Roberto Ravaglia

Roberto Ravaglia (born 26 May 1957) is an Italian former racing driver, who currently runs ROAL Motorsport, who operate a Chevrolet operation in the World Touring Car Championship. Before retiring in 1997, he was one of the most successful touring car racing drivers, primarily for BMW, and won seven titles in four different championships.

Racing career Ravaglia was twice Italian karting champion and raced in Formula 3 in the early 1980s. In 1984, he made his touring car debut, becoming European Touring Car Championship champion in 1986, and successfully defending the title in 1987 and 1988 (though in 1987 it was the World Touring Car Championship), with some races outside Europe including the Macau Grand Prix Guia Touring Car races and the James Hardie 1000 in Australia. Later in the 1988 season, he was unable to defend his Macau win due to breaking a rib in a road accident driving his Fiat Uno. He switched with BMW to the DTM in 1989, and the Italian Superturismo Championship in 1990, winning both on the first attempt. He was also champion in 1991 and 1993. One of the few unsuccessful seasons of his career was 1996 in the British Touring Car Championship, despite finishing a credible sixth and picking up a win at the British GP support race. He also came in 4th at Supertourismo that year. He was now approaching 40 and did not win another championship as a driver.

Ravaglia was also successful in the famed Spa 24 Hours race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, winning the race three times. He won his first 24 hours in 1985 driving a BMW 635 CSi partnered by Formula One drivers Gerhard Berger and Marc Surer. He followed that win with a third place in 1986 and second in 1987 before winning again in 1988 in a BMW M3 partnered by Dieter Quester and Altfrid Heger. His last win in the Ardennes round the clock classic came in 1994. Again driving a BMW, this time the BMW 318is partnered by Thierry Tassin and Alexander Burgstaller.

Ravaglia made three visits to Australia during his racing career, all to drive in the Bathurst 1000. In his debut race in 1985, he finished a fine second with Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto in the Schnitzer BMW 635 CSi which had earlier in the year finished second at Spa, with both drivers sharing the "Rookie of the Year" award. The car, run by Australian Greg "Pee Wee" Siddle and under the name of "Goold Motorsport" and sponsored by retired Australian racer and successful tyre retailer Bob Jane, was initially to be driven by Formula One drivers Riccardo Patrese and Gerhard Berger, but the race was run on the same day as the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in England. Ravaglia and Cecotto's effort was all the more impressive considering that their Sebring Orange 635 CSi was down on power throughout qualifying and the race with a small electrical gremlin which the Schnitzer mechanics didn't manage to successfully cure.

Ravaglia returned in 1986, again in a Schnitzer 635 for Goold Motorsport, this time painted in BMW's famous cut-away paint scheme, and initially qualified a surprising second before ending up 9th on the grid after the "Hardies Heroes" Top 10 run-off. To his credit, Ravaglia stated his time wouldn't have been possible in qualifying proper without the tow he got from one of the faster V8 Holden Commodore's on the run up Mountain Straight and on the almost 2 km long Conrod Straight, and attributed that lack of a tow in the runoff for his falling to ninth. Partnering former ETCC champion Dieter Quester, his race unfortunately ended early when he clashed on lap 2 of 163 with the Jaguar XJS of 1985 winner John Goss. In an uncharacteristic show of raw emotion, Ravaglia physically attacked Goss in the pits after Goss finished his opening driving stint believing the Australian to be totally at fault for the accident and had to be restrained by his team. He later apologised to Goss and professed regret for his actions. Goss, who said in an interview with race broadcaster Channel 7 that he was "astounded" about incident in the pits (but didn't name Ravaglia as the other driver), declined the option from race officials to have action taken against the Italian believing it to be just "one of those things".

Ravaglia returned to Australia for two rounds of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship. The first being the 1987 James Hardie 1000, which was a disaster for the Schnitzer team and Roberto. After crashing his BMW M3 at the top of the mountain during qualifying, he suffered heavy bruising to his ribs which required strapping. Following his final stint at the wheel during the race, he was taken to the tracks medical centre after collapsing from exhaustion and dehydration from the physical effort of having to drive the little car around the 6.213 km long Mount Panorama Circuit with bruised ribs that were reportedly strapped too tight, making it hard for him to breathe. His last race in Australia was a week later in the Bob Jane T-Marts 500 at the Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne, a unique track that combined the 2.280 km (1.417 mi) road course with the then new 1.801 km (1.119 mi) NASCAR style high banked "Thunderdome". Again teamed with Italian Emanuele Pirro, the pair qualified their M3 9th, but would enjoy a much better race than at Bathurst, finishing 2nd behind the Steve Soper / Pierre Dieudonné Texaco Ford Sierra RS500.

Ravaglia was also successful in other 24-hour races, twice winning the famous Nürburgring 24 Hours. His first win came in 1989 driving a BMW M3 with another F1 driver (and regular ETCC/WTCC co-driver) Emanuele Pirro and Frenchman Fabien Giroix. His last 24-hour win at the famous Nürburgring was in 1995 driving a BMW 320i with Marc Duez and Alexander Burgstaller.

Team management In 2001, Ravaglia founded his own racing team, Ravaglia Motorsport (now ROAL Motorsport), with Aldo Preo. The team took part in the European Touring Car Championship with support from BMW Motorsport, and their driver Peter Kox won the Super Production class championship in the first season. The entry name of the BMW squad was BMW Team Germany in 2001, but it changed to BMW Team Spain in the next season and has been BMW Team Italy-Spain since 2003. The team currently competes in the World Touring Car Championship.

Racing Career Highlights

as Driver 1985 Winner of the 24 Hours of Spa 1986 European Touring Car Championship champion 1987 World Touring Car Championship champion Winner of the Guia Race 1988 European Touring Car Championship champion Winner of the 24 Hours of Spa 1989 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) champion Winner of the 24 Hours Nürburgring Nordschleife 1990 Italian Touring Car Championship champion 1991 Italian Touring Car Championship champion 1992

Third in Guia Race 1993 Italian Touring Car Championship champion 1994 Winner of the 24 Hours of Spa 1995 Winner of the 24 Hours Nürburgring Nordschleife

as Team director 2001 FIA European Super Touring Championship Super Production class champion for Peter Kox (Ravaglia BMW) 2005 Italian Superturismo Championship champion for Alessandro Zanardi (Ravaglia BMW)

Career results Results sourced from Driver Database. Season Series Position Car Team 1980 Formula Fiat Abarth 5th Fiat Abarth 1981 Italian Formula Three Championship 5th Dallara 381 Toyota Trivellato Racing 1982 Italian Formula Three Championship 17th Dallara 382 Alfa Romeo Trivellato Racing 1982 European Formula 3 Championship 10th Dallara 382 Alfa Romeo Trivellato Racing 1983 European Formula 3 Championship 5th Ralt RT3 Alfa Romeo Trivellato Racing 1985 European Touring Car Championship 20th BMW 635 CSi Schnitzer Motorsport 1985 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 16th BMW 635 CSi Schnitzer Motorsport 1985 Australian Endurance Championship 15th BMW 635 CSi Goold Motorsport 1986 European Touring Car Championship 1st BMW 635 CSi Schnitzer Motorsport 1987 World Touring Car Championship 1st BMW M3 Schnitzer Motorsport 1988 Nissan Mobil 500 series 1st BMW M3 Schnitzer Motorsport 1988 European Touring Car Championship 1st BMW M3 Schnitzer Motorsport 1988 World Sportscar Championship 61st Cougar C20 Porsche Courage Compétition 1988 Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship 3rd BMW M3 Schnitzer Motorsport 1989 Nissan Mobil 500 series 3rd BMW M3 Schnitzer Motorsport 1989 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 1st BMW M3 Schnitzer Motorsport 1990 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 16th BMW M3 Evolution Schnitzer Motorsport 1990 Italian Superturismo Championship 1st BMW M3 Evolution Schnitzer Motorsport 1991 Italian Superturismo Championship 1st BMW M3 Evolution BMW Italia / CiBiEmme Engineering 1992 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 7th BMW M3 Evolution Schnitzer Motorsport 1992 Italian Superturismo Championship 7th BMW M3 Evolution Schnitzer Motorsport 1993 FIA Touring Car Challenge 24th BMW 318i CiBiEmme 1993 Italian Superturismo Championship 1st BMW 318i CiBiEmme Engineering 1994 FIA Touring Car World Cup 10th BMW 318i CiBiEmme Engineering 1994 Super Tourenwagen Cup 20th BMW 318i BMW Team Bigazzi 1994 Italian Superturismo Championship 4th BMW 318is CiBiEmme Engineering 1994 British Touring Car Championship 18th BMW 318is Schnitzer Motorsport 1995 FIA Touring Car World Cup 19th BMW 318is BMW Team Bigazzi 1995 Deutscher Tourenwagen Cup 6th BMW 318is BMW Team Bigazzi 1996 Italian Superturismo Championship 4th BMW 320i Team Bigazzi 1996 British Touring Car Championship 6th BMW 320i Schnitzer Motorsport 1997 FIA GT Championship 8th McLaren F1 GTR Schnitzer Motorsport

Complete European Formula 3 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Pts 1982 Scuderia Vesuvio Alfa Romeo MUG NÜR DON ZOL MAG ÖST ZAN SIL MNZ PER LAC KNU NOG JAR KAS 10th 8 1983 Trivellato Racing Alfa Romeo VLL NÜR ZOL MAG ÖST LAC SIL MNZ MIS ZAN KNU NOG JAR IMO DON CET 5th 32

Complete European Touring Car Championship results Results sourced from History of Touring Car Racing.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DC Pts 1984 Schnitzer Motorsport BMW 635 CSi MNZRet VALRet DONRet PERRet BRN ZEL18 SAL8 NÜR8 SPARet SILRet ZOLRet MUG1 NA NA 1985 Schnitzer Motorsport BMW 635 CSi MNZRet VAL5 DON AND BRN3 ZEL SAL8 NÜR4 SPA1 SIL NOG ZOL4 EST3 JAR7 20th 104 1986 Schnitzer Motorsport BMW 635 CSi MNZRet DON2 HOC2 MIS1 ANDRet BRN6 ZEL3 NÜR1 SPA3 SIL2 NOG1 ZOL2 JAR1 EST9 1st 211 1987 Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3 DON7 EST AND ZOL ZELDNS IMO NOG NA 22 1988 Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3 MNZ6 DON1 EST2 JAR3 DIJ3 VAL2 NÜR4 SPA1 ZOL1 SIL7 NOG2 1st 297

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 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) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Pts 1987 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 MNZDSQ JARovr:1cls:1 DIJovr:2cls:1 NÜRovr:2cls:1 SPARet BNOovr:4cls:2 SILovr:2cls:2 BATovr:12cls:5 CLDovr:2cls:1 WELovr:2cls:1 FJIovr:3cls:1 1st 269

Complete World Sportscar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Pts 1988 Courage Compétition Cougar C20 Porsche JER JAR MNZ7 SIL LMS BRN BRH NÜR SPA FUJ SAN 61st 8

Complete FIA GT Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts 1997 Schnitzer Motorsport McLaren F1 GTR GT1 HOCRet SIL1 HEL11 NÜR4 SPA4 ZELRet SUZ8 DON5 MUG5 SEB2 LAG11 8th 26

Complete Italian Superturismo Championship results

Complete British Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position - 1 point awarded all races 1996 only) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Bathurst 1000 results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1985 / Goold Motorsport Johnny Cecotto BMW 635 CSi C 163 2nd 2nd 1986 / Goold Motorsport Dieter Quester BMW 635 CSi C 2 DNF DNF 1987 Schnitzer Motorsport Emanuele Pirro Markus Oestreich Roland Ratzenberger BMW M3 2 150 12th 5th