Gabriele Tarquini will close the curtain on his illustrious touring car career at the end of the season, ending his touring car career which began 34 years ago in the World Touring Car Championship.
Tarquini, a double FIA World Touring Car title winner, has announced that he will stop racing at the end of the year, at the age of 59.
The Italian’s final touring car races will be at the Sochi Autodrom in Russia as part of the FIA World Touring Car Cup season finale.
Tarquini has been a mainstay and household name in touring car racing for decades. He made his début in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship, taking part in two races, before he spent the next seasons competing in single seater racing, with stints in Formula One.
In 1990, 1992 and 1993 he raced in the Italian Touring Car Championship, before moving to the British Touring Car Championship, which he won at the first attempt in 1994 with Alfa Romeo.
The following year he took part in selected BTCC and DTM / ITC races, before competing in the International Touring Car Championship in 1996 with Alfa.
In the late 1990s Tarquini flitted between the German Super Touring Car Cup and the BTCC, before joining the European Touring Car Championship in 2001.
After a season out in 2002, save for one race weekend, in 2003 he returned with Alfa Romeo and lifted the title, remaining with the marque until 2005 and into the WTCC era.
In 2006 he joined SEAT for its WTCC assault, remaining with the brand until 2012, including lifting the WTCC title in 2009 at the age of 47.
In 2013 he joined Honda for a three-year WTCC assault, before a single season with LADA in 2016.
By 2017 Tarquini was without a drive, but was signed by Hyundai to develop its TCR programme, leading to a full-time WTCR drive in 2018.
Tarquini was immediately back on the pace and clinched the WTCR title that year at the age of 56, remaining with the brand for the next four years until his retirement at the end of 2021, during which time Tarquini has amassed eight further race wins.
Tarquini’s racing career began in karting in 1974, and he admits that ending his stint as a professional racing driver has left him feeling sad already.
“I feel very sad,” said Tarquini. “After a long career that felt like it would never end, you think this moment will never come.
“In life, everything has a start and a finish and I am old enough to understand this. WTCR has been a strong series in the last few years, however I’ve struggled a bit in qualifying.
“Although my race pace was still there, I decided in the break between Spain and Hungary that it was time to say ‘stop’.
“It was important to me to announce my decision at my home race in Italy − this is the right moment.
“I don’t want to thank all the people who have helped me in my long career, because I would definitely forget someone! The list is very long, starting with my family and finishing with Hyundai Motorsport.
“I want this to be my final manufacturer because we have done a great job together. We started with a white sheet of paper and created the Hyundai i30 N TCR, and I won the first race and title for the team. Our relationship is very strong.
“I don’t want to stop driving completely, as racing is like a drug for me so I will need to be slowly weaned off as I can’t go from 100 per cent to nothing.
“I’m also speaking with Hyundai Motorsport to see if we can have a different relationship in the future. We have had so many highs together, such as the WTCR drivers’ title in 2018.”
