The global rally community mourns the loss of Alessandro ‘Alex’ Fiorio

Alex Fiorio was born on 10 March 1965 in Turin, the son of the legendary Lancia team principal and later sporting director of the Ferrari Formula 1 team, Cesare Fiorio.

Before turning to motorsport, Alex Fiorio was a successful ski racer and became Italian junior champion in the alpine downhill in 1977.

He showed great talent in rallying from an early age. At the age of 20, Fiorio made his World Championship debut at the 1968 Monte Carlo Rally in a Fiat Punto Turbo for the Jolly Club team.

Fiorio/Pirollo im Lancia Delta HF 4WD zum Gruppe N-WM-Titel in 1987

Foto: Archiv Speedweek

His big breakthrough in international rallying came in 1987, when, alongside co-driver Luigi Pirollo in a near-production Lancia Delta HF 4WD, he won the FIA World Championship title in Group N. That same year, he also secured his first World Championship points with a seventh-place finish at his home rally, the Rallye Sanremo.

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For the 1988 season, Fiorio switched to the Lancia Delta Integrale and proved his mettle in the top flight of the World Rally Championship. Right at the season opener, he stormed to second place at the Monte Carlo Rally. Fiorio repeated this result in Portugal, at the Olympus Rally in the USA and at the Sanremo Rally on home turf. At the Acropolis Rally, he finished third and ultimately placed third overall in the World Rally Championship behind his Lancia team-mates Miki Biasion and Markku Alen.

In 1989, too, he remained among the top drivers in the World Championship. A third-place finish in Portugal and Greece was followed by two second-place finishes in Argentina and Sanremo. With these results,

he secured the runners-up spot in the World Championship, behind Biasion and ahead of Toyota driver Juha Kankkunen. At the 1990 Rally Australia, he finished third, securing his tenth World Championship podium finish overall.

In 2002, he returned to the World Championship. At the Rally Finland, Fiorio claimed class victory in a near-production Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VII. In total, Fiorio competed in 42 World Championship rounds.

The Italian remained connected to rallying throughout his life. Most recently, he passed on his knowledge as a driving instructor and was involved in his beloved sport of rallying through initiatives such as the Fiorio Cup.

Alessandro Fiorio passed away on 17 August 2026.