Felipe Giaffone
Giaffone as a Fórmula Truck driver.
Nationality	Brazil
Date of birth	January 22, 1975 (1975-01-22) (age 34)
Place of birth	São Paulo
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
Years active	2001-2006
Teams	Mo Nunn Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Starts	61
Wins	1
Poles	0
Best finish	4th in 2002
Previous series
1996-2000 1995	Indy Lights Toyota Atlantic

Felipe Giaffone (Portuguese pronunciation: [fiˈlipi ʒaˈfoni], born January 22, 1975 in São Paulo) is a race car driver from Brazil. He competed in the Indy Racing League between 2001 and 2006. His father, "Zeca" Giaffone is the 1987 Stock Car Brasil champion and Mil Milhas Brasil five times winner in the 1980s.

Contents 1 Racing career 1.1 IndyCar career results 1.2 Indy 500 results 2 Family 3 External links

[edit] Racing career

He went to the United States to drive in the Indy Lights series in 1999 where he was coached by Formula One legend and countryman Nelson Piquet. He began racing in the IRL in 2001 and won one race at Kentucky Speedway in 2002. In 2003 Felipe was one of the IRL's representatives in the IROC series, but he only competed in two races due to injury and finished 10th in series standings. In 2005 Felipe made a last minute deal with A.J. Foyt to qualify a third car for him in the Indianapolis 500. With minutes to spare, Giaffone bumped Arie Luyendyk Jr. from the field. Starting in the final 33rd starting position, he avoided attrition and finished 15th. With A.J.'s grandson A.J. Foyt IV leaving the IRL for NASCAR in 2006, A.J. the elder chose Giaffone to be his full time driver for the 2006 season but he was released after eight races due to what Foyt called "communication problems".

Since 2007, Giaffone has raced in the Fórmula Truck, the Brazilian racing truck series, and won the championship in his first season.

[edit] IndyCar career results

Year	Team	Starts	Wins	Points	Championship Finish
2001	Mo Nunn Racing	13	0	304	6th
2002	Mo Nunn Racing	15	1	432	4th
2003	Mo Nunn Racing	11	0	199	20th
2004	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	13	0	214	20th
2005	Foyt Enterprises	1	0	15	30th
2006	Foyt Enterprises	8	0	142	17th

[edit] Indy 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
2001	G-Force	Oldsmobile	33rd	10th
2002	G-Force	Chevrolet	4th	3rd
2003	G-Force	Toyota	16th	33rd
2004	Dallara	Chevrolet	25th	15th
2005	Panoz	Toyota	33rd	15th
2006	Dallara	Honda	21st	21st

[edit] Family

The Giaffone family has had great involvement in motorsport.

• José "Zeca" Giaffone - Felipe's father; 1987 Stock Car Brasil champion and five times winner of Mil Milhas Brasil: 1981, 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1989. The founder of ZF Racing, the biggest racing engine supplier in Brazil, and the owner of Granja Viana international kart circuit in São Paulo.

• José "Zequinha" Giaffone - Felipe's brother; He competed in some races in the 1996 Indy Lights.

• Affonso Giaffone Filho - Felipe's uncle, Zeca's elder brother; The winner of the first ever race of Stock Car Brasil in 1979, the champion of the 1981 season and two times winner of Mil Milhas Brasil: 1981 and 1986. His four sons all competed in the Brazilian national kart championships.

• Affonso Giaffone - Felipe's cousin, Affonso Filho's son; He competed in the 1996-1997 Indy Racing League season.

• Silvana Giaffone - Felipe's cousin and later wife of Rubens Barrichello. This makes Barrichello a cousin-in-law of Felipe.

[edit] External links

• History of the kart circuit - from Granja Viana kart circuit official website

Sporting positions
Preceded by Airton Daré	IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Laurent Redon