Claudio Remigio Cappelli is moving teams after Academy Motorsport announced the Italian as the new EuroNASCAR 2 driver of the No. 5 Cremona Gronde Camaro in 2024.
Claudio Remigio Cappelli will be starting a new chapter of his EuroNASCAR career after he announced his move to Academy Motorsport, becoming the new EuroNASCAR 2 driver of the No. 5 team in 2024.
The Italian’s move to the team co-owned by Federico Monti and Alex Caffi meant that the No. 5 car is set to feature a new primary sponsor in Cremona Gronde, the roofing business owned by Cappelli and his family.
Renders that are revealed in the announcement showcased Cremona Gronde’s traditional yellow livery adorning the Chevrolet Camaro that he and Vladimiros Tziortzis will race in the upcoming season.
“I just love American cars, bikes and the lifestyle,” said the 48-year old driver, who will turn 49 on 2 February. “That’s why EuroNASCAR is my natural habitat for doing motorsports. I’m so happy that this championship exists in Europe because it’s unique, while other series are like having the same soup over and over again.”
A popular figure in the paddock and a driver that’s easily recognized thanks to his beard, Cappelli plans to establish himself as a challenger for the EuroNASCAR 2 title after a successful first full-season in the division.
He finished tenth in the standings after scoring two top-5’s and 9 top-10 finishes and showed great promise with his pace, regularly fighting with the division’s top drivers.
Winning the Legend Trophy sub-classification for drivers aged 40 and over is also going to be in the mind of Cappelli as he narrowly lost the Trophy battle to Team Bleekemolen’s Melvin de Groot in 2023.
While the upcoming season opening round at Valencia will be Cappelli’s first race as an official driver of Academy, this is not going to be his first rodeo with the Italian-Monegasque team.
Thanks to his ties with Sharks Team Italia, Cappelli was present during Academy’s 2023 pre-season testing to aid several Legends Car Italia drivers on their chance to test the EuroNASCAR stock cars for the first time.
As for Cappelli’s previous team Race Art Technology, the Swiss outfit visited Valencia recently to test the No. 34 Chevrolet Camaro with Thomas Toffel and looks certain to maintain at least one of their entries for the 2024 season.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.