9 FABRIZIO GIOVANARDI

CHAMPION:2007, 2008

Fabrizio Giovanardi was a highly decorated touring car driver before he joined the British Touring Car Championship trail. He had tasted championship success in Spain, Italy and in the European series before coming to the UK to chase his eighth crown. It only took him two seasons to conquer Britain.

He had begun his career in singleseaters, progressing through Italian F3 and on to the International F3000 contest, but his career stalled at that point – but there was an escape route.

During his final season in F3000 in 1991, he had dovetailed his commitments with a campaign for Peugeot in a 405 in the Italian Superturismo competition. He was an immediate success and lifted the Class 2 crown at his first attempt.

In 1994, he joined Alfa Romeo for what would be a hugely competitive decade, taking part in both the DTM and the Superturismo series, before switching to German-based Super Tourenwagen Cup and then the European Super Touring Championship. He won titles wherever he went, and quickly became one of the most highly skilled front-wheel-drive tin-top racers in the continent.

The move to the UK brought a further two titles but he was left without a ride when Vauxhall withdrew from the BTCC, which left him on the sidelines. There was a brief outing in a privatelyrun Triple Eight Vectra at the start of 2010, but funding could not be found for the rest of the campaign. A oneseason return in 2014 with Motorbase Performance was not a success.