Durango (racing team)
| Founded | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Team principal(s) |
Ivone Pinton Enrico Magro |
| Former series |
Italian Formula Three Championship International Formula 3000 24 Hours of Le Mans GP2 Series GP2 Asia Series Auto GP Superleague Formula |
| Noted drivers |
 Lucas di Grassi Carlos Iaconelli Yannick Schroeder Rodrigo Sperafico Davide Valsecchi |
| Folded | 2010 |
Durango Automotive SRL was an Italian auto racing team founded in 1980 by Ivone Pinton and Enrico Magro, which competed in Formula 3000, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the GP2 Series. The team finished racing after withdrawing from the Italian round of the 2009 GP2 Series season, although it was linked to Jacques Villeneuve and his bid to return to Formula One for the 2011 season.[1]
History
The Durango team took part in the Italian Formula Three Championship from 1987 to 1992. They expanded to compete in the International Formula 3000 Championship and the British Formula Two Championship in 1991, and entered a Lancia LC2 in the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, under the banner of Veneto Equipe. Durango took part in the Renault Formula Two championship and Euroseries in 1994 and continued to race in Formula Three until 1999.
In 2003, Durango designed and built a Le Mans Prototype car, the PM02, to compete in the FIA Sportscar championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours. The car was powered by a Judd GV4 V10 engine. The team participated for the 2nd time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished in 24th position, after qualifying 18th. The car's best result was a 4th place at the Estoril round of the FIA sportscar championship. The car was never raced again after the 2003 season.
In 2005, Durango became part of the GP2 Series, a new series designed to help young drivers enter into Formula One. In 2006, the team participated in Formula Azzurra, a series supported by the Italian Karting Federation.[2] Due to financial problems the team was forced to withdraw from the final races of the 2009 GP2 Series season, and pulled out of competing in the 2009-10 GP2 Asia Series season.[3]
Formula One entry bid
Durango attempted to enter Formula One in 2010, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile opened an entry process for an additional thirteenth team.[4] The team principal Ivone Pinton stated there were investors only interested with competing in F1,[4] and announced a partnership with 1997 Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve. The team would compete as Villeneuve Racing and Villeneuve would initially be one of the two drivers.[5] The FIA did not accept any of the applications for the 2011 season.[6]
Results
GP2 Series and Formula 3000
| GP2 Series Results | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Car | Drivers | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Points | D.C. | T.C. |
| 2005 | Dallara-Mecachrome |  Clivio Piccione |
23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 15th | 11th |
| Ferdinando Monfardini |
17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17th | |||
| Gianmaria Bruni |
4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 10th | |||
| 2006 | Dallara-Mecachrome | Lucas di Grassi |
21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 18th | 13th |
 Sergio Hernández |
21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23rd | |||
| 2007 | Dallara-Mecachrome | Borja García |
21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 10th | 8th |
 Karun Chandhok |
21 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 15th | |||
| 2008 | Dallara-Mecachrome | Davide Valsecchi |
16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 15th | 11th |
| Marcello Puglisi |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33rd | |||
 Ben Hanley |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24th | |||
| Alberto Valerio |
20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26th | |||
| 2009 | Dallara-Mecachrome | Davide Valsecchi |
12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17th† | 11th |
| Stefano Coletti |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25th | |||
| Nelson Panciatici |
16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24th | |||
Source:[7] | |||||||||
| International Formula 3000 Championship Results | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Car | Drivers | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Points | D.C. | T.C. |
| 2001 | Lola T99/50-Zytek | Gabriele Lancieri |
12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | 10th |
| Jaime Melo |
9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 12th | |||
| Antonio García† |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |||
| 2002 | Lola B02/50-Zytek |  Alexander Müller† |
5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | 7th |
 Derek Hill |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |||
| Rodrigo Sperafico |
12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6th | |||
| 2004 | Lola B02/50-Zytek | Yannick Schroeder |
8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9th | 7th |
| Matteo Meneghello |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |||
| Michele Rugolo |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |||
| Rodrigo Ribeiro |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17th | |||
.svg.png){kind=small} Ernesto Viso |
6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12th | |||
Source:[7] | |||||||||
After the end of FIA Formula 3000 championship Durango participated in various other Formula 3000 series.
- † These drivers also drove for other teams during the season and their final place includes all results.
- D.C. = Drivers' Championship position, T.C. = Teams' Championship position.
Sports car
| 24 Hours of Le Mans results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | No | Tyres | Car | Drivers | Pole | Fast lap |
Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 2003 | LMP900 | 19 | D | Durango LMP1 Judd GV4 4.0L V10 |
Sylvain Boulay Michele Rugolo Jean-Bernard Bouvet |
no | no | 277 | 25th | 9th |
| Series | Year | Drivers | Car | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italian Formula 3000 | 2005 | Lola-Zytek | As technical part of Fisichella Motor Sport | |
| Euroseries 3000 | 2006 | Lola-Zytek | As technical part of Fisichella Motor Sport | |
| Euroseries 3000 | 2007 | Omar Julian Leal, Luiz Razia | Lola-Zytek |
Other Series History
| Series | Year | Drivers | Car | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Formula Renault 2000 | 2002 | |||
| European Formula Renault 2000 | 2003 | |||
| Italian Formula Renault 2000 | 2004 | |||
| Italian Formula Renault 2000 | 2006 | |||
| Italian Formula Azzurra | 2006 | |||
| Endurance GT Series | 2007 | Niccolò Valentini, Enrico Moncada, Matteo Meneghello | Porsche 911 GT3 |
References
- ↑ "Villeneuve confirms Durango tie-up". autosport.com. Haymarket Media. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
- ↑ "Origin and History". Durango. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
- ↑ "Durango pulls out of Asia Series". gpupdate.net. JHED Media. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
- 1 2 "Durango pursuing 2011 Formula One entry". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ↑ "Jacques Villeneuve confirms Durango commercial link". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ↑ Beer, Matt (8 September 2010). "FIA decides against new team for 2011". Autosport.com. Haymarket Media. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- 1 2 GP2 and Formula 3000 entry list and complete results speedsportmag.com