Gianluca de Lorenzi

Gianluca di Lorenzi is an Italian racing driver and a team owner of GDL Racing. Di Lorenzi participated mostly in touring car and GT races, finishing several times as a vice-champion in different competitions but he never clinched a championship title.

Gianluca de Lorenzi

Third place in the World karting championship early in a career

Born in February 1972, Gianluca grew up next to father Luigi, who worked for ten years as a chief mechanic of Minardi F1 team.

After teenage years in karting competitions, with the third place in the World Championship as a highlight of his karting career, Gianluca switched to bigger cars in 1991, entering the Italian Formula 3. He was competing occasionally in Formula 3 until 1996 but without any success.

Switching to touring cars and GT racing

In the late 1990s, Gianluca moved his interest to touring car and sports car racing. In 1998, he made a debut at Spa 24 Hours in a BMW 320i, not finishing the race. In January 1999, he joined Supertech SB Racing in his debut at Daytona 24 Hours, driving a Ferrari F355 GT3.

In 1999, he made a debut in the Italian Super Production Championship with Alfa Romeo 156, then using that car for the full season in the 2000 European Super Touring Cup. Scoring three podiums, he finished seventh in the points.

GDL Racing has been founded in 2001

Founding his own team GDL Racing in 2001

In 2001, backed by his father, Gianluca founded the GDL Racing and competed in the European Super Touring Championship. Driving the #20 BMW 320i, he finished seventh in the overall standings and second among amateur/independent drivers.

In 2002, he participated in just one ETCC round with Ravaglia Motorsport's BMW, then moving full-time to the Italian Super Production Championship in 2003 with his own team.

Italian Super Production vice-champion two times

In the 2003 Italian Super Production Championship, De Lorenzi was a race winner three times, finishing second in the points behind Salvatore Tavano.  In 2003, he also made a start at Daytona 24 Hours with MAC Racing's Porsche 996 GT3-RS.

De Lorenzi was again among the Italian championship front-runners in 2004, winning two races and finishing third in the points. In 2005, De Lorenzi was a vice-champion again, scoring two wins in a BMW 320i and losing a title to Alex Zanardi. In 2005, De Lorenzi also participated in three rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, not scoring points in the general classification.

Porsche Carrera Cup runner-up in 2007

After occasional participations in the Italian GT Championship with different cars (Maserati or Dodge) in 2005 and 2006, De Lorenzi switched completely to GT racing in 2007. His first competition was the Italian Porsche Carrera Cup. He won four races, finishing second in the points behind Andrea Boldrini.

In the following years, De Lorenzi continued to race with Porsche in the Italian GT Championship, finishing second in the points in 2009, together with his co-driver Stefano Borghi. Outside Italy, he participated in the International GT Open. He continued with the similar programme in 2010.

In 2011, De Lorenzi was combining Italian GT Championship, Blancpain Endurance Series and Superstars International Series, participated on a limited schedule in all those competitions.

GDL Racing was using a variety of cars

Racing with Mercedes since 2012, entering NASCAR in 2014

In 2012, GDL Racing added Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 to its garage, using a car in the Italian championship and International GT Open. De Lorenzi was racing in a Mercedes during 2013 and 2014, then adding new competition to his CV in 2014.

He entered the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series with Ford Mustang, entering a couple of rounds in 2014 and one round in 2015. In recent years, De Lorenzi focused more on leading the team and less on racing. When racing, he drove Lamborghini Huracan.

Gianluca de Lorenzi

Photos: GDL Racing, 9tro.com,