Ronnie Quintarelli

Ronnie Quintarelli is an Italian racing driver who spent the most of his career in Japan.

His first success was a title of the Japanese Formula 3 champion in 2004. In 2005, he debuted in the Super GT Series and since then he won the championship title four times (2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015), all four driving Nissan GT-R.

That success made him the most successful driver in a series history and the only one with four championship titles.

Ronnie Quintarelli

Ronnie started to drive at the age 6

Ronnie Quintarelli was born on August 9, 1979, in Negrar near Verona, Italy. After getting his first go-kart at the age 6, Ronnie started his racing career in 1990. A peak of his karting career was a runner-up spot in the 1999 World Championship Formula Super A.

A year later, Quintatelli debuted in the single-seater racing, entering the Italian Formula Renault with Prema Powerteam. He finished third in his debut season, behind Felipe Massa and Raffaele Giammaria.

In 2001, his main competition was the German Formula 3 but he also continued to race in the Formula Renault. In 2002, Quintarelli finished second in the German Formula Volkswagen but also contested in the Formula A World Karting Championship, taking second place.

2004 Japanese Formula 3 champion

Quintarelli moved to Japan in 2003

In 2003, Quintarelli moved his career to Japan, entering the Formula 3 championship with the Inging team. He was the championship runner-up in his first Japanese season, losing a title to James Courtney. Next year, he improved his results to become the 2004 Japanese Formula 3 champion. He won eight of twenty races.

In 2005, Quintarelli progressed to Formula Nippon with Kondo Racing but also debuted in the Super GT Series with Team SARD. After six races with Kondo Racing's Lola-Honda, he finished ninth in the Formula Nippon classification.

2005 Suzuka 1000 km winners

Victory at 2005 Suzuka 1000 km

In the Super GT season, Quintarelli was driving #39 SARD Toyota Supra together with Andre Couto. Scoring just one podium in eight races, they finished 16th in the points.

The highlight of the season was a victory in the non-championship race 1000 km of Suzuka. His partners were Andre Couto and Hayanari Shimoda.

Three more seasons in the Formula Nippon

In 2006, Quintarelli focused on the Formula Nippon, driving the #33 Lola-Toyota for Team Boss Inging. Without wins and podiums, he finished 10th in the points. In the Super GT Series, he participated only at Suzuka 1000 km with Zent Cerumo's Lexus SC430.

Quintarelli spent two more full seasons in the Formula Nippon. In 2007, he was a race winner once to finish 7th in the final standings. In 2008, he scored one podium to finish 9th in the points.

Ronnie Quintarelli in 2008

Quintarelli joined Nissan in 2008

While competing in the Formula Nippon, Quintarelli joined Bandai Toyota Team Kraft in three races of the 2007 Super GT Series and then moved to Nissan in 2008.

He spent full season driving the #3 Nissan GT-R for Hasemi Motorsport, sharing a car with Naoki Yokomizo. They won at Twin Ring Motegi to 12th in the final standings.

Exclusively racing in the Super GT since 2009

From 2009, Quintarelli focused his career on GT racing only. He spent one more season with Hasemi Motorsport, sharing the #3 Nissan with Hironobu Yasuda. They won the race at Sepang Circuit and added a podium at Suzuka, finishing seventh in the points.

In 2010, Quintarelli was driving the #12 Nissan GT-R for Team Impul, sharing a car with Tsugio Matsuda. They were the race winners once, at Sepang, finishing fifth in the final standings.

Ronnie Quintarelli in 2011

Two championship titles for Quintarelli and Yanagida

In 2011, Quintarelli joined Mola team to drive the #46 Nissan GT-R. He and Masataka Yanagida celebrated a win at Sportsland Sugo and added four more podiums. They won the championship title for the first time.

A year later, Quintarelli and Yanagida repeated their triumph in the #1 Nissan GT-R. They won two championship races (Suzuka 1000 km, Autopolis) and a non-championship race at Fuji Speedway.

Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda - two times champions together

Two more titles along with Tsugio Matsuda

The championship-winning pair continued to share a car in 2013. They were driving the #23 Nissan GT-R for Nismo team. Without wins, they finished sixth in the points. In 2014, Tsugio Matsuda rejoined Ronnie in the #23 car. They won two times, taking a title with a victory in the season's finale at Twin Ring Motegi.

Matsuda and Quintarelli were driving the #1 Nissan GT-R in 2015. They were the race winners two times, managing to defend their championship title. With fourth Super GT trophy in his hands, Ronnie Quintarelli became the most successful driver in a series and the only one with four titles.

Ronnie celebrates 38th birthday

Quintarelli and Matsuda are still partners

Matsuda and Quintarelli are still partners. In 2016, they were third in the championship in the #1 Nissan. In the 2017 Super GT season, their car was the #23 Nissan again. They finished second in the points after winning one race, the season's finale at Twin Ring Motegi.

In 2018, Quintarelli/Matsuda scored one victory but finished just 8th in the points. In 2019, they were fastest qualifiers three times in five races but didn't manage to convert pole positions into victories, scoring three podiums.

Photos: ronniequintarelli.net,