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Ronnie Quintarelli

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Ronnie Quintarelli
Born (1979-08-09) August 9, 1979 (age 47)
Italy
OccupationProfessional racing driver
Years active1999–present
Known forFour-time Super GT GT500 champion, record holder for most drivers' championships in GT500 category

Ronnie Quintarelli (born 9 August 1979) is an Italian professional racing driver who has competed in Super GT from 2005 until 2024. As a four-time champion, he holds the record for the highest number of drivers' championship victories in the GT500 category of Super GT.

Biography

Starting his motorsport journey at the age of six through karting, Quintarelli secured two runner-up finishes in the World Formula Super A championship and claimed the European Formula C crown. He transitioned to single-seater racing in 1999, concluding the season as the runner-up in the Formula Opel Cup. The following year, he achieved third place in the Italian Formula Renault Championship driving for Prema Powerteam, while also competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, German Formula Three Championship, and Formula Volkswagen Germany series.

In 2005, Quintarelli recorded his inaugural GT victory at the 1000 km Suzuka event alongside teammates André Couto and Hayanari Shimoda, before moving up to compete in Super GT. After two seasons representing Lexus, he switched to the Nissan camp, where he amassed several wins. Racing with Mola, he secured back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012 with partner Masataka Yanagida. Subsequently, as a member of the official Nismo team alongside Tsugio Matsuda, they captured two additional titles in 2014 and 2015, establishing Quintarelli as the most successful driver in the history of the series.

In 2016, Quintarelli ended the season third while competing for the championship. Despite a challenging start to 2017, he and Matsuda recovered to finish second overall. The pair won at Fuji Speedway in 2018 but concluded that year in eighth place.

The 2019 campaign saw them achieve third in the standings, with four podium finishes and three pole positions earned by Quintarelli. During the 2020 season, they claimed two victories at Suzuka, remaining title contenders until the final round at Fuji Speedway amid unprecedented competition from eleven teams. Although leading early on, tyre complications resulted in a ninth-place finish for that race and sixth place in the championship. They continued their partnership with Nismo into 2021.

The following year began with setbacks including retirements caused by teammate collisions and engine failure; however, they secured a win at Suzuka and a third-place finish at Autopolis, ultimately ranking ninth overall. In 2022, Nissan introduced the new Z GT500 model across its teams. Despite losing Nismo Director Yutaka Suzuki during the off-season, Quintarelli and Matsuda opened strongly with a podium at Okayama and second place at Sportsland Sugo but encountered mechanical difficulties later on, finishing seventh in the final standings.

Quintarelli extended his record as a non-Japanese driver by achieving at least one podium finish every season for 15 consecutive years in Super GT.

Personal life

Residing in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Quintarelli is proficient in Japanese and contributes as a television color analyst for the Super Formula series. He has been actively engaged in humanitarian efforts following natural disasters, particularly supporting relief initiatives after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the 2016–2017 Central Italy earthquakes. Together with fellow Super GT competitor Andrea Caldarelli, he spearheaded fundraising campaigns to assist affected communities. His philanthropic endeavors across borders alongside his racing accomplishments earned him the distinction of Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy.

Awards

Officer, 5th Class: Order of the Star of Italy, awarded in 2015

Career summary

'Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters' '1' '0' '0' '0' 'NC†' 'Super Taikyu - ST-Q' 'NISMO’ ‘Super Taikyu - ST-Q’
Season Series Team Races Pole Positions Victories Points Final Standing
1999 Formula Opel Cup Croatia Vergani RT 5 * 3 44 2nd
2000 Formula Renault 2000 Italia Prema Powerteam * 2 1 * 3rd
2001 Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup Cram Competition 5 1 1 66 7th
2002 Formula Volkswagen Team Penker Racing * 4 2 * 2nd
GC-21 INGING Motorsport 1 0 1 NC
2003 Japanese Formula 3 Championship INGING Motorsport 20 0 0 200 4th
Macau Grand Prix JB Motorsport with INGING Motorsport 1 0 0 4th
Korea Super Prix 1 0 0 16th
2004 2004 All-Japan Formula Three Championship "INGING Motorsport" "20" "4" "8" "251" 1st
"Macau Grand Prix" "1" "0" "0" "0" "8th"
"Bahrain Super Prix" "1" "0" "0" "0" "22nd"
2005 "Formula Nippon" "Kondo Racing Team" "6" "0" "0" "12" "9th"
"Super GT - GT500" "SARD" "8" "0" "0" "21" "16th"
"1000 km Suzuka" "1" "0" "1" 1st
2006 "Formula Nippon" "Team Boss INGING" "9" "0" "0" "6" "10th"
"Super GT - GT500" "Cerumo" "1" "0" "0" "9" "24th"
"Formula One (Test driver)" "Midland F1" 
colspan="5" align="center" | Test driver
2007 "Formula Nippon" "Team Boss INGING" "9" "0" "1" "27" "7th"
"Super GT - GT500" "Bandai Toyota Team Kraft" "3" "0" "0" "2" "24th"
2008 'Formula Nippon' 'Cerumo/INGING' '8' '0' '0' '21.5' '9th'
'Super GT - GT500' 'Hasemi Motorsport' '9' '1' '1' '39' '12th'
2009 'Super GT - GT500' 'Hasemi Motorsport' '9' '1' '1' '49' '7th'
2010 'Super GT - GT500' 'Team Impul' '7' '0' '1' '47' '5th'
2011 'Super GT - GT500' 'Mola' '8' '1' '1' '90' 1st
2012 'Super GT - GT500' 'Mola' '8' '1' '2' '93' 1st
2013 'Super GT - GT500' 'Nismo' '8' '1' '0' '50' '6th'
2014 'Super GT - GT500' 'Nismo' '8' '2' '2' '81' 1st
2015 'Super GT - GT500' 'Nismo' '8' '2' '2' '79' 1st
2016 'Super GT - GT500' 'Nismo' '8' '0' '2' '62' 3rd
2017 'Super GT - GT500' 'Nismo' '8' '1' '1' '82' 2nd
2018 'Super GT - GT500'

' Nismo' '8' '1' '1' '43' '8th'

2019

' Super GT - GT500' 'Nismo' '8' '3' '0' '52.5' 

'style=background:#FFDF9F;' | 3rd
2020 
'Super GT - GT500'   
'Nismo'   
'8'   
'0'   
'2'   
'51'   
'6th'
2021 
'Super GT - GT500'   
'Nismo'   
'8'   
'0'   
'1'   
'41'   
'9th'
2022 
'Super GT - GT500'   
'Nismo'   
'8'   
'1'   
'0'   
'37'   
'7th'
2023 
‘Super GT - GT500’    
‘Nismo’    
‘8’    
‘1’    
‘1’    
‘56’    
‘style=background:#FFDF9F;’ | 3rd
2024 
‘Super GT - GT500’    
‘NISMO’    
‘8’    
‘0’    
‘0’    
‘45’    
‘8th’
2025 
‘Super Taikyu - ST-Z’     
‘Team ZeroOne’

† As a guest competitor, Quintarelli was not eligible to accumulate championship points.

Full Japanese Formula 3 Championship Results

(legend) (Races shown in bold denote pole positions) (Races in italics signify fastest laps)

Year Team Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Final Position Points
2003 INGING Toyota SUZ
1
3rd 		SUZ
2
3rd 		FUJ
1
3rd 		FUJ
2
5th 		TAI
1
3rd 		TAI
2
3rd 		MOT
1
5th 		MOT
2
6th 		SUZ
1
6th 		SUZ
2
6th 		SUG
1
2nd 		SUG
2
2nd 		TSU
1
4th 		TSU
2
2nd 		SUG
1
4th 		SUG
2
3rd 		MIN
1
4th 		MIN
2
2nd 		MOT
1
2nd 		MOT
2
2nd 		4th place 200 points
2004 INGING Toyota SUZ
1
9th 		SUZ
2
6th 		TSU
1
13th 		TSU
2
1st 		OKA
1
2nd 		OKA
2
1st 		MOT
1
2nd 		MOT
2
1st 		SUZ
1
4th 		SUZ
2
1st 		SUG
1
1st 		SUG
2
1st 		MIN
1
3rd 		MIN
2
6th 		SEN
1
2nd 		SEN
2
13th 		MIN
1
1st 		MIN
2
1st 		MOT
1
Template:Small Retired 		MOT
2
Template:Small 3rd 		Champion 251 points


Complete Formula Nippon results

(key) (Races shown in bold represent pole positions) (Races in italics denote fastest laps)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Final Position Points
2005 Kondō Racing MOT SUZ SUG FUJ
5th 		SUZ
5th 		MIN
2nd 		FUJ
Retired 		MOT
5th 		SUZ
10th 		9th 12
2006 Team Boss INGING FUJ
5th 		SUZ
Retired 		MOT
Retired 		SUZ
Retired 		AUT
5th 		FUJ
10th 		SUG
4th 		MOT
9th 		SUZ
12th 		10th 6
2007 FUJ
5th 		[ [ Suzuka Circuit | SUZ ] ] < br > 6th [ [ Twin Ring Motegi | MOT ] ] < br > 5th [ [ Okayama International Circuit | OKA ] ] < br > 1st [ [ Suzuka Circuit | SUZ ] ] < br > Retired [ [ Fuji Speedway | FUJ ] ] < br > 7th [ [ Sportsland SUGO | SUG ] ] < br > 8th [ [ Twin Ring Motegi | MOT ] ] < br > 6th [ [ Suzuka Circuit | SUZ ] ] < br > 14th 7th 27
2008 Cerumo / INGING FUJ
5th 		SUZ
8th 		MOT
Retired 		OKA
7th 		SUZ
10th 		SUZ
9th 		MOT
Retired 		MOT
13th 		FUJ
6th 		[[Fuji Speedway    FUJ ]]

  |   |

9th 21.5

‡ Points halved due to race completion under 75% distance.

Complete Super GT Results

(key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics signify fastest lap)

Year Team Vehicle Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Final Standing Points
2005 SARD Toyota Supra GT500 OKA
8th 		FUJ
Retired 		SEP
9th 		SUG
2nd 		MOT
14th 		FUJ
12th 		AUT
11th 		SUZ
11th 		16th 21
2006 Lexus Team Cerumo Lexus SC430 GT500 SUZ OKA FUJ SEP SUG SUZ
7th 		MOT AUT FUJ 24th 9
2007 Lexus Team Kraft Lexus SC430 GT500 SUZ OKA FUJ SEP
11th 		SUG
9th 		SUZ
'Retired' 		MOT AUT FUJ 24th 2
Year Team Vehicle Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Final Standing Points
Hasemi Motorsport Nissan GT-R GT500 style = "background: #CFCFFF" | SUZ
15th 		style = "background: #DFFFDF" | OKA
10th 		style = "background: #CFCFFF" | FUJ
15th 		style = "background: #DFFFDF" | SEP
9th 		style = "background: #CFCFFF" | SUG
11th 		style = "background: #DFFFDF" | SUZ
5th 		style = "background: #FFFFBF" | MOT
1st 		style = "background: #DFFFDF" | AUT
6th 		style = "background: #CFCFFF" | FUJ
13th 		!12th - |- | 2009 ! Hasemi Motorsport ! Nissan GT-R ! GT500 OKA
12th		 SUZ
13th		 FUJ
7th		 SEP
1st		 SUG
9th		 SUZ
2nd		 FUJ
6th		 AUT
8th		 MOT
12th		 !7th - |- |

‡ Awarded half points due to race completion below seventy-five percent of distance.

All-time Super GT Achievements

Category Record Drivers sharing record
Championships
Highest number of Drivers' Championships 4 Unique holder
Highest number of Drivers' Championships by a non-Japanese competitor 4 Unique holder
Most Drivers' Championships secured in the GT500 division 4 Unique holder
Longest streak of seasons with at least one podium finish as a non-Japanese driver 16 Unique holder
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