Matteo Bobbi (born 2 July 1978 in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
) is an Italian racing driver with experience in several motor sport categories, including three years as a
Minardi
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...
test driver in
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
.
During a brief time with Formula One's Minardi as their
test driver, he also began racing in
sports cars
A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1910s and ar ...
, winning the 2003
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 ...
with
Thomas Biagi
Thomas Biagi (born 7 May 1976, in Bologna), is an Italian professional racing driver.
Biagi started his career in open wheel racing, single seaters, driving in Formula Alfa Boxer and Italian Formula Three Championship, where he was 5th best in 19 ...
in a
BMS Scuderia Italia
BMS Scuderia Italia SpA (sometimes referred to as simply Scuderia Italia) is an auto racing team founded in 1983 in Brescia by Italian businessman and motorsports enthusiast Giuseppe Lucchini. Originally named Brixia Motor Sport (BMS), the team ...
Ferrari,
and finishing as runner-up in 2004. In 2006, he won the GT2 class with
Jaime Melo.
Bobbi began racing
karts
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 scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size moto ...
in 1995 and progressed to
Formula Renault
Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to auto racing, motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before mov ...
in 1998, where he finished on the podium several times. He tested a Formula One car for Minardi in 2000, and became their official test driver the following year. Also that year, he competed in the Spanish
Formula Nissan Championship, in which he won at
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
. He won six races in 2002, finishing as runner-up in the championship standings.
Bobbi continued to work with Minardi until mid-2003, including a Grand Prix weekend test session at the
2003 San Marino Grand Prix. Giovanni Minardi was his manager at the time.
He also competed in the
Rolex Sports Car Series
The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...
for
Cheever Racing.
Bobbi and
Davide Valsecchi
Davide Valsecchi (born 24 January 1987) is an Italian former racing driver and the 2012 GP2 Series season, 2012 GP2 Series champion.
Career
Formula Renault
Valsecchi drove in Renault-based series from 2003 to 2007, rising from Italian Formula Re ...
, who are currently working as Formula One commentators for
Sky Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo, and Sky TG24.
Pay TV services on the Sky ...
, were temporarily suspended by the company for making sexist remarks during an on-air post-race analysis of the
2023 Spanish Grand Prix.
Racing results
Complete Formula One participations
(
key)
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete GT1 World Championship results
References
External links
Official website
1978 births
Living people
FIA GT Championship drivers
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
Racing drivers from Milan
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
FIA GT1 World Championship drivers
Porsche Supercup drivers
British GT Championship drivers
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers
International GT Open drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
SMP Racing drivers
Cheever Racing drivers
AF Corse drivers
Lamborghini Super Trofeo drivers
Italian racing drivers
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