Tavano began his career in karting before entering Italian Formula 3, where he finished fourth in 1998 and third in 1999. In 2001 he moved to the European Formula 3000 championship, winning the Zolder round and finishing fourth in the overall standings. The result marked his strongest single-seater performance and drew touring-car interest.
Tavano competed in the European Touring Car Championship across several seasons from 2002, and finished third in the Italian super-tourism championship in 2005. He made appearances in the World Touring Car Championship in 2005 with DB Motorsport, then returned to the series in 2006 driving an Alfa Romeo 156 for N. Technology, taking a victory and closing the season eighteenth in the overall standings.
In 2007 Tavano competed in the Le Mans Series in the GT1 class with a Saleen S7R. The following year he raced in the Italian GT Championship in a Ferrari F430 GT2 entered by Advanced Engineering, finishing fourth overall with three victories, while also taking a win in the GT Open championship. Across 2011 he returned to Italian GT in a Porsche GT3, winning three times in five races.
Tavano supplemented his career with numerous one-make programmes. In 2009 he won the 500 Abarth Trophy, becoming Italian champion with eleven victories and then winning the European final. He finished third in the SEAT León Supercopa Italia in 2010 with three seasonal wins. In 2012 he took two victories in six Renault Clio Cup Italia appearances. In 2013 he was vice-champion of the Mini Italia Trophy with four victories in a Mini Cooper S.
From 2013 to 2017 Tavano was a test and development driver for L.R.M. Motors, also coaching a driver in the SEAT León Cup Italia from 2016. He then joined SEAT Motorsport Italia (later Scuderia del Girasole by CUPRA Racing) as coordinator of safe-driving and sports-driving instructors, while continuing as a test driver.
The launch of the TCR Italy series in 2018 gave Tavano his most prominent platform. Racing with Scuderia del Girasole under the newly founded CUPRA brand, he won the championship in 2018 in his first TCR Italy season. He defended the title in 2019, securing the championship with one round to spare, and added a third consecutive title in 2020 driving the new CUPRA León Competición. In 2019 he additionally became Team Manager for the team's entry in the Italian TCR DSG Endurance Championship and was recognised by CONI with its medal for athletic value. In 2021 he returned to TCR Italy for a fourth season, finishing third overall with three victories.
Tavano's triple TCR Italy title run made him one of the most decorated drivers in the championship's early history, and his parallel role as a factory test and instructor-coordinator for SEAT and CUPRA bridged his competitive career with a structured position within the manufacturer's motorsport infrastructure.