Davide Rigon

Davide Rigon is an Italian racing driver who competes with Ferrari in the FIA World Endurance Championship and other GT competitions. Most recently, he finished second in the classification of GT drivers in the 2016 FIA WEC season.

Prior to his career in GT racing, Rigon was a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari F1 team and he captured four championship titles in different single-seater series (Superleague Formula, Formula 3000, Formula Azzura).

Davide Rigon

First championship title in the Formula Azzura

Davide Rigon was born on August 26, 1986, in Thiene in northern Italy. After an international career in karting competitions, he switched to bigger cars in 2003, entering the Formula BMW ADAC. In 2004, he was competing in few Italian single-seater series, clinching the best result in the Formula Gloria, where he was second in the points. Next year, he won the 2005 Formula Azzura championship title,  winning five of ten races.

Italian F3 championship runner-up

During 2005, Rigon also participated in the Italian Formula 2.0 and Formula Renault 3.5 Series but also tested a Formula One car for Minardi. He was a Minardi driver in the 2006 Formula 3000 season, competing both in the Italian and European championship. However, he was most successful in the Italian Formula 3, driving for Corbetta Competizioni and finishing as the 2006 championship runner-up, behind Mauro Massironi.

Two championship titles in a row

In 2007, Rigon became the champion both in the European and Italian Formula 3000, still driving for Minardi. His successful single-seater career continued in 2008 when he was a part of the Beijing Guoan Zakspeed team in the inaugural Superleague Formula championship. Although considered as outsiders, Rigon and his team won the title. Rigon was the winner in three races (Donington, Zolder and Vallelunga).

Double Superleague Formula champion

Spa 24h victory in 2008

In 2008, Rigon participated for the first time in the GT competition, joining BMS Scuderia Italia in the FIA GT Championship. He was driving the #78 Ferrari 430GTC, scoring one victory in GT2 class, at Spa 24-hour race. His partners in that race were Joel Camathias, Matteo Malucelli and Paolo Ruberti. Rigon's co-driver for the rest of the season was Camathias, they finished 8th and 7th in the points.

Driving for Trident in GP2 Series

During the off-season, Rigon joined Trident Racing to compete in the 2008/2009 GP2 Asia Series. In six races, he scored one podium and finished 17th in the points. Rigon continued to drive for Trident in the 2009 GP2 season. In 18 races, he scored no wins and podiums. He was slightly more successful in the second season of the Superleague Formula, scoring one podium with the Olympiacos CFP team and finishing sixth in the points.

2010 Superleague Formula champion again

In 2010, Rigon's only competition was the Superleague Formula and he became the champion. In 33 races with RSC Anderlecht/Azerti Motorsport team, Rigon has won five times and he clinched his second title with a 2-point advantage over Craig Dolby.

In 2011, Rigon joined Coloni Racing in the GP2 Series but a horrific crash in the first round, at Istanbul Park, forced him to miss the rest of the season. He suffered multiple fractures to tibia and fibula, recovering from injuries few months.

Davide Rigon was a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari

Testing Ferrari F1 car, driving Ferrari GT cars

In 2012, Rigon became the test driver for Scuderia Ferrari. He also participated in few races of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and Speed EuroSeries but his main focus became the GT racing. He joined Kessel Racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series, driving the #71 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 for a full season. He was sharing the car with Stefano Gattuso and Daniel Zampieri. With one podium (Paul Ricard), Rigon finished 10th in the points.

Helping 8 Star Motorsports to win FIA WEC title

Rigon remained Scuderia Ferrari test driver for one more year, but he expanded his GT racing activities during 2013, driving for three different teams in three different championships. In the FIA World Endurance Championship, he was a member of the 8 Star Motorsports, scoring three podiums in four races, including the victory at 6 hours of Shanghai. He finished sixth in the LM GTE Am classification while the team clinched GTE Am teams' title.

Rigon's other competitions were Blancpain Endurance Series with Kessel Racing and International GT Open with Scuderia Villorba Corse. He won the Blancpain race at Monza to finish fourth in the points.

Davide Rigon and James Calado were teammates for two seasons

Davide Rigon joined AF Corse in 2014

For 2014 season, Rigon joined AF Corse in the FIA WEC, partnering James Calado in the #71 Ferrari 458 Italia GTC. In eight races, they scored five GTE Pro podiums, to finish seventh in the points. In June 2014, at his Le Mans 24h debut, Rigon didn't finish the race. Rigon's only win in 2014 was at non-championship Gulf 12 Hours race, where he was sharing AF Corse's Ferrari with Michele Rugolo.

GTE Pro Le Mans podium in 2015

In the 2015 FIA WEC season, Rigon and Calado remained together in the #71 Ferrari. They continued to collect GTE Pro podiums, finishing five times among Top 3, but again missing victories. One of those podiums was second place at 24 hours of Le Mans, together with Calado and Olivier Beretta. At the end of the season, Rigon was fourth in the points.

Davide Rigon and Sam Bird in 2016

FIA WEC GT vice-champion in 2016

The 2016 season started with participation in American endurance classics with Risi Competizione's Ferrari 488 GTE, partnering regular drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander. At Daytona 24h, the #62 Ferrari finished sixth in GTLM class, at Sebring 12h they were fourth in class.

For the 2016 FIA WEC season, Rigon's new partner in the #71 car was Sam Bird. The Italian-British pair became victorious in the season-opening race at Silverstone, adding one more victory in the second round at Spa. At Le Mans, Bird and Rigon were joined by Andrea Bertolini, but they failed to finish the race. Later in the season, they added three more podiums to finish second in the classification of GT drivers.

Rigon continued to collect FIA WEC victories in 2017, winning two times in the #71 Ferrari, still sharing a car with Sam Bird. He finished fourth in GT drivers' classification. In 2018, Rigon and Bird stayed together in the #71 Ferrari. They scored no wins and finished just 12th in the final classification.

Davide Rigon

Photos: daviderigon.it, Ferrari,