Christine GZ

Christine Giampaoli Zonca (born 22 July 1993), more commonly known by her nickname Christine GZ, is an Italian-Spanish rally and off-road race driver. After an off-road racing career in America, competing with the team Dynamic Racing, Zonca raced in Europe with the Avatel Telecom Race Team.^[1] In late 2020, Zonca scored a third place in the Andalucia Rally round of the FIA World Cross Country Championship.

Christine GZ
Christine GZ in 2022
Nationality	Italian
Full name	Christine Giampaoli Zonca
Born	(1993-07-22) July 22, 1993 (age 32) Pondicherry, India
Extreme E career
Debut season	2021
Former teams	Xite Energy Racing, Veloce Racing, Carl Cox Motorsport
Starts	13
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Best finish	9th in 2021

Christine GZ in 2019

Christine GZ in 2020

Christine GZ in 2021

Biography

GZ was born to Italian parents in Pondicherry, India, where she lived for eight years before moving to Milan, Italy, and then to Tenerife, Canary Islands.^[2] She completed a degree in motorsports technology at Birmingham City University.^[3][4]

She initially worked at her neighbor's garage.^{[citation needed]} The first chassis she bought was a 1988 Golf MKII, followed by a 1989 Rally Corolla that she named "Lolla".^[2][5]

In 2016, she was a member of an all-female rally team competing in the Rally Catalunya.^[6]

In 2020, GZ re-launched her racing career after a COVID lockdown. Together with the Avatel Telecom and co-driver Edu Blanco she competed in the Andalucía Rally. Christine completed the rally with 3rd place. She was racing with the Avatel Telecom Racing Team during the 2021 season reaching 2nd place at the T1N Cross-Country Spanish Championship this year.^{[citation needed]}

On 15 December 2020, she was announced to have signed with the formerly known Hispano Suiza now Xite Energy Team to compete in the new all-electric off-road racing championship Extreme E along with Oliver Bennett. She made her debut at the 2021 Desert X-Prix in Al-'Ula, Saudi Arabia, where she finished 5th. The team was re-branded Xite Energy Racing ahead of round 2. At the end of the 2021 season GZ and Bennett classified 9th. She also became a TV presenter for Italian broadcaster Sport MediaSet, covering the FIA Formula E World Championship and driving the BMW i8 Safety Car on the Circuit de Monaco. In addition, she also took part in the Eco Rallye Mallorca, driving the Porsche Taycan.^[7]

She participated in the Spanish date Baja Aragón of the FIA World Cup Cross-Country Bajas with her co-driver Ricardo Torlaschi finishing 5th at the T3 category.

She competed in the 2023 season of the all-electric off-road racing championship Extreme E for Carl Cox Motorsport with Timo Scheider as her teammate.^[8] She was replaced by Lia Block, daughter of the late Ken Block, at round 5 for the rest of the season.^[9] She returned for the final two rounds of the season as the series championship reserve driver after regular reserve driver Tamara Molinaro replaced Hedda Hosås at JBXE.^[10][11] She has previously competed for Veloce Racing^[12] and Xite Energy Racing.

Racing record

Complete Extreme E results

(key)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos.	Points
2021	Hispano-Suiza Xite Energy Team	Spark ODYSSEY 21	DES Q 5	DES R 5									9th	55
	Xite Energy Racing				OCE Q 6	OCE R 6	ARC Q 9	ARC R 8	ISL Q 9	ISL R 9	JUR Q 9	JUR R 9
2022	Veloce Racing	Spark ODYSSEY 21	DES WD	ISL1 8	ISL2 9	COP 10	ENE						18th	7
2023	Carl Cox Motorsport	Spark ODYSSEY 21	DES1 7	DES2 9	HYD1 3	HYD2 DNS	ISL-I1	ISL-I2	ISL-II1	ISL-II2	COP1	COP2	15th	23

^* Season still in progress.