Giovanni Lavaggi
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Lavaggi is a racing driver from Italy
.
A nobleman by background, Lavaggi raised the money to buy ten Formula One
Grand Prix drives, for Pacific
and Minardi
, debuting on July 30, 1995. In 1995 he was the only driver not to finish any of the F1 races that they started. He scored no championship points and was never close to the car's performance limits, being described as "desperately slow" by Jonathan Palmer
, although he did well in his forays in sportscar racing.
His F1 career started in 1992, where he tested for the March
team.
Lavaggi was 1993 Interserie
champion and won the 1995 Daytona 24 Hours, as well as scoring two wins in the FIA Sportscar Championship
. Prior to Formula One Lavaggi made two starts and failed to qualify for two additional races in CART
for Euromotorsport and Leader Cards Racing.
Lavaggi races under the banner of his own Lavaggi Sport (formerly known as GLV Brums) sportscar racing team, which in 2007 started building and racing its own Le Mans Prototype
in the Le Mans Series
.
He was nicknamed "Johnny Carwash" (a liberal translation of his name from Italian to English, John Washing) by people in the paddock; US talk show host David Letterman
helped bring the nickname to popular attention.
In the city of Catania
, a major road has been dedicated to him: Via Giovanni Lavaggi (Giovanni Lavaggi Road).
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
A nobleman by background, Lavaggi raised the money to buy ten Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
Grand Prix drives, for Pacific
Pacific Racing
Pacific Racing was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom...
and Minardi
Minardi
Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...
, debuting on July 30, 1995. In 1995 he was the only driver not to finish any of the F1 races that they started. He scored no championship points and was never close to the car's performance limits, being described as "desperately slow" by Jonathan Palmer
Jonathan Palmer
Dr. Jonathan Charles Palmer is an entrepreneur and former racing driver from England. Educated at Brighton College, he won the 1981 British Formula Three Championship and the 1983 European Formula Two Championship. He participated in 87 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on September 25, 1983...
, although he did well in his forays in sportscar racing.
His F1 career started in 1992, where he tested for the March
March Engineering
March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
team.
Lavaggi was 1993 Interserie
Interserie
Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series....
champion and won the 1995 Daytona 24 Hours, as well as scoring two wins in the FIA Sportscar Championship
FIA Sportscar Championship
The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and was eventually taken control of by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating on two classes of open-cockpit sports prototypes in...
. Prior to Formula One Lavaggi made two starts and failed to qualify for two additional races in CART
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
for Euromotorsport and Leader Cards Racing.
Lavaggi races under the banner of his own Lavaggi Sport (formerly known as GLV Brums) sportscar racing team, which in 2007 started building and racing its own Le Mans Prototype
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
in the Le Mans Series
Le Mans Series
The Le Mans Series is a European sports car racing endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and run by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest . The series was originally named the Le Mans Endurance Series, but changed its name prior to the 2006 season...
.
He was nicknamed "Johnny Carwash" (a liberal translation of his name from Italian to English, John Washing) by people in the paddock; US talk show host David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
helped bring the nickname to popular attention.
In the city of Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
, a major road has been dedicated to him: Via Giovanni Lavaggi (Giovanni Lavaggi Road).
Complete Formula One results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 1995 Formula One season The 1995 Formula One season was the 46th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship, which was contested over 17 races from March 26 to November 12, 1995. For the second year in succession, the Drivers' Championship was won by Michael Schumacher,... |
Pacific Grand Prix Ltd Pacific Racing Pacific Racing was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom... |
Pacific Pacific Racing Pacific Racing was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom... PR02 Pacific PR02 The Pacific PR02 was a Formula One car for the 1995 season. The number 17 seat was taken by Andrea Montermini, however the number 16 seat was taken by Bertrand Gachot, Giovanni Lavaggi and Jean-Denis Délétraz. The team's test driver was Oliver Gavin. The engine was a Ford EDC 3.0 V8. The team did... |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
BRA 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on March 26, 1995 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. It was the first round of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 71 laps, was won by Michael Schumacher for the Benetton team after... |
ARG 1995 Argentine Grand Prix The 1995 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 9, 1995 at the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the second round of the 1995 Formula One season and was the first Formula One race to take place in Argentina since... |
SMR 1995 San Marino Grand Prix The 1995 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 30, 1995 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola. It was the third race of the 1995 Formula One season.... |
ESP 1995 Spanish Grand Prix The 1995 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 14, 1995 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona. It was the fourth race of the 1995 Formula One season. It proved to be the final race for former champion Nigel Mansell, who quit the McLaren team after the race... |
MON 1995 Monaco Grand Prix The 1995 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 28, 1995 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was the fifth round of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 78 laps, was won by Michael Schumacher for the Benetton team after starting from... |
CAN 1995 Canadian Grand Prix The 1995 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 11, 1995 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal. It was the sixth race of the 1995 Formula One season.... |
FRA 1995 French Grand Prix The 1995 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 2, 1995 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours. It was the seventh race of the 1995 Formula One season. Michael Schumacher extended his championship lead over Damon Hill to 11 points. As had happened in many seasons,... |
GBR 1995 British Grand Prix The 1995 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 16, 1995 at Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England. It was the eighth round of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 61 laps, was won by Johnny Herbert for the Benetton team after... |
GER 1995 German Grand Prix The 1995 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 30, 1995 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim. It was the ninth race of the 1995 Formula One season... Ret |
HUN 1995 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1995 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 13, 1995 at the Hungaroring, Budapest. It was the tenth race of the 1995 Formula One season.... Ret |
BEL 1995 Belgian Grand Prix The 1995 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 27, 1995 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa. It was the eleventh race of the 1995 Formula One season. Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill both qualified further down the grid than usual in a wet-dry qualifying session, but... Ret |
ITA 1995 Italian Grand Prix The 1995 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 10, 1995 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the twelfth race of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 53 laps, was won by Johnny Herbert for the Benetton team after starting... Ret |
POR 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 24, 1995 at the Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril, Portugal. It was the thirteenth race of the 1995 Formula One season... |
EUR 1995 European Grand Prix The 1995 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 1, 1995 at the Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany. It was the fourteenth round of the 1995 Formula One season and the first to be held there since... |
PAC 1995 Pacific Grand Prix The 1995 Pacific Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 22, 1995 at the TI Circuit, Aida, Japan. It was the fifteenth round of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 83 laps, was won by Michael Schumacher for the Benetton team after starting from third... |
JPN 1995 Japanese Grand Prix The 1995 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 29, 1995 at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka. It was the sixteenth and penultimate round of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 53 laps, was won by Michael Schumacher for the Benetton team after he started... |
AUS 1995 Australian Grand Prix The 1995 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on November 12, 1995 at the Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide. It was the seventeenth and final race of the 1995 Formula One season... |
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| 1996 1996 Formula One season The 1996 Formula One season was the 47th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 10, 1996, and ended on October 13 after sixteen races... |
Minardi Team Minardi Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans... |
Minardi Minardi Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans... M195B Minardi M195 The Minardi M195 was a Formula One car designed by Aldo Costa for Minardi team for the 1995 Formula One season. The number 24 seat was taken by Luca Badoer, with Pierluigi Martini in the number 23 seat. However, he was dropped before the German Grand Prix and his seat was taken by Pedro Lamy. The... |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
AUS 1996 Australian Grand Prix The 1996 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 10 March 1996 at Melbourne. It was the first time this race was held in Melbourne since 1984, taking over from Adelaide as the host of the Australian Grand Prix... |
BRA 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on March 31, 1996 at Interlagos, amidst heavy rain. Six different teams scored points, with Damon Hill following up his win at the first round of the season.... |
ARG 1996 Argentine Grand Prix The 1996 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 7, 1996 at Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires. Despite suffering a bout of food poisoning, Damon Hill made it three wins out of three, with Jacques Villeneuve helping Williams complete their second one-two of the season... |
EUR 1996 European Grand Prix The 1996 European Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 28, 1996 at Nürburgring. Jacques Villeneuve scored his first Formula One victory in his fourth Formula One start.Both Benetton cars made extremely slow starts, due to the brakes locking on... |
SMR 1996 San Marino Grand Prix The 1996 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 5, 1996 at Imola.- Qualifying :- Race :-Standings after Grand Prix:*Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.... |
MON 1996 Monaco Grand Prix The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 19, 1996. The race was run in wet weather, causing significant attrition and setting a record for the least number of cars to be running at the end of a Grand Prix race... |
ESP 1996 Spanish Grand Prix The 1996 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 2, 1996 at the Circuit de Catalunya.This race, Michael Schumacher's first Ferrari victory, is generally regarded as one of his finest... |
CAN 1996 Canadian Grand Prix The 1996 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 16, 1996. The race was won by Damon Hill ahead of home hero Jacques Villeneuve, Gilles' son.... |
FRA 1996 French Grand Prix The 1996 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race, held at Magny-Cours on June 30, 1996.-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :*Fastest Lap: Jacques Villeneuve 1:18.610*The engine of polesitter Schumacher's Ferrari failed on the formation lap... |
GBR 1996 British Grand Prix The 1996 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 14, 1996 at Silverstone. Jacques Villeneuve was the winner. After making a slow start from pole position, Damon Hill retired after a wheelnut problem caused him to spin off the circuit while he was trying to pass Mika Häkkinen... |
GER 1996 German Grand Prix The 1996 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 28, 1996 at Hockenheimring. Damon Hill started the race on pole position, and won it after Gerhard Berger's engine failed with 4 laps to go.-Qualifying:- Race :- Notes :... DNQ |
HUN 1996 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1996 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 11, 1996 at Hungaroring.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Michael Schumacher 1:17.129* Fastest lap: Damon Hill 1:20.093* Williams secured the Constructors Championship.... 10 |
BEL 1996 Belgian Grand Prix The 1996 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 25, 1996 at Spa-Francorchamps.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Jacques Villeneuve 1:50.574* Fastest lap: Gerhard Berger 1:53.067... DNQ |
ITA 1996 Italian Grand Prix The 1996 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 8, 1996 at Monza.-Pre-race:To stop cars kerb-hopping at chicanes due to ongoing track modifications at the time of the race, tyre barriers were erected at each chicane.-Race:... Ret |
POR 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 22, 1996 at Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal. Jacques Villeneuve won the race by overtaking Michael Schumacher on the outside while the latter was distracted by the slow moving back-marking Minardi of Giovanni Lavaggi,... 15 |
JPN 1996 Japanese Grand Prix The 1996 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 13, 1996 at Suzuka. Jacques Villeneuve's retirement ended his small chance of the title, handing it to Damon Hill... DNQ |
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