Ravaglia was twice Italian karting champion before graduating to single-seater racing. He competed in European Formula 3 in the early 1980s, acquiring the core racecraft skills he would later apply across the world's most prestigious touring car events. His transition to touring cars came in 1984, and his ascent thereafter was rapid.
Ravaglia's peak years as a driver arrived in the second half of the 1980s, when he assembled one of the most consistent championship-winning sequences in touring car history. He became European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) champion in 1986 and successfully defended the title in 1987 — though the 1987 season ran as the inaugural World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), making that title a world championship in its own right. He then claimed the ETCC title again in 1988 in a BMW M3, giving him three consecutive top-level titles across two overlapping series formats.
During this period Ravaglia also raced at the Macau Grand Prix's Guia Touring Car event, winning the race in 1987, and made multiple appearances at the James Hardie 1000 / Bathurst 1000 in Australia as part of the international touring car exchanges that characterised the era.
Ravaglia established an exceptional record at the Spa 24 Hours at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, winning the race on three occasions across a decade. His first victory came in 1985 in a BMW 635 CSi partnered by Formula One drivers Gerhard Berger and Marc Surer. He won again in 1988 in a BMW M3 with Dieter Quester and Altfrid Heger. His third Spa win came in 1994 driving a BMW 318is alongside Thierry Tassin and Alexander Burgstaller. Between those victories he also finished third in 1986 and second in 1987.
Ravaglia made three visits to Bathurst in Australia. In 1985 he finished second alongside Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto in a Schnitzer BMW 635 CSi, with both drivers sharing the Rookie of the Year award — a strong result achieved despite a persistent electrical problem that had left the car down on power throughout qualifying and the race.
His 1986 return in another Schnitzer 635, partnering former ETCC champion Dieter Quester, ended on only the second lap in a collision with the Jaguar XJS of 1985 winner John Goss. The immediate aftermath produced one of the most raw incidents of Ravaglia's career: he physically confronted Goss in the pit lane, believing the Australian entirely responsible for the contact. He was restrained by team members and later apologised, acknowledging publicly that the display was unacceptable. Goss, who described his own reaction as "astounded," declined to pursue any official action.
In 1987 Ravaglia returned for the James Hardie 1000 — by then a WTCC round — and crashed his BMW M3 at the top of the mountain during qualifying, sustaining heavy rib bruising requiring strapping. He completed his stints but collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration after the race, the tightly strapped ribs making breathing acutely difficult during the physical effort of driving Mount Panorama. A week later he raced in the Bob Jane T-Marts 500 at Calder Park, sharing with Emanuele Pirro and finishing second behind the Steve Soper/Pierre Dieudonné Ford Sierra RS500.
Ravaglia continued winning after his ETCC/WTCC years, demonstrating a versatility across circuits and regulations that few touring car drivers matched. He entered the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) in 1989 and won it at the first attempt, then moved to the Italian Superturismo Championship in 1990 and won that championship in its first season too. He retained the Italian title in 1991 and 1993.
He also claimed victories at the Nürburgring 24 Hours on two occasions — first in 1989 in a BMW M3 with Emanuele Pirro and Fabien Giroix, then in 1995 in a BMW 320i alongside Marc Duez and Alexander Burgstaller.
His only notably unsuccessful campaign during this period was 1996 in the British Touring Car Championship. Though he finished sixth overall — a credible result in a highly competitive field — and claimed a victory at the British Grand Prix support race, the season produced no championship challenge. Approaching forty years old, Ravaglia retired from front-line competition in 1997 without adding further championship wins.
In 2001, Ravaglia co-founded Ravaglia Motorsport with Aldo Preo, operating with BMW Motorsport support in the European Touring Car Championship. The team's driver Peter Kox won the Super Production class championship in its first season of operation. The entry ran as BMW Team Germany in 2001, BMW Team Spain in 2002, and BMW Team Italy-Spain from 2003 onward. The organisation subsequently rebranded as ROAL Motorsport and continued to compete in the World Touring Car Championship.
Ravaglia's record of seven titles in four different championships — ETCC, WTCC, DTM, and Italian Superturismo — built across little more than a decade of peak competition, established him as one of BMW's most important drivers in the manufacturer's long touring car history. His three Spa 24 Hours victories and his consistent performances on circuits as varied as Spa, Bathurst, the Nürburgring, and Monza demonstrated a breadth and durability that outlasted most of his contemporaries. As a team principal through ROAL Motorsport, he extended his influence in international touring car racing well beyond his active driving career.