Pierluigi Martini

Pierluigi Martini (Template:IPA; born 23 April 1961) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from Template:F1 to Template:F1 and from Template:F1 to Template:F1. In endurance racing, Martini won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Template:24hLM with BMW.

Born in Lugo, Emilia-Romagna, Martini is the nephew of Formula Two driver Giancarlo Martini and the older brother of Oliver. He finished runner-up to Ivan Capelli in the 1986 International Formula 3000 Championship. Martini contested 124 Formula One Grands Prix between Template:F1 and Template:F1 for Toleman, Minardi, and Scuderia Italia, achieving 18 championship points.

Early life

Martini's uncle, Giancarlo Martini, raced during the 1970s, including some non-championship races in a Ferrari 312T entered by Scuderia Everest, a team owned by Giancarlo Minardi. Pierluigi's younger brother, Oliver, is also a racing driver.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1983 Martini competed in Formula 3 with Luigi Pavesi racing. He won four races and secured both the Italian Formula 3 and European Formula 3 titles the same year.<ref>https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/championships/1983-european-f3-championship/</ref>

Formula One

Martini driving for Minardi at the 1985 European Grand Prix.

Martini participated in 124 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 9 September 1984, driving for Toleman in place of suspended Ayrton Senna at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix. He scored a total of 18 championship points and was synonymous with the Minardi team (run by the same Giancarlo Minardi who had previously owned Scuderia Everest).

Martini driving a Minardi M194 at the 1994 British Grand Prix

Indeed, aside from a single outing with Toleman and a one-season dalliance with Scuderia Italia in 1992, 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 the 1988 Detroit Grand Prix, and their only front-row start at the 1990 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 the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, and their joint-best finish was 4th at the 1991 San Marino Grand Prix and 1991 Portuguese Grand Prix, the latter being Martini's single finish on the lead lap.<ref>Celebrating Winless Wonders: 20 F1 Drivers with the Most Starts without a Win - Mike Pryson, Autoweek, 9 June 2020</ref> Initially out of a drive for 1993, he was recalled back to the little Italian team midway through the season in place of Fabrizio Barbazza, Martini impressed by outpacing his young teammate Christian Fittipaldi.

Martini was also one of the drivers with a reputation for ignoring blue flags. Examples given are the 1991 Monaco Grand Prix when he held up Emanuele Pirro in the Dallara, Stefano Modena in the Tyrrell, and Riccardo Patrese in the Williams for several laps despite running towards the back of the field, and the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix where he blocked Gerhard 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.

Martini driving a Minardi M195 at the 1995 British Grand Prix

Quizzed about this attitude on the occasion of the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix, where he held up winner Damon 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'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sportscars

Prior to commencing his Formula One career, Martini drove a Lancia LC2 in the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans. After leaving Formula One, he began a successful career in sportscar racing. He contested the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche run by Joest Racing. 1997 brought a fourth-place finish in a Porsche 911 GT1 which he also raced in the FIA GT Championship that year. In 1998, he joined the brand new Le Mans program of BMW Motorsports.

File:Minardi M189 - Pierluigi Martini.jpg

Martini and a Minardi M189 at the 2016 Adelaide Motorsport Festival

In 1999, Martini, Yannick Dalmas and Joachim Winkelhock won the Le Mans 24 Hours.Template:Ref 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 the Grand Prix Masters series for retired Formula One drivers.

Racing record

Career summary

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Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1981	Italian Formula Three	Trivellato Racing	9	0	0	0	0	6	14th
	European Formula Three		3	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1982	Italian Formula Three	Pavesi Racing	9	3	1	4	5	40.5	3rd
	European Formula Three		2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1983	European Formula Three	Pavesi Racing	14	4	3	5	8	66	1st
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	European Formula Two	Minardi Team Srl	1	0	0	0	1	6	11th
1984	World Sportscar Championship	Martini Racing	5	0	0	1	0	10	44th
	24 Hours of Le Mans	BP Résidences Malardeau, Scuderia Jolly Club	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	Formula One	Toleman Group Motorsport	0	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1985	Formula One	Minardi Team	15	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1986	International Formula 3000	Pavesi Racing	10	3	2	1	5	36	2nd
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	10th
1987	International Formula 3000	Pavesi Racing	11	0	0	0	1	8	11th
1988	International Formula 3000	First Racing	10	1	0	1	4	23	4th
	Formula One	Lois Minardi Team	9	0	0	0	0	1	17th
1989	Formula One	Minardi Team SpA	15	0	0	0	0	5	15th
	Italian Superturismo Championship	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
1990	Formula One	SCM Minardi Team	15	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1991	Formula One	Minardi Team	16	0	0	0	0	6	11th
1992	Formula One	Scuderia Italia SpA	16	0	0	0	0	2	16th
1993	Formula One	Minardi Team	8	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1994	Formula One	Minardi Scuderia Italia	16	0	0	0	0	4	21st
1995	Formula One	Minardi Scuderia Italia	9	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1996	24 Hours of Le Mans	Joest Racing	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1997	FIA GT Championship	BMS Scuderia Italia	8	0	0	0	0	1	33rd
	24 Hours of Le Mans		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	8th
	International Sports Racing Series	Joest Racing	1	1	0	1	1	N/A	NC
1998	24 Hours of Le Mans	Team BMW Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	International Sports Racing Series	BMW Team Rafanelli	2	0	0	0	1	N/A	NC
1999	24 Hours of Le Mans	BMW Motorsport	1	1	0	?	1	N/A	1st
	American Le Mans Series	Schnitzer Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	1	88th
2000	American Le Mans Series	Team Rafanelli	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
2006	Grand Prix Masters	Team Global Logistics, Team Motorola	2	0	0	1	0	1	8th
2009	Campionato Italiano Superstars	Zakspeed Team	18	3	0	1	6	114	5th
	International Superstars Series		10	1	0	1	1	31	10th
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Complete European Formula Two Championship 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	12	Template:Tooltip	Pts
Template:F2	Minardi Team Srl	Minardi M283	BMW	SIL	THR	HOC	NÜR	VAL	PAU	JAR	DON	MIS Template:Small	PER	ZOL	MUG	11th	6
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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	Template:Tooltip	Pts
1986	Pavesi Corse	Ralt RB20	Cosworth	SIL Template:Small	VAL Template:Small	PAU Template:Small	SPA Template:Small								2nd	36
		Ralt RT20						IMO Template:Small	MUG Template:Small	PER Template:Small	ÖST Template:Small	BIR Template:Small	BUG Template:Small	JAR Template:Small
1987	Pavesi Racing	Ralt RT21	Cosworth	SIL Template:Small	VAL Template:Small	SPA Template:Small	PAU Template:Small	DON Template:Small		BRH Template:Small	BIR Template:Small	IMO Template:Small	BUG Template:Small		11th	8
		Ralt RT20							PER Template:Small					JAR Template:Small
1988	First Racing	March 88B	Judd	JER Template:Small	VAL Template:Small	PAU Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	MNZ Template:Small	PER Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	BIR Template:Small	BUG	ZOL Template:Small	DIJ Template:Small	4th	23
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Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
Template:F1	Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman TG184	Hart Straight-4	BRA	RSA	BEL	SMR	FRA	MON	CAN	DET	DAL	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA Template:Small	EUR	POR		NC	0
Template:F1	Minardi Team	Minardi M185	Cosworth V8	BRA Template:Small	POR Template:Small																NC	0
			MM V6			SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	DET Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	RSA Template:Small	AUS Template:Small
Template:F1	Lois Minardi Team	Minardi M188	Cosworth V8	BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	CAN	DET Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	AUS Template:Small		17th	1
Template:F1	Minardi Team SpA	Minardi M188B	Cosworth V8	BRA Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small															15th	5
		Minardi M189					MEX Template:Small	USA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	JPN	AUS Template:Small
Template:F1	SCM Minardi Team	Minardi M189	Cosworth V8	USA Template:Small	BRA Template:Small																NC	0
		Minardi M190				SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	MEX Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	AUS Template:Small
Template:F1	Minardi Team	Minardi M191	Ferrari V12	USA Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	MEX Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	AUS Template:Small		11th	6
Template:F1	Scuderia Italia SpA	BMS Dallara 192	Ferrari V12	RSA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	AUS Template:Small		16th	2
Template:F1	Minardi Team	Minardi M193	Ford V8	RSA	BRA	EUR	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	AUS Template:Small		NC	0
Template:F1	Minardi Scuderia Italia	Minardi M193B	Ford V8	BRA Template:Small	PAC Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	ESP Template:Small													21st	4
		Minardi M194							CAN Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	AUS Template:Small
Template:F1	Minardi Scuderia Italia	Minardi M195	Ford V8	BRA Template:Small	ARG Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	PAC	JPN	AUS	NC	0
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Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon BP Résidences Malardeau Template:Flagicon Scuderia Jolly Club	Template:Flagicon Xavier Lapeyre Template:Flagicon Beppe Gabbiani	Lancia LC2	C1	117	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Joest Racing	Template:Flagicon Michele Alboreto Template:Flagicon Didier Theys	TWR Porsche WSC-95	LMP1	300	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon BMS Scuderia Italia	Template:Flagicon Christian Pescatori Template:Flagicon Antônio Hermann de Azevedo	Porsche 911 GT1	GT1	317	8th	4th
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Team BMW Motorsport	Template:Flagicon Joachim Winkelhock Template:Flagicon Johnny Cecotto	BMW V12 LM	LMP1	43	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon BMW Motorsport	Template:Flagicon Joachim Winkelhock Template:Flagicon Yannick Dalmas	BMW V12 LMR	LMP	365	1st	1st
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Complete Grand Prix Masters results

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

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5
2006	Team Global Logistics	Delta Motorsport GPM	Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8	QAT Template:Small	ITA Template:Small
	Team Motorola					GBR Template:Small	MAL Template:Small	RSA Template:Small
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Sources

• Template:Note DRIVERS: PIERLUIGI MARTINI, GrandPrix.com

External links

• F1 Rejects article
• Template:DriverDB driver
• Template:Racing-Reference driver