Massimiliano Angelelli (born 15 December 1966 in Bologna) is an Italian race car driver.
His career begun in Italian Formula Alfa Boxer in 1987 and continued for 15 years. His only championship win as the 1992 Italian Formula Three title. Following that win he also raced German Formula Three (1993–1995), Macau Grand Prix for Formula 3 (1996), FIA GT Championship (1997–1998) and American Le Mans Series (1999–2002).
Angelelli is nicknamed the Axe because he has a knack of closing up and "chopping" off seconds behind the leader quickly in a race to set himself up to make a clean pass for the win.
Angelelli had a banner year in 2005. Angelelli and teammate Wayne Taylor won the 24 Hours of Daytona and captured the 2005 Grand American Daytona Prototype championship.
Angelelli was selected to run in the 2006 IROC series in America, along with teammate Wayne Taylor, becoming the first tandem in IROC history.
Angelelli is also known for being the pace car driver in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Ayrton Senna followed Angelelli's safety car for 5 laps before his fatal accident.
For the past several years, Angelelli has driven for the Wayne Taylor Sun Trust Racing Team in the Daytona Prototype class of the Grand Am Racing Series, a class that requires two drivers per car. He has teamed up with Ricky Taylor, the son of team owner Wayne Taylor.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Giambattista Busi |
Italian Formula Three Champion 1992 |
Succeeded by Christian Pescatori |
| Preceded by Philipp Peter |
Austria Formula 3 Cup champion 1993 |
Succeeded by Alexander Wurz |
| Preceded by Max Papis Scott Pruett |
Rolex Sports Car Series DP Champion 2005 with: Wayne Taylor |
Succeeded by Jörg Bergmeister |