The "flying surveyor." Balbo is super at the 8 Hours.

A remarkable performance by "flying surveyor" Davide Balbo and Paolo Ricaboni's Team RJ at the 8 Hours of Anneau du Rhin , a round of the Citroen C1 Cup Series . On the French circuit, Balbo finished first among the Italians and 11th overall in the European standings. Davide, born in Brugherio in 1981, combines his profession as a surveyor with a passion for motorsport . He started out as a kart driver, with which he achieved several successes, before switching to closed-wheel cars in 2021. First a Peugeot 106 in Running Cfb Italia, then a Mini and a Citroen C2. During these competitions, he met Paolo Ricaboni's Team RJ, the team of Officina Ricaboni in Corte Palacio (Lodi). Along with their crew of Giovanni Fontana, Alessandro Nazzari, and Ricaboni himself, Balbo will compete in the 2024 24 Hours of Spa. In his first outing, he finished 16th out of 118 cars at the start. Around thirty crews were competing in Anneau du Rhin. Balbo, alongside his teammates Alessandro Nazzari and Giovanni Fontana, drove a solid and tenacious race, finishing eleventh overall in the European standings and, more importantly, first among the Italian teams, which earned the trio the top step of the Italian podium. Despite a strategic plan that included six pit stops, two unexpected events complicated the race: a puncture and a forced stop imposed by race officials to repair the rear bumper. Both incidents jeopardized his chances of making the top ten. "With temperatures of 37 degrees outside and over 50 degrees inside the cockpit, it was a test of physical and mental endurance," the driver said. "But it's precisely through these challenges that you grow." Thanks also to the support of his sponsors In-Consult di Riccardo Appiani, Amministrazioni Condominiali Studio Fabris and Db Studio, Balbo is preparing for the 24 Hours of Spa in October, where he aims to improve on his 16th place finish in 2024. He will also compete in the Running Cfb Italia in Varano De' Melegari on August 2nd, in Cervesina, in the province of Pavia, on November 1st and on December 6th in Modena.