Michele Rugolo (born 31 August 1982 in

Montebelluna Montebelluna is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, Italy, approximately northwest of Venice. It has an estimated population of 31,000. Montebelluna borders the following municipalities: Altivole, Caerano di San Marco, Cornuda, Crocetta del Montello ...

) is an Italian racing driver.

Career

Formula Renault

After competing in

karting 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 motor ...

championships from 1992 to 1999, Rugolo competed in the

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 ...

2000 Italy from 2000 to 2002, and then switched to

Formula Nissan In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

part-way through 2002.

Sports Cars

Rugolo competed in the

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 ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, finishing 11th overall in a

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

- Judd. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he competed in the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

, driving a Dodge Viper GTS-R. For 2007, he competed in the GT2 class of 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 ...

, and moved into the International GT Open championship the following year. He joined Krohn Racing in 2011 for its

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

GTE-Am class effort, which saw class wins at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Rugolo,

Tracy Krohn Tracy William Krohn (born August 26, 1954, in Houston, Texas) is an entrepreneur and auto racing enthusiast who was a new addition to the 2006 Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans, at #320. Biography He has a petroleum engineering degree ...

and Nic Jonsson helped take the team to a second-place finish in the class championship. In 2012, Rugolo will return to Krohn Racing in the

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 ...

. On Wednesday before the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lucas di Grassi wasn't able to get fast enough out of the car due to an ankle injury. Michele was asked to step in at the last moment, to replace Lucas di Grassi.

Formula Three

Rugolo has also competed in single seaters, coming fourth in Italian

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

in both 2004 and 2006.

Formula 3000

Rugolo's success in F3 and connections with Durango, who also ran a

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...

team, saw him called up to the series for the final race of the 2004 season; his home race 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 retired from the race.

A1 Grand Prix

Rugolo is also one of A1 Team Italy's drivers for the 2006–07 season, although he did not compete in a race in favour of

Enrico Toccacelo Enrico Toccacelo (born 14 December 1978 in Rome) is an Italian former auto racer with karting, GT and Formula 3000 experience. He won three F3000 events and briefly led Vitantonio Liuzzi in the 2004 championship before Liuzzi went on to win the ...

or Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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

References

*Michele Rugolo career statistics a
driverdb.com
retrieved 14 January 2007.

External links

Rugolo's official website.
1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Montebelluna Italian racing drivers A1 Grand Prix Rookie drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers International Formula 3000 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American Le Mans Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers International GT Open drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers {{Italy-autoracing-bio-stub AF Corse drivers Durango (racing team) drivers Target Racing drivers Le Mans Cup drivers Ferrari Competizioni GT drivers