 3087		SIL	VAL	SPA	PAU	DON	PER	BRH	BIR	IMO	BUG	JAR	NC	0