Marco Cioci

Marco Cioci (born 26 September 1975 in Rome) is an Italian racing driver. A long-term Ferrari factory driver, he found success predominantly in the LMGTE Am class, but famously won the inaugural FIA WEC race, the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring, in LMGTE Pro. He is also the most decorated driver at the 6 Hours of Vallelunga with six overall wins.^[1][2]

In 2021, together with Giancarlo Fisichella, Cioci founded Top Gun by Pro Racing, a racing school aiming to help young karting drivers on their step up to cars.^[3][4]

Cioci began his racing career in 1995,^[5] racing sporadically in junior formulae until 2003, making appearances in Formula Palmer Audi, Euro Formula 3000 and Infiniti Pro Series.^[6][7] Having made his sportscar debut in 2004 for Megadrive in the Italian GT Championship,^[8] Cioci then raced part-time in the 2005 FIA GT Championship for GPC Sport,^[9] as well as finishing third in the Mil Milhas Brasil the same year for Racing Box.^[10] Cioci then won the 1000 km of Nürburgring in GT2 and the 6 Hours of Vallelunga overall the following year,^[11][12] before scoring a lone podium at the 1000 km of Valencia in 2007 in his maiden full-time campaign in the Le Mans Series.^[13] Cioci then won the International GT Open GTS title in 2008,^[14] before scoring five wins in Italian GT the following year to secure runner-up honors in GT2.^[15]

Joining AF Corse for 2010, another race winning campaign in Italian GT ensued in which he won twice and ended the year fifth in the GT2 standings,^[16] a year in which he also finished third in the GT2 class of the 24 Hours of Spa for the same team.^[17] Remaining with AF Corse the following year, Cioci embarked on his maiden campaign in the Le Mans Series' LMGTE Am class, taking three podiums and ending the year runner-up in points.^[18] During 2011, Cioci also raced with the team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans,^[19] as well as taking his second overall win at the 6 Hours of Vallelunga.^[20] Primarily racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series and the European Le Mans Series in 2012, Cioci found more success in the latter, scoring two podiums and finishing runner-up in the LMGTE Am class.^[21] During 2012, Cioci also made select starts in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the same team,^[22][23] winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in LMGTE Pro and the 6 Hours of Silverstone in LMGTE Am.^[24][25]

Cioci remained with AF Corse for 2013, as he competed full-time in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series.^[26] In the former, Cioci finished third at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, helping him end the year 12th in LMGTE Am,^[27] whereas in the latter, Cioci scored podiums at Imola and the Hungaroring en route to a fourth-place points finish in LMGTE.^[28] During 2013, Cioci also won the 6 Hours of Vallelunga,^[29] as well as finishing second at the Gulf 12 Hours, which he won its first segment, and the Dubai 24 Hour.^[30] Remaining with AF Corse for 2014, Cioci raced full-time in the European Le Mans Series, whilst also competing in select rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship.^[31] In ELMS, Cioci scored a lone podium at Estoril to secure sixth in the LMGTE standings,^[32] whereas in the latter, Cioci won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and finished third at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to end the year sixth in LMGTE Am.^[33] During 2014, Cioci also won the 6 Hours of Vallelunga overall and the 24 Hours of Spa in Pro-Am for the same team,^[34][35][36] as well as racing in select rounds of the United SportsCar Championship for Spirit of Race in GTD.^[37]

In 2015, Cioci stayed with AF Corse for a dual campaign in the Blancpain Endurance Series and the GTC class of the European Le Mans Series.^[38] Finishing 23rd in the Pro-Am standings of the former, Cioci found more success in ELMS, scoring a lone win at Estoril and a podium at Imola en route to a fourth-place points finish.^[39] Continuing with AF Corse for 2016, Cioci stayed in ELMS, scoring a second-place finish at the Red Bull Ring as he ended the year eighth in the LMGTE points,^[40] as well as racing in select rounds of International GT Open in the Pro-Am class.^[41] At the end of the year, Cioci competed in the 2016–17 Asian Le Mans Series for Spirit of Race in the GT class,^[42] winning at Zhuhai to end the season seventh in points.^[43] The following year, Cioci raced for Kaspersky Motorsport in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and for AF Corse in International GT Open.^[44][45] In the former, Cioci scored a best result of fourth at Monza and picked up further points at the 24 Hours of Spa by leading the six hour mark and being third at the halfway mark.^[46] Racing in Pro-Am in GT Open meanwhile, Cioci took a lone class win at Spa and took three further podiums to end the season fourth in Pro-Am.^[47] During 2017, Cioci also finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and scored his sixth overall win at the 6 Hours of Vallelunga.^[48][49] At the end of the year, Cioci joined FIST-Team AAI to race in select rounds of the 2017–18 Asian Le Mans Series, winning at Fuji and finishing third at Buriram to take sixth in the GT points.^[50]

In 2018, Cioci joined Luzich Racing to race full-time in International GT Open and the GT3 class of the Le Mans Cup for AF Corse.^[51][52] In GT Open, Cioci scored wins at the Hungaroring and Silverstone en route to a ninth-place points finish,^[53][54] whereas in the latter, Cioci won race one at Le Mans and scored three more podiums to end the season fourth in the GT3 points.^[55] During 2018, Cioci also made one-off appearances in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and the 24H Proto Series.^[56] The following year, Cioci joined Easy Race to compete in the Italian GT Endurance Championship,^[57] scoring a lone podium at Monza to secure fifth in the GT3 standings.^[58] In 2020, Cioci made a one-off appearance in the Italian GT Endurance Championship at Vallelunga.^[59]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

• Marco Cioci career summary at DriverDB.com