Alessandro Balzan (born 17 October 1980 in

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune in the region of Veneto, Northeast Italy, the capital of the province of Rovigo, eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Veni ...

) is an Italian

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

driver.

Racing career

In 1998 he stepped up from

Kart racing Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

, by competing in Italian Formula Campus and the Italian Renault Megane Cup Winter Series. A year later he drove in the Italian Renault Clio V6 Cup Winter Series, along with selected rounds of the Italian Renault Megane Cup. 2000 saw him finish the season fourth on points in the Renault Clio V6 Eurocup. That year he also became champion in the Italian Renault Clio Cup Winter Series. another title followed in 2002, winning the Italian Alfa 147 Cup. Balzan progressed up to the

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

for the 2003 season. He raced an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

for the Bigazzi Team, and in 2004 he drove a JAS ran

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

. In 2005 and 2006 he drove in the Italian Superturismo Championship.http://www.speedsport-magazine.com/race-driver-database/biography/Alessandro-Balzan-,2485.html Career at Speedsport Magazine. He competed in the inaugural season of the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sing ...

in 2005, for the independent Scuderia del Girasole Team in a SEAT Toledo. Competing in five rounds, his best finish was an eleventh place in round two of the opening event at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. He returned to the WTCC in 2006 for the opening four rounds, this time in an

Alfa Romeo 156 The Alfa Romeo 156 (Type 932) is a compact executive car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show#1997, 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155. The 156 ...

for DB Motorsport. Balzan managed a fourth-place finish, in race two at Monza. For 2007 he competed in the

Superstars Series The Superstars International Series was a production-based touring car racing championship held between 2004 and 2013. It was managed by the "Superstars World of Racing SpA", SWR, a company of FG Group with headquarters in Rome and sanctioned by ...

in a Jaguar S-Type. In 2008 he drove a

Ferrari F430 The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled a ...

in the Italian GT Championship. In the 2008 he drove the Ferrari 430 GT2 in the Italian Gt championship, he won 2 races and several times he finished on podium. 2009, 2010 and 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup Italian Champion, in the 2011 he set the world fastest lap ever during the Porsche Supercup qualifying at Monza, during the Formula One Gran Prix. 2012 Ferrari 458 Challenge WORLD and EUROPEAN Champion with Ferrari team Moscow. 2013 GRAND AM Season 458 GT3. Including the 24 hours of Daytona, where he finished 4th. After a long season he won the last Rolex Gt Grand Am championship.

Racing record

Career summary

‡ Not eligible for points

Complete European Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Porsche Supercup results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ‡ Not eligible for points

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Blancpain Sprint Series results

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Balzan did not complete sufficient laps in order to score full points.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

Alessandro Balzan at the official IMSA website

Alessandro Balzan at Driver Database

Alessandro Balzan at Racing Reference

External links

Official site (Italian).
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balzan, Alessandro 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Rovigo Italian racing drivers World Touring Car Championship drivers Porsche Supercup drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Superstars Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers European Touring Car Championship drivers European Touring Car Cup drivers International GT Open drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers GT World Challenge America drivers AF Corse drivers Conquest Racing drivers Iron Lynx drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Italy drivers Ferrari Challenge drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Ferrari Competizioni GT drivers Le Mans Cup drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers