Roberto Benedetti is aiming to win the Legend Trophy with new team CAAL Racing and will serve as Max Lanza’s teammate in the No. 88 Chevrolet for the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
The final piece of the puzzle for CAAL Racing’s 2023 squad was answered yesterday with the team’s fourth driver announcement in the month of March. The Italian powerhouse team announced on Instagram that Roberto Benedetti will join the team as Max Lanza’s teammate in the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro.
“Veteran Italian driver Roberto Benedetti will pilot a Camaro fielded by CAAL Racing for the first time in the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season,” as announced by CAAL on 31 March 2023.
“The 48-year-old Rome native will continue his tenure in the EuroNASCAR 2 championship, sharing the #88 car with Max Lanza and competing for the Legend Trophy.”
A gentleman driver who works as an entrepreneur on weekdays, Roberto Benedetti made his racing debut through the Italian Superstars Series. He first joined the series in 2006 and his debut year proved to be his most successful year in Superstars, as he scored his sole podium finish in Superstars on his way to finish sixth in the championship.
Despite dwindling fortunes in the years that follow, Benedetti stayed as a regular competitor in Superstars up until its dissolution in 2013. It was through Superstars that Benedetti first experienced the power of the American V8 motor when he started to compete with a Cadillac CTS-V in 2008.
Benedetti and the Cadillac would become a series mainstay, as it became a fan favorite thanks to the 6.0 litre GM LS2 V8 engine that powered the CTS-V.
The Cadillac’s popularity even attracted the attention of former F2 driver – and Luli del Castello’s father – Roberto del Castello, who campaigned the Cadillac for several seasons alongside Benedetti in Superstars.
His experience with American V8 engines made him attracted to the world of stock car racing and in 2015, he made his EuroNASCAR debut as one of Double T Racing’s EuroNASCAR PRO drivers.
His stay in the top class wouldn’t last long however, as he opted to move down from EuroNASCAR 2 mid-season and has remained in the junior class ever since.
Benedetti’s 2022 campaign with The Club Motorsport is his first full-season campaign in the sport, but his biggest success came in 2017 when he took home a shock podium finish in his home race at Franciacorta.
Sadly, Benedetti didn’t have a chance to celebrate it. While he did stand on top of the podium of the Legend Trophy sub-classifications, the overall podium finish came as a result of a post-race time penalty given to Felipe Rabello – the initial third place finisher of the 25-lap race.
Benedetti will be aiming to improve on what he achieved in 2022, which saw him finish 14th in the overall standings. He also finished second in the Legend Trophy despite not scoring a single top-10 finish, relying on his consistency to beat rivals such as Claudio Remigio Cappelli and Miguel Gomes.
“I am determined to get stronger and stronger and compete for the Legend Trophy,” said Benedetti in the official release. “And I’m sure CAAL Racing will put me in the best position to get results.”
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.