Rinaldo Capello - Misplaced Pages

Italian racing driver (born 1964)

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Rinaldo Capello

Capello at the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans

Nationality

Italian

Born

17 June 1964 (1964-06-17) (age 60)
Asti, Italy

24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1998–2004, 2006–2012
Teams	GTC Competition, Audi Sport Joest, Team Bentley, Audi Sport Goh
Best finish	1st (2003, 2004, 2008)
Class wins	3 (2003, 2004, 2008)

Rinaldo "Dindo" Capello (born 17 June 1964) is an Italian professional racing driver. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Bentley in 2003 and Audi in 2004 and 2008. Capello is a two-time American Le Mans Series champion, a five-time 12 Hours of Sebring winner, and the record holder for most wins at Petit Le Mans, having won five times. Capello has also raced in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the FIA World Endurance Championship, DTM and the Italian GT Championship.

Career

Born in Asti, 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 a Volkswagen Golf. He won the championship again in 1996, but in an Audi A4 this time.

1997 saw Capello's first major endurance victory, at Vallelunga, in the Vallelunga 6 Hours, driving a Volkswagen Golf again. Capello was selected for the 2000 Le Mans race by the Audi Sport Joest team, driving the Audi R8 - the team finished in third place.

Capello was one of Audi's six drivers for its first race under Team Joest, the 1999 12 Hours of Sebring. Alongside compatriot Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson, they took the first podium for Audi in endurance racing, finishing 3rd in the Audi R8R. Returning to the track in 2000, Capello took 2nd overall, beaten only by the sister Audi R8. Capello would go on to win the race the following two years, in 2001 and 2002. Capello would return a further seven times, both with Bentley and Audi, taking four overall podiums and three wins, in 2006, 2009 and 2012. Capello currently sits second all-time in overall wins at Sebring, with five outright victories. Alongside Tom Kristensen, he is the only Audi driver to have won the race in all four generations of Audi sports prototypes. The R8, R10, R15 and R18.

Due to a shift in focus for Team Joest, Capello drove for Team Bentley in 2003. Alongside long-time teammate Kristensen and Englishman Guy Smith, they won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, giving Bentley a first victory at the French circuit in 73 years.

With the end of the Bentley project, Capello returned to Audi and more specifically to Team Goh for the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alongside Japanese driver Seiji Ara and Tom Kristensen, Capello would once again stand atop the podium as the trio beat the fellow R8's of UK Team Veloqx and Champion Racing, marking the third time in five years that Audi had finished 1-2-3 at Le Mans.

Capello would not return to Le Mans until 2006, where he finished 3rd overall in the new R10 TDI. In 2007, 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 saw Audi return to the French classic as underdogs, due to increased competition from natives Peugeot. 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/tire 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 film Truth in 24.

Capello also won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2002 and 2012. He holds the record of most Petit Le Mans victories, with five in total, having won in 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008, all of these victories coming for the Audi Sport North America and Team Joest squads.

Capello was vice-champion of the 2000 American Le Mans Series, winning 6 races. In both 2006 and 2007 Capello finished as champion alongside Britain's Allan McNish in the Audi Sport North America run R10.

Capello officially retired from prototype racing in 2012, while leading the FIA World Endurance Championship after hinting that he may not return to Le Mans in 2013. Audi's statement confirmed that Capello would continue to race in GT3 with the Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

Racing record

Career summary

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)
Sources:

Complete Italian Superturismo Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Pts
1992	Bora Racing Team	Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo Evolution	S1	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	MAG 1	MAG 2	MUG 1 Ret	MUG 2 10	BIN 1	BIN 2	VAL 1	VAL 2	IMO 1	IMO 2	MIS 1	MIS 2	PER 1	PER 2	VAR 1	VAR 2	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	30th	1
1993	Audi Sport Europa	Volkswagen Vento		MNZ 1 Ret	MNZ 2 Ret	VAL 1 15	VAL 2 Ret	MIS 1	MIS 2	MAG 1 14	MAG 2 Ret	BIN 1 11	BIN 2 Ret	IMO 1 17	IMO 2 Ret	VAR 1 Ret	VAR 2 14	MIS 1 14	MIS 2 13	PER 1 12	PER 2 Ret	MUG 1 DNS	MUG 2 DNS	NC	0
1994	Audi Sport Italia	Audi 80 Quattro		MNZ 1 3	MNZ 2 3	VAL 1 Ret	VAL 2 2	MAG 1 2	MAG 2 DNS	BIN 1 Ret	BIN 2 Ret	MIS 1 9	MIS 2 15	VAL 1 3	VAL 2 3	MUG 1 8	MUG 2 5	PER 1 7	PER 2 3	VAR 1 3	VAR 2 Ret	MUG 1 3	MUG 2 1	5th	141
1995	Audi Sport Italia	Audi A4 Quattro		MIS 1 3	MIS 2 2	BIN 1 2	BIN 2 2	MNZ 1 4	MNZ 2 3	IMO 1 2	IMO 2 2	MAG 1 2	MAG 2 1	MUG 1 Ret	MUG 2 6	MIS 1 2	MIS 2 3	PER 1 3	PER 2 5	VAR 1 1	VAR 2 3	VAL 1 4	VAL 2 1	2nd	253
1996	Audi Sport Italia	Audi A4 Quattro		MUG 1 5	MUG 2 4	MAG 1 1	MAG 2 1	MNZ 1 1	MNZ 2 1	BIN 1 1	BIN 2 1	MIS 1 3	MIS 2 4	IMO 1 1	IMO 2 2	PER 1 DSQ	PER 2 3	PER 1 4	PER 2 4	VAR 1 3	VAR 2 3	VAL 1 2	VAL 2 3	1st	250
1997	Audi Sport Italia	Audi A4 Quattro		MNZ 1 2	MNZ 2 12	MUG 1 Ret	MUG 2 12	MAG 1 5	MAG 2 3	IMO 1 4	IMO 2 2	IMO 1 4	IMO 2 3	BIN 1 2	BIN 2 1	PER 1 5	PER 2 8	VAR 1 1	VAR 2 1	MIS 1 6	MIS 2 Ret	VAL 1 6	VAL 2 4	3rd	190
1998	Audi Sport Italia	Audi A4		BIN 1 6	BIN 2 4	IMO 1 6	IMO 2 5	MNZ 1 2	MNZ 2 3	VAR 1 6	VAR 2 5	VAL 1 5	VAL 2 2	MAG 1 Ret	MAG 2 4	PER 1 5	PER 2 4	MIS 1 7	MIS 2 Ret	MNZ 1 6	MNZ 2 Ret	VAL 1 4	VAL 2 Ret	5th	215
Source:

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1998	Gulf Team Davidoff GTC Competition	Thomas Bscher Emanuele Pirro	McLaren F1 GTR	GT1	228	DNF	DNF
1999	Audi Sport Team Joest	Michele Alboreto Laurent Aïello	Audi R8R	LMP	346	4th	3rd
2000	Audi Sport Team Joest	Christian Abt Michele Alboreto	Audi R8	LMP900	365	3rd	3rd
2001	Audi Sport North America	Laurent Aïello Christian Pescatori	Audi R8	LMP900	320	2nd	2nd
2002	Audi Sport North America	Johnny Herbert Christian Pescatori	Audi R8	LMP900	374	2nd	2nd
2003	Team Bentley	Tom Kristensen Guy Smith	Bentley Speed 8	LMGTP	377	1st	1st
2004	Audi Sport Japan Team Goh	Seiji Ara Tom Kristensen	Audi R8	LMP1	379	1st	1st
2006	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish	Audi R10 TDI	LMP1	367	3rd	3rd
2007	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish	Audi R10 TDI	LMP1	262	DNF	DNF
2008	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish	Audi R10 TDI	LMP1	381	1st	1st
2009	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish	Audi R15 TDI	LMP1	376	3rd	3rd
2010	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish	Audi R15 TDI plus	LMP1	394	3rd	3rd
2011	Audi Sport North America	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish	Audi R18 TDI	LMP1	14	DNF	DNF
2012	Audi Sport Team Joest	Allan McNish Tom Kristensen	Audi R18 e-tron quattro	LMP1	377	2nd	2nd
Sources:

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

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 Herbert Christian Pescatori	Audi R8	LMP900	346	1st	1st
2003	Team Bentley	Tom Kristensen Guy Smith	Bentley Speed 8	LMGTP	362	4th	2nd
2006	Audi Sport North America	Allan McNish Tom Kristensen	Audi R10 TDI	LMP1	349	1st	1st
2007	Audi Sport North America	Allan McNish Tom Kristensen	Audi R10 TDI	LMP1	353	4th	2nd
2008	Audi Sport North America	Allan McNish Tom Kristensen	Audi R10 TDI	LMP1	351	3rd	1st
2009	Audi Sport Team Joest	Allan McNish Tom Kristensen	Audi R15 TDI	LMP1	383	1st	1st
2011	Audi Sport Team Joest	Allan McNish Tom Kristensen	Audi R15 TDI plus	LMP1	327	4th	4th
2012	Audi Sport Team Joest	Allan McNish Tom Kristensen	Audi R18 TDI	LMP1	325	1st	1st
Source:

Complete Petit Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2000	Audi Sport North America	Michele Alboreto Allan 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 Pirro Allan McNish	Audi R10 TDI	LMP1	394	1st	1st
2009	Audi Sport Team Joest	Allan McNish	Audi R15 TDI	LMP1	184	3rd	3rd
2010	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish	Audi R15 TDI Plus	LMP1	392	3rd	3rd
2011	Audi Sport Team Joest	Tom Kristensen Allan McNish	Audi R18 TDI	LMP1	302	DNF	DNF
Source:

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

(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 5	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
Sources:

- A non-championship one-off race was held in 2004 at the streets of Shanghai, China.

Complete Le Mans Series results

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
Source:

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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
Source:

References

Capello's official website
"Dindo Hangs Up Helmet">"Dindo Hangs Up Helmet". Racing-Report.com. 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
^ "Rinaldo Capello race results". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
^ "Rinaldo Capello Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
"Rinaldo Capello: Racedriver biography – career and success". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
"Dindo Capello". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
^ "Complete Archive of Rinaldo Capello". Racing Sports Cars. pp. 2, 3, 4, 5. Retrieved 27 August 2023.

External links

Dindo's official website
Interview with Dindo Capello
Interview: Dindo Capello Archived 3 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine

Sporting positions
Preceded byEmanuele Pirro	Italian Touring Car Champion 1996	Succeeded byEmanuele Naspetti
Preceded byFrank Biela Tom Kristensen Emanuele Pirro	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2003 with: Tom Kristensen Guy Smith	Succeeded bySeiji Ara Tom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello
Preceded byTom Kristensen Rinaldo Capello Guy Smith	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2004 with: Seiji Ara Tom Kristensen	Succeeded byJ.J. Lehto Marco Werner Tom Kristensen
Preceded byFrank Biela Emanuele Pirro	American Le Mans Series champion 2006-2007 with Allan McNish	Succeeded byLucas Luhr Marco Werner
Preceded byFrank Biela Emanuele Pirro Marco Werner	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2008 with: Allan McNish Tom Kristensen	Succeeded byDavid Brabham Marc Gené Alexander Wurz

v t e Winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Nine-time	Tom Kristensen
Six-time	Jacky Ickx
Five-time	Derek Bell Frank Biela Emanuele Pirro
Four-time	Sébastien Buemi Yannick Dalmas Olivier Gendebien Henri Pescarolo
Three-time	Woolf Barnato Rinaldo Capello Luigi Chinetti Marcel Fässler Brendon Hartley Hurley Haywood Phil Hill Al Holbert André Lotterer Klaus Ludwig Allan McNish Kazuki Nakajima Benoît Tréluyer Marco Werner
Two-time	Fernando Alonso Earl Bamber Timo Bernhard Tim Birkin Ivor Bueb Romain Dumas Ron Flockhart Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Gérard Larrousse JJ Lehto Manuel Reuter André Rossignol Raymond Sommer Hans-Joachim Stuck Gijs van Lennep Jean-Pierre Wimille Alexander Wurz
One-time	Aïello Alboreto Amon Ara Attwood Baldi Bandini Barilla Barth Benjafield Benoist Bianchi Bloch Blundell Bouchut D. Brabham G. Brabham Brundle Calado Chaboud Clement Cobb Conway Davis de Courcelles Dickens Duff Dumfries Duval Étancelin Fontés Foyt Frère Fuoco Gachot Gené Giovinazzi González Gregory Guichet Gurney Hamilton Hawthorn Hélary Herbert Herrmann G. Hill Hindmarsh Hirakawa Howe Hülkenberg Jani Johansson Jones Kidston Kobayashi Krages Lagache Lammers Lang Léonard Lieb López Marko Martini Mass McLaren Mitchell-Thomson Molina J. Nielsen N. Nielsen Nuvolari Oliver Ortelli Pier Guidi Pironi Riess Rindt Rockenfeller Rodríguez Rolt Rondeau J. Rosier L. Rosier Rubin Salvadori Sanderson Scarfiotti Schuppan Sekiya Shelby Smith Tandy Trémoulet Trintignant Vaccarella Veyron Walker Wallace Warwick Weidler Whitehead B. Whittington D. Whittington Winkelhock

v t e Winners of the 12 Hours of Sebring
Six-time	Tom Kristensen
Five-time	Rinaldo Capello
Four-time	Frank Biela Pipo Derani Allan McNish
Three-time	Hans-Joachim Stuck Mario Andretti Marco Werner
Two-time	Bob Akin Sébastien Bourdais Geoff Brabham Derek Daly Loïc Duval Andy Evans Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio II Olivier Gendebien Hurley Haywood Hans Herrmann Phil Hill Al Holbert Jacky Ickx Stefan Johansson Nicolas Lapierre JJ Lehto Alex Lynn Emanuele Pirro Brian Redman Jordan Taylor Eric van de Poele Johannes van Overbeek Fermín Vélez Andy Wallace Phil Walters
One-time	Aïello Aitken Alboreto Baker Baldi Bamber Barbosa Barbour Behra Bernhard Bianchi Bomarito Bonnier Gary Brabham Brown Castellotti Collard Collins Curran Daigh Dalmas Davidson de Narváez Delétraz Dumas Dyer Earl Elford Fässler Fitch Fittipaldi Fitzpatrick Foyt Franchitti Frisselle Garretson Gartner Gené Giunti Gray Gregg Gurney Hall Hawthorn Helmick Herbert Herta Heyer Hunter-Reay Jani Jarvis Kaffer Keyser Kulok Larrousse Leven Lloyd Ludwig Luyendyk Maglioli Mass McFarlin McLaren Mendez Miles Millen Moffat Moretti Morton Moss Mullen Müller Nasr Nierop O'Connell Oliver Pace Panis Parkes Paul Jr. Paul Sr. Pescatori Peter Pruett Rahal Robinson Rojas Ruby Scarfiotti H. Sharp S. Sharp Siffert Sims Surtees R. Taylor W. Taylor Theys Tincknell Tréluyer Vaccarella Vautier Wollek Woods Wurz

v t e Audi Sport Team Joest in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1999–2016)
Drivers	Christian Abt (2000) Michele Alboreto (1999–2000) Filipe Albuquerque (2014–2015) Laurent Aïello (1999–2001) Timo Bernhard (2009–2011) Frank Biela (1999–2002; 2006–2008) Marco Bonanomi (2012; 2014–2015) Rinaldo Capello (1999–2002; 2006–2012) Lucas di Grassi (2013–2016) Romain Dumas (2009–2012) Loïc Duval (2012–2013; 2015–2016) Marcel Fässler (2010–2016) Marc Gené (2012–2014) Johnny Herbert (2002) Oliver Jarvis (2014–2016) Tom Kristensen (2000–2002; 2006–2014) Michael Krumm (2002) André Lotterer (2010–2016) Lucas Luhr (2007–2009) Allan McNish (2000; 2006–2013) Stéphane Ortelli (2000) Christian Pescatori (2001–2002) Philipp Peter (2002) Emanuele Pirro (1999–2002; 2006–2008) Alexandre Prémat (2007–2009) René Rast (2015) Mike Rockenfeller (2007–2012) Didier Theys (1999) Benoît Tréluyer (2010–2016) Marco Werner (2002; 2006–2009)
Cars	R8R (1999) R8 (2000, 2001, 2002) R10 TDI (2006, 2007, 2008) R15 TDI (2009) R15 TDI plus (2010) R18 TDI (2011) R18 Ultra & E-Tron (2012) R18 E-Tron (2013, 2014, 2015) Audi R18 (2016)

Audi Sport Team Joest in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1999–2016)

Drivers

Christian Abt (2000)
Michele Alboreto (1999–2000)
Filipe Albuquerque (2014–2015)
Laurent Aïello (1999–2001)
Timo Bernhard (2009–2011)
Frank Biela (1999–2002; 2006–2008)
Marco Bonanomi (2012; 2014–2015)
Rinaldo Capello (1999–2002; 2006–2012)
Lucas di Grassi (2013–2016)
Romain Dumas (2009–2012)
Loïc Duval (2012–2013; 2015–2016)
Marcel Fässler (2010–2016)
Marc Gené (2012–2014)
Johnny Herbert (2002)
Oliver Jarvis (2014–2016)
Tom Kristensen (2000–2002; 2006–2014)
Michael Krumm (2002)
André Lotterer (2010–2016)
Lucas Luhr (2007–2009)
Allan McNish (2000; 2006–2013)
Stéphane Ortelli (2000)
Christian Pescatori (2001–2002)
Philipp Peter (2002)
Emanuele Pirro (1999–2002; 2006–2008)
Alexandre Prémat (2007–2009)
René Rast (2015)
Mike Rockenfeller (2007–2012)
Didier Theys (1999)
Benoît Tréluyer (2010–2016)
Marco Werner (2002; 2006–2009)

Cars

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