Matteo Cairoli

Matteo Cairoli is an Italian racing driver who, as the Porsche factory driver, paves his way to the top of the world’s sports car racing.

Matteo Cairoli had a late start of career

He was born on 1st of June 1996 in Como in the family which always had a passion for motorsport but never materialized actively. Interestingly, Matteo’s career began almost by chance. Unlike most of his fellow drivers, Cairoli didn't race karting and in 2012 he debuted directly in sports cars racing.

Matteo Cairoli

Right after getting the racing license by the Italian Motorsport Federation, Matteo did a test with Team Torino Motorsport and later got a chance with the GSK Grand Prix squad to race in the final two rounds of Challenge Tricolore Formula Renault 2.0 Italia. He did pretty well and scored a podium finish in the event at Mugello.

Switch from single-seaters to Porsche

Early in 2013, after impressing in a test with the Team Franciacorta ADM, Cairoli debuted in the German ATS Formula 3 Cup. He scored two podiums out of 26 races, amassed a total of 112 and finished 7th in the standings.

Cairoli at the beginning of his career

In 2014 Cairoli began racing in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps. The schedule also included some races in GT and Formula Renault in French V de V Championship but then, a test done in the Carrera Cup Italy, convinced him to switch to that championship. As a member of Antonelli Motorsport, Matteo won 6 out of 14 races and had other 7 podiums before becoming a series champion. With the same team, the Italian driver also raced in two rounds of Porsche Supercup. As a reward, Cairoli won the Porsche Cup International Scholarship.

Matteo Cairoli was Porsche Supercup runner-up in 2016

Thanks to Porsche backing, Cairoli signed with Project 1 to drive a full season in 2015 Porsche Supercup. It was a solid season for the Italian as he finished 7th overall and was 1st in the Rookie classification. He also raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany as well as in the selected rounds of VLN series and Nurburgring 24h.

Matteo Cairoli, 2015 Porsche Supercup

In 2016 Cairoli had even more duties. The Porsche Supercup was a priority and he finished the season as a runner-up to Sven Muller even after having more wins. It was a big battle between two talented Porsche junior drivers that was decided in the final round of the season. Matteo that year also raced as a guest in many other championships, including the European Le Mans Series, ADAC GT Masters, as well as in the French and Italian Porsche Carrera Cups.

Matteo Cairoli at Monza

In 2017 Cairoli again shares his duties between various series including the FIA World Endurance Championship, ELMS, IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, VLN, and 24h Series.

Photo: matteocairoli.it, automobilsport.com, porscheworld.net, racecam.de