Jarno Trulli

Jarno Trulli has but one word that describes his mature head and passionate fighting ability - Impressive.

Jarno began his career in Kart racing. He started racing in the Italian Karting Championships in 1987 and his cabinet probably has anything and everything that there was to be won. He won the Italian Go Kart Championship in '89 and '90. He also won the Grand Prix of Hong Kong in 1990, making his way to a victory in the World Go-Kart Championship in 1991. In 1992, his run came to somewhat of a halt as he only managed a second place at the World Karting Championships. But, normal service resumed in 1993 with another World Karting Championship title and a second place in the Grand Prix of Japan.

In 1994, he was at his karting-best. He won the Ayrton Senna Memorial World Cup, the European Go-Kart Championship, the North American Go-Kart Championships as well as the World Karting Championships. His last season in Karting, 1995, saw him win the Italian Karting Championships, the Ayrton Senna Memorial World Cup as well as the Grand Prix of Australia. Thus came to an end his incredible career at Karting.

He had now enough experience to go into the Formula3000 form of racing and in his debut season, with the Benetton Junior team, he won the German Formula3000 Championships. His relatively short stint in the F3 championships led him to Formula One in 1997 as he made his debut with the Minardi Formula1 outfit.

Trulli had mixed fortunes with the Italian outfit and, after just 7 races, he replaced Olivier Panis in the Prost Team. His fortunes took an immediate boost as he grabbed a fourth place at Hockenheim after a tremendous race. He led the Austrian Grand Prix and just when it looked like he would finish in second place, an engine blow-up ended his race.
He stayed with the Prost Team for two more seasons, in 1998 and 1999. Although '98 was rather disappointing, in 1999, he grabbed his maiden podium finish under extremely trying wet conditions at the European Grand Prix.

Prost were hoping to keep Trulli for 2000 but when the opportunity arose, Trulli jumped to Jordan to replace Damon Hill. Although his season was disappointing, he became to be known as a somewhat of a qualifying specialist. His Saturday qualifying sessions were known to be displays of breakneck speeds and strong & confident maneuvering. However, the races were a different story altogether and Trulli only managed a 10th place in 2000 and a 9th place in 2001. The disappointment at Jordan was to bring him to Flavio Briatore and Renault, who saw potential in the man and decided to hand him a long term contract.

The first two seasons, 2002 and 2003, saw Trulli finish at 8th place for the team. But in 2004, he had his best year. He started the Monaco Grand Prix from the Pole position and went on to claim his first win. He followed it up with another pole position start at Spa. The season's second half started a downslide for Trulli. He dropped in pace and couldn't get any points. This led to his eventual sacking as the team were looking to change his driver's status, something he didn't agree with.

Toyota came calling for the experienced Italian where he had immediate impact with a 7th place finish in 2005. He finished with 3 podium finishes and a total of 43 points. He spent most of 2006 and 2007 at the back of the grid and although he wasn't able to get huge victories, he will be looking for a better showing in 2008, with the Japanese outfit.

Jarno Trulli has another side to his life.

Apart from his career in motorsports, Trulli has followed his family's tradition and has produced a flourishing international business in Wines. He has also constructed a wide range of Karts for all ages, known as the 'Trulli Karts'. "I think I just see life in a different way. We all have different personalities and now I have a family I understand a bit more about certain things. It is a really good feeling, especially when people appreciate my wine. It is great because when I travel around the world to Australia or to Canada and many other places I find my wine!" says Trulli, about the other side of his life.

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