| Guido Cappellini | |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Birth Date: | 1959 9, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Mariano Comense, Italy |
| Retired: | 2009 |
| Last Series: | F1 Powerboat World Championship |
| Years Active: | 1990-2009 |
| Teams: | DAC Racing |
| Best Finish: | 1st |
| Year: | 1993-96, 1999, 2001-03, 2005, 2009 |
| Prev Series: | FONDA Formula Grand Prix Formula 3 World Championship S850 Class |
| Prev Series Years: | 1986-89 1985 1983 |
Guido Cappellini (born 7 September 1959 in Mariano Comense) is an Italian motorboat racer and the most successful driver of all time in the F1 Powerboat World Championship, with ten world titles.[1] [2] He has also raced in other classes of boat racing, notably the Class 1 offshore championship, since his retirement from Formula 1 at the end of 2009.[3]
Cappellini began his motorsport career not in a boat, but on four wheels, racing in karts. In 1981 he won the 135cc Italian Championship, and repeated the feat in 1982, alongside victory in the 135cc European Championship as well. During 1982, Cappellini was given the chance to try out a Dallara-Toyota Formula 3 car and took pole position in his first race, showing real promise. However, in 1983 he made the switch to boats, and in the 100 Miglia del Lario that year, he took victory in the S850 class. Cappellini also triumphed in the F3 Inshore category at the Six Hours of Paris in 1983, and in 1985 he finished fifth overall in the F3 Inshore World Championship.
Making his debut in the Formula Grand Prix series in 1986, Cappellini started off driving a Mercury-engined Molinari hull, and during the year enjoyed a best result of two fourth-place finishes in Hanover and Singapore. Whilst Formula 1 disappeared as a world championship and moved entirely to the United States, Cappellini continued to compete at the top level in Europe with DAC Racing, the factory team of the DAC hull manufacturing business. In 1987, a third place in Miami brought Guido his first ever podium and in 1988 he scored three second-place finishes at Augusta, Dublin and Singapore, ultimately finishing the year fourth overall in the final standings. 1989 would bring Cappellini his first race victory in the series, in Italy, at the race in Como.
Further victories would follow for the Italian in 1990 at Budapest as the Formula Grand Prix series was renamed the Formula 1 World Championship, and in 1991 at Penang. Guido was narrowly beaten to the title in 1992 with a much-improved boat, as fellow Italian Fabrizio Bocca pipped him to the championship. For Cappellini though, things could only improve. From 1993 to 1996 he took four straight F1 drivers' titles, a record that has yet to be matched. Another title would follow in 1999, before Guido once again asserted his dominance over the sport, winning another three championships in a row from 2001 to 2003. During this time Cappellini's main rival was Scott Gilman, and over the following seasons the two would share in the success, with Gillman winning in 2004, Cappellini taking his ninth title, and 50th career victory, in 2005,[4] and then Gillman winning once again in 2006. From this point Cappellini's form began to decline somewhat within the sport, as other drivers came to the fore, such as Sami Seliö and Jay Price. But, determined to secure an unprecedented tenth world title, Cappellini persisted, and secured it in style with an excellent run of form in the second half of the 2009 season, overcoming Seliö, Price, Thani Al Qamzi and early frontrunner Jonas Andersson.[2] With his milestone secure, Cappellini declared he would be retiring from F1, and turned his focus to other classes on the water.[3]
Following his retirement from F1, Cappellini moved to the Class 1 offshore category and became team manager for the DAC Racing team, which runs boat No.74. Beginning in 2010, Guido has enjoyed moderate success within the class, though for 2013 has stepped aside from driving duties, with Tomaso Polli taking over, due to a dispute over technical regulations, with Cappellini stating that when the rules are even for all the teams, he will gladly re-enter the cockpit.[5]
| Year | Entrant | Hull | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Laserline | DAC | Mercury 2l | THA 1 | ABU 1 | ITA 2 | FRA 2 | GBR 3 | ITA 2 | HUN 1 | THA 2 | ABU Ret | 1st | 133 | ||||||||
| 1994 | Laserline | DAC | Mercury 2l | HUN Ret | ITA 2 | FRA 2 | GBR 3 | ITA 1 | MAL 3 | THA 2 | ABU 9 | 1st | 108 | |||||||||
| 1995 | Laserline-Castrol | DAC | Mercury 2l | ITA Ret | HUN 2 | GER 2 | FRA 1 | RUS 1 | ITA 2 | CHN 1 | ABU 9 | 1st | 107 | |||||||||
| 1996 | Laserline-Castrol | DAC | Mercury 2l | ITA 1 | HUN 1 | RUS 1 | FRA 1 | GRE 1 | CHN 1 | ITA 13 | ITA 1 | ABU 1 | 1st | 160 | ||||||||
| 1997 | DAC Racing | DAC | Mercury 2l | HUN 2 | RUS DSQ | FRA 2 | GRE Ret | ITA 2 | RUS 1 | ITA 1 | CHN 3 | ABU 13 | 3rd | 97 | ||||||||
| 1998 | Laserline Racing | DAC | Mercury 2l | ITA 1 | RUS Ret | FRA 1 | FIN Ret | GRE 1 | ITA Ret | HUN 4 | RUS 3 | ABU Ret | 2nd | 81 | ||||||||
| 1999 | Laserline Racing | DAC | Mercury 2l | POR 1 | ITA 1 | RUS C | FRA 1 | HUN 1 | RUS 2 | TUR 2 | AUT 1 | ABU 1 | 1st | 130 | ||||||||
| 2000 | Laserline Castrol Racing | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | POR 1 | BEL 1 | HUN 1 | LAT Ret | FRA 1 | ITA Ret | POL DNS | BUL DNS | TUR 1 | ITA 1 | AUT | SHA | ABU 2 | 3rd | 135 | ||||
| 2001 | Assicom Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | MAL Ret | POR 1 | HUN 1 | LAT 1 | ITA 1 | ITA Ret | GER 3 | AUT DSQ | SHA 1 | ABU 5 | 1st | 119 | |||||||
| 2002 | Zepter Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | POR 1 | ITA 1 | FIN Ret | HUN 1 | ITA 1 | GER 1 | MAL 2 | IRE 2 | SHA DSQ | ABU Ret | 1st | 130 | |||||||
| 2003 | Zepter Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | POR 1 | FIN 2 | ITA 1 | GER Ret | MAL 2 | SIN 2 | SHA Ret | ABU 3 | 1st | 97 | |||||||||
| 2004 | Tamoil F1 Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | IND 2 | KSA 4 | POR 4 | ITA Ret | ITA 1 | CHN 2 | SIN Ret | MAL Ret | KOR 2 | SHA Ret | 4th | 68 | |||||||
| 2005 | Tamoil F1 Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | POR 1 | ITA 1 | SIN Ret | QAT 1 | ABU 3 | SHA 1 | 1st | 92 | |||||||||||
| 2006 | Tamoil F1 Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | QAT Ret | POR 1 | ITA 1 | CHN 6 | ABU 1 | SHA Ret | 2nd | 65 | |||||||||||
| 2007 | Tamoil F1 Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | POR 2 | FRA Ret | CHN 2 | CHN 1 | QAT 2 | QAT 1 | ABU 2 | SHA Ret | 2nd | 100 | |||||||||
| 2008 | Tamoil F1 Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | QAT 5 | POR Ret | FIN 1 | RUS Ret | CHN Ret | CHN | ABU Ret | SHA Ret | 10th | 27 | |||||||||
| 2009 | Zepter Team | DAC | Mercury 2.5l | POR 1 10 | POR 2 Ret | FIN 1 1 | FIN 2 4 | RUS 1 Ret | RUS 2 Ret | CHN 1 7 | CHN 2 2 | CHN 1 1 | CHN 2 Ret | QAT 1 1 | QAT 2 1 | ABU 1 1 | ABU 2 Ret | SHA 1 3 | SHA 2 3 | 1st | 153 |
| Season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 1st | ||||
| 1994 | 1st | ||||
| 1995 | 1st | ||||
| 1996 | 1st | ||||
| 1997 | 3rd | ||||
| 1998 | 2nd | ||||
| 1999 | 1st | ||||
| 2000 | 3rd | ||||
| 2001 | 1st | ||||
| 2002 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1st | |
| 2003 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 1st | |
| 2004 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1st | |
| 2005 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1st | |
| 2006 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2nd | |
| 2007 | 2 | 2nd | |||
| 2008 | 1 | 10th | |||
| 2009 | 5 | 1st |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Offshore powerboat racing | 2nd | Race 1 | |||
| 2nd | Race 2 | |||||
| Offshore powerboat racing | 3rd | Race 2 | ||||
| Offshore powerboat racing | 3rd | Race 1 | ||||
| Offshore powerboat racing | 3rd | Race 2 | ||||
| 2011 | Offshore powerboat racing | 2nd | Race 2 |