Pierluigi Martini
Pierluigi Martini (born 23 April 1961) is an Italian former racing driver. He won the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans and participated in 124 Formula One Grand Prix (with 119 starts) between 1984 and 1995, for the Toleman, Minardi and Scuderia Italia teams.
Martini debuted in F1, driving for Toleman in place of the (by Toleman) suspended Ayrton Senna at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix, but he failed to qualify. He scored a total of 18 championship points and was synonymous with the Minardi team, run by Giancarlo Minardi.
Indeed, he raced for the minnow team based in Faenza, in three different stints, drove for them on their debut in 1985, scored their first point in the 1988 Detroit Grand Prix, and their only front-row start at the 1990 United States Grand Prix in Phoenix.
Both Martini and Minardi led a race for a single lap at the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, and their joint-best finish was 4th at the 1991 San Marino Grand Prix and the 1991 Portuguese Grand Prix.
After leaving Formula One, Martini began a successful career in sportscar racing, netting him a 4th place finish at Le Mans in 1997 in a Porsche 911 GT1. His glory day came in 1999, when together with Yannick Dalmas and Joachim Winkelhock, Pierluigi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for BMW (picture below), after an intense battle against Toyota and Mercedes.
