Alessandro Pier Guidi (born December 18, 1983) is a racing driver from Italy. A Ferrari factory driver since 2017, he won the LMGTE Pro

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

in 2017, 2021 and 2022, the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

in the LMGTE Pro class, and claimed the

24 Hours of Spa The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

in 2021, as well as taking an overall win at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans along with James Calado and

Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari. Giovinazzi competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Giovinazzi won the 24 Hour ...

Early career

Pier Guidi began racing karts in 1994, a discipline he remained in until 2001. During that time, he would win the Torneo delle Industrie multiple times and took home the Italian Junior Championship in 1997. In 2002, the Italian progressed to single-seaters, driving in the Italian Formula Renault series. After a two-year hiatus from racing, Pier Guidi moved over into GT racing in 2005. Success swiftly followed, as he won the Italian GT Championship in the GT2 class and finished third in the Spanish GT Championship, having missed two rounds. The following season, Pier Guidi made a step back into the single-seater scene, competing in two rounds of the F3000 International Masters. As well as that, the Italian finished fourth in the

International GT Open The International GT Open is a grand tourer-style sports car racing series founded in 2006 by the Spanish GT Sport Organización. It was a spin-off of the now-defunct Spanish GT Championship, but is now a distinct series featuring FIA GT3-spec ...

and once again took third overall in the Spanish series. At the end of 2006, Pier Guidi joined A1 Team Italy for the opening pair of that season's

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. operated as A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themse ...

events.

GT career (2007–13)

After a one-off appearance in 2006, the GT1 category in the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

became Pier Guidi's home for 2007. Driving for Scuderia Playteam Sarafree, the Italian would finish the season in ninth place. In 2008, Pier Guidi would be signed by Galatasaray S.K., run by

Scuderia Playteam Scuderia Playteam (also known as Scuderia Playteam Sarafree) was an Italian racing team owned by Giambattista Giannoccaro. History The team competed in several series. These included the FIA GT Championship in 2007 FIA GT Championship season, 200 ...

, to race in the

Superleague Formula Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...

series. The Italian scored three third-placed finishes and ended up eighth in the championship. He returned to the

for the second half of the subsequent year where, driving for

Vitaphone Racing Vitaphone Racing, or Vita4One, was a German racing team who participated in the FIA GT Championship. The team was actually Bartels Motor & Sport GmbH, but operated under the title of its main sponsor, Vitaphone GmbH. They have successfully raced ...

alongside Matteo Bobbi, Pier Guidi won the season finale at

Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...

and took home fifth in the standings, despite having missed the first three rounds. In 2010, Pier Guidi would once again miss a heap of races in the newly formed

GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. It featured multiple grand tou ...

, though he ended up scoring a lone podium in the

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

qualifying race. 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 ...

became his next destination in 2011, where he finished ninth, grabbing three podiums in another incomplete campaign. Despite 2012 being another patchy year in terms of series participation, Pier Guidi would experience a triumph at the

, where he,

Andrea Bertolini Andrea Bertolini (born 1 December 1973, in Sassuolo) is an Italian professional racing driver currently driving for AF Corse in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is the official test driver of the Maserati factory. Bertolini began racing a ...

, Louis Machiels, and Niek Hommerson came out victorious in the Pro-Am class, driving a

Ferrari 458 Italia The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is an Italian mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The 458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turi ...

GT3. For the fifth year running, Pier Guidi did not race in any one series on a full-time basis in 2013. Nevertheless, he took a GTS class win alongside

Aleksey Basov Aleksey Mikhailovich Basov ( rus, Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ба́сов, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ ˈbasəf; born 22 April 1977) is a former Russian racing driver. He is a current member of the SMP Racing driver progra ...

in the

and took a pole position in the

Blancpain Endurance Series The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports G ...

GT career (2014–16)

At the start of 2014, Pier Guidi achieved major sporting success as he scored a GTD class win in the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

partnering Scott Tucker,

Townsend Bell Townsend Lorenz Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for FOX Sports’ I ...

, Jeff Segal, and Bill Sweedler at

Level 5 Motorsports Level 5 Motorsports was an American auto racing team founded in 2006 with illegally procured funds by racing driver, money lender and later convicted racketeer Scott Tucker, currently serving a sentence of 16 years and 8 months in federal prison. ...

, with a stewards call which originally stripped the win away from the team being reversed four hours after the finish. His main focus would lie in the

Italian GT Championship The Italian GT Championship (''Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo'') is an Italian sports car series founded in 2003 and organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) and the Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana (CSAI). It replaced a ...

that year, where he won at Mugello and scored three further podiums. At the end of the year, he took part in two races of the

, driving a

Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is an Italian Mid-engine design, mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The 458 is the successor of the Ferrari F430, F430, and was first officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show#2009, 2009 Frankfu ...

for

AF Corse AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. Strongly linked to the Maserati and Ferrari brands, AF Corse currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Chal ...

. Going into 2015, Pier Guidi signed up for a full season in the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

with AF Corse-offshoot AT Racing. Competing in the GTE class alongside the father-son duo of Alexander Talkanitsa Senior and Junior, Pier Guidi took a win at

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

after battling his way past

Marco Mapelli Marco Mapelli (born 1 August 1987 in Seregno, Italy) is an Italian racing driver. He is part of the Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of lu ...

and Andrea Rizzoli and put the team fifth in the championship. That year, the Italian also achieved his second

Spa 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

victory in the Pro-Am class, having teamed up with

Gianmaria Bruni Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni (born 30 May 1981) is an Italian Porsche factory auto racing driver who drove in the 2004 Formula One World Championship for Minardi. He is a GP2 Series race winner and is now racing in the FIA World Endurance Championsh ...

, Pasin Lathouras, and Stéphane Lemeret. For the 2016 season, Pier Guidi returned to AT Racing for his sophomore season in the

ELMS The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

. Despite missing a round, the Italian had a successful campaign, scoring a pole position at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

and finishing on the podium thrice. In June,

included Pier Guidi in their LMGTE Pro effort in the

, though the team would be forced to retire due to an engine failure.

Ferrari factory driver (2017–present)

Ahead of the 2017 season, Pier Guidi signed a factory contract with

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

. It would soon be announced that he was replacing

at AF Corse's LMGTE Pro outfit in the

, where he paired up with James Calado. The year unraveled in triumphant fashion, as seven podiums from nine races, including wins at the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, and Fuji gave Pier Guidi and Calado their first world championship. AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Pier Guidi Silverstone 2018

Pier Guidi and Calado returned with AF Corse for the 2018–19 WEC 'Super-Season'. They were unable to defend their title, though a class victory at the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans and a win at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

guaranteed the duo second in the standings. Another season without a championship followed in 2019–20, where a lone win at

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

resulted in fifth and sixth place for Calado and Pier Guidi - the Italian having missed the final race. The year did not pass without individual success for Pier Guidi however, as he won the

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by Stéphane Ratel Or ...

driving a Ferrari 488 GT3. With

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

exiting the WEC after 2020, leaving only two manufacturers in the GTE Pro class,

proved to be a season-long battle between the #51

Ferrari of Pier Guidi and Calado and the #92

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

of Kévin Estre and

Neel Jani Neel Jani (born 8 December 1983) is a Swiss people, Swiss professional racing driver. He achieved his greatest success winning the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016 after first joining Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche's Le Mans Pro ...

. Porsche drew first blood by utilising fuel strategy to win at

, with Ferrari countering with a win in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

. Despite voices in the Porsche camp suggesting that Ferrari would have the advantage going into the 6 Hours of Monza, Estre and Jani proved to be victorious, as a chasing Pier Guidi had to pit for fuel with a few laps to go. This disappointment would be turned into glory at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, where Pier Guidi, Calado, and Côme Ledogar won after dominating the latter half of the race. The final two races, both held at

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, began with Porsche taking a dominant win at the 6 Hour event, moving a mere point behind Pier Guidi and Calado, a gap that turned into a dead heat once Porsche had scored pole for the 8 Hour round. During the finale, controversy reigned supreme, as Pier Guidi made contact with the class-leading #92 Porsche of Michael Christensen 12 minutes from the end of the race, who changed racing line while breaking after a failing attempt to block an Lmp2 car, spinning around his title rival and inheriting first place. The stewards ordered Pier Guidi to return the place to Christensen, though as the Italian slowed on the main straight, the Porsche went into the pits to refuel the car. Pier Guidi, who pitted for fuel a lap later, came out ahead of Christensen and did not make another attempt to give back the position, and he was also not obliged to do so by the stewards, crossing the line in first and winning the championship. After Porsche protested the stewards' decision to let the win stand, an official appeal was swiftly withdrawn, thus confirming Pier Guidi and Calado as two-time champions. During the year, the Italian also scored a personal achievement at the

, winning the race for

Iron Lynx Iron Lynx Motorsport Lab is an Italian auto racing team founded by Andrea Piccini, Deborah Mayer, Claudio Schiavoni and Sergio Pianezzola. The team is based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. They primarily participate in sports car racing, and are a sis ...

with a late overtake on the leading

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

Dries Vanthoor Dries Vanthoor (born 20 April 1998 in Heusden-Zolder) is a racing driver from Belgium who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with BMW M Team WRT. In his previous role as an Audi factory driver, Vanthoor amassed multiple a ...

. This result helped Pier Guidi to retain the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup crown, one he shared with Nicklas Nielsen and Côme Ledogar. For 2022, Pier Guidi and Calado returned to defend their title in what would end up being the final year of the LMGTE Pro category in the WEC. Pier Guidi impressed throughout the year, scoring the marque's sole pole 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 ...

, putting in important stints at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

in challenging weather conditions and winning the races in Belgium and Fuji, though his finest drive came at the final round in

. There, the car, which had initially looked likely to score a podium, developed a gearbox issue with two hours remaining which dropped them behind all other GTE Pro runners. Pier Guidi, using only fifth gear for the majority of his final stints, brought the car home ahead of the GTE Am cars, which were eligible for GTE points, in fifth, thereby winning the championship for a third time.

entered the Hypercar class for the 2023 WEC season, fielding two Ferrari 499P in an alliance with

. Pier Guidi would be placed in the #51 car, remaining alongside Calado and being joined by

. The opening round at Sebring proved to be a disappointment, as Pier Guidi collided with a GTE Am Ferrari and finished seventh, meanwhile a brake issue forced the Italian to nurse the car home in sixth at

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

. At

, the trio achieved their first podium of the year, with Calado overtaking Porsche's

Frédéric Makowiecki Frédéric Makowiecki (born 22 November 1980) is a French professional racing driver who currently competes as a factory driver for Alpine Endurance Team in the Hypercar category of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Career After competin ...

on the final lap to snatch third place.

became the season's magnum opus: After Ferrari locked out the front row with Pier Guidi starting behind poleman

Antonio Fuoco Antonio Fuoco (born 20 May 1996) is an Italian racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari AF Corse in the Ferrari 499P. He also serves as a development driver for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One ...

, the #51 crew got into the lead by nightfall, though a spin into the gravel by Pier Guidi forced them to be recovered by a recovery vehicle, dropping them to fourth near midnight. The team remained undeterred and got back into the lead at the halfway mark, going on to control the race well into the morning. Despite a late challenge by

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

, a spin caused them to fall back, leaving Pier Guidi to cross the line to win the centenary edition of the 24 Hours and bringing Ferrari their first overall Le Mans win in 50 years. This result turned out to be the final podium for the #51 trio, who finished fourth in the standings, one place behind their teammates in the #50.

Racing record

Career summary

^† As Pier Guidi was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Italia results

Superleague Formula

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

Complete GT1 World Championship results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Partial IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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

Partial GT World Challenge Europe results

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup

References

External links

*
GT Open Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pier Guidi, Alessandro Living people A1 Team Italy drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Superleague Formula drivers 1983 births FIA GT1 World Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Superstars Series drivers People from Tortona GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers International GT Open drivers Stock Car Brasil drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers British GT Championship drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Sportspeople from the Province of Alessandria AF Corse drivers SMP Racing drivers Level 5 Motorsports drivers Ferrari Competizioni GT drivers Iron Lynx drivers GT4 European Series drivers Italian racing drivers