Pierfrancesco Zanchi is a former rally driver who, after following in the footsteps of his father Pier Lorenzo during a six-year driving career, turned his passion for the sport into both a business and a profession through the creation of his own rally team.
Born in Milan in 1982, Pierfrancesco – or Checco for his friends – demonstrated that motorsport was in his DNA when he attended Andrea de Adamich's International School of Safe Driving in 2001. After successfully completing the course, the young Zanchi began co-driving his father and also his friend Roberto Mariani on a few local rallies.
He made his debut behind the wheel that same year when, aged 18, he contested Rally di San Crispino in a Fiat Seicento Kit Car prepared by RoRally Sport. Dario D'Esposito, who would later become an employee of ŠKODA Rally Team Italia, was his co-driver.
In 2002 Zanchi entered the Mitropa Cup in a RoRally Sport Fiat with Renzo Casazza co-driving. Giovanni Bernacchini and Simone Scattolin also co-drove him during season. As well as securing he runner-up spot in the two-wheel-drive category, Zanchi won the Youngster Cup for drivers under the age of 25 and claimed sixth in the overall standings.
Using the experience gained in 2002, Zanchi switched to the Fiat Stilo Abarth Trophy for 2003, again with RoRally Sport's support, before graduating to a more powerful Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII. He finished 10th in the overall standings and was classified in the top five of the under-25 class. Before the year was out Zanchi finished second in the Group N category of the Monza Rally.
World championship rallying followed in 2004 when he made his WRC debut in Sweden, bringing his Mitsubishi to the finish in 42nd overall. He completed the season by driving a Ford Focus RS WRC 01 on the Monza Rally with father Pier Lorenzo co-driving.
He joined Subaru Junior Team Italy for 2005 and was chosen by experienced Italian driver Piero Longhi to contest the Subaru Impreza Rally Cup with the same Impreza STi Andrea Navarra used to claim the Italian title the previous season.
Although the year didn't go quite as planned in terms of results, Zanchi was retained as Subaru Rally Team Italy's official driver for 2006 and combined his time by establishing the Aimont Racing Team in partnership with his father. And it was from Aimont that ŠKODA Rally Team Italy was created in 2009.
Managed by Zanchi, the team would become the Italian division of ŠKODA Motorsport, thanks to its close collaboration with Volkswagen Italy.