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| Rinaldo Capello | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Capello at the2004 24 Hours of Le Mans | |||||||||||
| Nationality |  Italian | ||||||||||
| Born | 17 June 1964 (1964-06-17) (age 61) Asti, Italy | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Rinaldo "Dindo"Capello (born 17 June 1964) is an Italian professional racing driver. He is a three-time winner of the24 Hours of Le Mans, withBentley in2003 andAudi in2004 and2008. Capello is a two-timeAmerican Le Mans Series champion, a five-time12 Hours of Sebring winner, and the record holder for most wins atPetit Le Mans, having won five times. Capello has also raced in theIntercontinental Le Mans Cup, theFIA World Endurance Championship,DTM and theItalian GT Championship.
Born inAsti, Capello started his racing career in 1976, driving go-karts, but did not move into single-seaters until 1983, starting in Formula Fiat Abarth. 1990 saw Capello's first major championship victory, winning the Italian Superturismo Championship in aVolkswagenGolf. He won the championship again in 1996, but in anAudiA4 this time.[1]
1997 saw Capello's first major endurance victory, atVallelunga, in the Vallelunga 6 Hours, driving a Volkswagen Golf again. Capello was selected for the2000 Le Mans race by the Audi Sport Joest team, driving theAudi R8 - the team finished in third place.
Capello was one ofAudi's six drivers for its first race underTeam Joest, the1999 12 Hours of Sebring. Alongside compatriotMichele Alboreto andStefan Johansson, they took the first podium for Audi in endurance racing, finishing 3rd in theAudi R8R. Returning to the track in 2000, Capello took 2nd overall, beaten only by the sisterAudi R8. Capello would go on to win the race the following two years, in2001 and2002. Capello would return a further seven times, both withBentley andAudi, taking four overall podiums and three wins, in2006,2009 and2012. Capello currently sits second all-time in overall wins atSebring, with five outright victories. AlongsideTom Kristensen, he is the onlyAudi driver to have won the race in all four generations of Audi sports prototypes. TheR8,R10,R15 andR18.
Due to a shift in focus forTeam Joest, Capello drove forTeam Bentley in 2003. Alongside long-time teammateKristensen and EnglishmanGuy Smith, they won the24 Hours of Le Mans, giving Bentley a first victory at the French circuit in 73 years.
With the end of theBentley project, Capello returned toAudi and more specifically toTeam Goh for the2004 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alongside Japanese driverSeiji Ara andTom Kristensen, Capello would once again stand atop the podium as the trio beat the fellowR8's of UK Team Veloqx andChampion Racing, marking the third time in five years thatAudi had finished 1-2-3 atLe Mans.
Capello would not return toLe Mans until2006, where he finished 3rd overall in the newR10 TDI. In2007, the trio led the race for an extended period, but an issue with the left rear wheel in the 17th hour of the race saw Capello lose control on the run down to Indianapolis, and he hit the barriers, ending their race.
2008 sawAudi return to the French classic as underdogs, due to increased competition from nativesPeugeot. Heading into the race, the fastest Audi in qualifying was over five seconds slower than the pole-setting Peugeot. The first half of the race was dominated by the Peugeot trio, with the 'Lion' consistently lapping over three seconds faster than the Audi's. However, a drastic change in weather conditions and the onset of rain in the second half of the race swung the momentum in favour of Audi, and a clever pit stop/tyre strategy for Audi meant the no.2 R10 would go on to take a famous victory for the German manufacturer, and a third and final win for Capello. The 2008 race is documented in the filmTruth in 24.
Capello also won the12 Hours of Sebring in2002 and2012. He holds the record of mostPetit Le Mans victories, with five in total, having won in2000,2002,2006,2007 and2008, all of these victories coming for theAudi Sport North America andTeam Joest squads.
Capello was vice-champion of the 2000American Le Mans Series, winning 6 races. In both 2006 and 2007, Capello finished as champion alongside Britain'sAllan McNish in the Audi Sport North America run R10.
Capello officially retired from prototype racing in 2012, while leading theFIA World Endurance Championship after hinting that he may not return to Le Mans in 2013.[2] Audi's statement confirmed that Capello would continue to race inGT3 with theAudi R8 LMS Ultra.[citation needed]
| Series/Event | Years | Races | Wins | Podiums | Best season result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Wheel Racing | |||||
| Formula 3 Monaco Grand Prix | 1987-1988 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Italian Formula Three Championship | 1985-1990 | 49 | 1 | 5 | 4th place (1988) |
| Endurance Racing | |||||
| FIA World Endurance Championship | 2012 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5th place (2012) |
| Intercontinental Le Mans Cup | 2011 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | 1998-2012 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 1st overall (2003, 2004, 2008) |
| 12 Hours of Sebring | 1999-2012 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 1st overall (2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2012) |
| Le Mans Endurance Series | 2004-2011 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 3rd place (2010) |
| American Le Mans Series | 1999-2011 | 66 | 36 | 55 | LMP1 Champion (2006, 2007) |
| GT | |||||
| Porsche Supercup | 1993-2003 | 2+ | 0 | 1 | - |
| GT World Challenge Asia | 2022 | N/A | N/A | N/A | - |
| Italian GT Championship | 2009-2015 | 84 | 6 | 28 | 3rd place (2010) |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | 1992 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12th (1992) |
| Touring Cars | |||||
| World Touring Car Championship | 1995 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11th place (1995) |
| Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | 2004-2005 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 20th place (2005) |
| Super Tourenwagen Cup | 1994-1995 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 7th place (1994) |
| Superstars Championship Italy | 2006-2007 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11th place (2007) |
| Italian Superturismo Championship | 1991-1998 | 110 | 14 | 50 | 1st place (1996) |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  Audi Sport Team Joest | Michele Alboreto Stefan Johansson | Audi R8R | LMP | 310 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2000 | Audi Sport North America | Michele Alboreto Allan McNish | Audi R8 | LMP | 360 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2001 | Audi Sport North America | Michele Alboreto Laurent Aïello | Audi R8 | LMP900 | 370 | 1st | 1st |
| 2002 | Audi Sport North America | Johnny HerbertChristian Pescatori | Audi R8 | LMP900 | 346 | 1st | 1st |
| 2003 | TeamBentley |  Tom KristensenGuy Smith | Bentley Speed 8 | LMGTP | 362 | 4th | 2nd |
| 2006 |  Audi Sport North America | Allan McNishTom Kristensen | Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 349 | 1st | 1st |
| 2007 | Audi Sport North America | Allan McNishTom Kristensen | Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 353 | 4th | 2nd |
| 2008 | Audi Sport North America | Allan McNishTom Kristensen | Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 351 | 3rd | 1st |
| 2009 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Allan McNishTom Kristensen | Audi R15 TDI | LMP1 | 383 | 1st | 1st |
| 2011 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Allan McNishTom Kristensen | Audi R15 TDI plus | LMP1 | 327 | 4th | 4th |
| 2012 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Allan McNishTom Kristensen | Audi R18 TDI | LMP1 | 325 | 1st | 1st |
Source:[7] | |||||||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Audi Sport North America | Michele AlboretoAllan McNish | Audi R8 | LMP | 394 | 1st | 1st |
| 2001 | Audi Sport North America | Tom Kristensen | Audi R8 | LMP | 26 | DNF | DNF |
| 2002 | Audi Sport North America | Tom Kristensen | Audi R8 | LMP | 394 | 1st | 1st |
| 2006 | Audi Sport North America | Allan McNish | Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 394 | 1st | 1st |
| 2007 | Audi Sport North America | Allan McNish | Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 394 | 1st | 1st |
| 2008 | Audi Sport North America | Emanuele PirroAllan McNish | Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 394 | 1st | 1st |
| 2009 | Audi SportTeam Joest | Allan McNish | Audi R15 TDI | LMP1 | 184 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2010 | Audi SportTeam Joest | Tom KristensenAllan McNish | Audi R15 TDI Plus | LMP1 | 392 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2011 | Audi SportTeam Joest | Tom KristensenAllan McNish | Audi R18 TDI | LMP1 | 302 | DNF | DNF |
Source:[7] | |||||||
(key)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Audi A4 DTM 2004 | HOC | EST | ADR | LAU | NOR | SHA 51 | NÜR | OSC | ZAN | BRN | HOC | NC | 0 |
| 2005 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Audi A4 DTM 2004 | HOC Ret | LAU 11 | SPA 13 | BRN 10 | OSC 10 | NOR Ret | NÜR 19 | ZAN Ret | LAU 11 | IST Ret | HOC 16 | 20th | 0 |
1 - A non-championship one-off race was held in 2004 at the streets of Shanghai, China.
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Audi Sport Team Joest | LMP1 | Audi R10 | Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel) | CAT 5 | MON 6 | SPA 4 | NÜR 4 | SIL 1 | 5th | 27 |
| 2010 | Audi Sport Team Joest | LMP1 | Audi R15 TDI plus | Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V10 (Diesel) | CAS 1 | SPA 3 | ALG | HUN | SIL 3 | 3rd | 57 |
| 2011 | Audi Sport Team Joest | LMP1 | Audi R18 TDI | Audi TDI 3.7 L Turbo V6 (Diesel) | CAS | SPA 3 | IMO | SIL | EST | NC | 0 |
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Audi Sport Team Joest | LMP1 | Audi R18 e-tron quattro | Audi TDI 3.7L Turbo V6 (Hybrid Diesel) | SEB 1 | SPA 3 | LMS 2 | SIL | SÃO | BHR | FUJ | SHA | 5th | 77 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Italian Touring Car Champion 1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2003 with: Tom Kristensen Guy Smith | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2004 with: Seiji Ara Tom Kristensen | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | American Le Mans Series champion 2006-2007 withAllan McNish | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2008with: Allan McNish Tom Kristensen | Succeeded by |
