Academy Motorsport driver Claudio Remigio Cappelli talks through his highest and lowest points of 2024 and expressed his goals for the second half of the season.
The 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season has been a challenging one for Claudio Remigio Cappelli, who is competing on his first EuroNASCAR 2 season with Alex Caffi and Federico Monti’s joint venture Academy Motorsport.
Cappelli currently sits 12th in the overall standings, 80 points adrift from leader Martin Doubek. While the Italian had scored three podium finishes, he also had two incidents and one DNS that left him trailing further than his pace would indicate.
Speaking to World of EuroNASCAR to discuss his 2024 season, Cappelli stated that his podium at the half-mile oval in Venray was the peak so far even if he was left wondering at what could’ve been done.
“Speaking about the first half of the season, the high point is absolutely the second place in the oval track,” said Cappelli on the 2024 season so far. “It was a nice experience, but I think I could do something better.”
“Watching the lap times of every lap, I was very fast and had a good pace. However, I was blocked by a lapped car two times, especially in one moment where I was close to Martin and coming towards a group of three lapped cars.”
“One of them decided to take advantage of Doubek’s slipstream and he didn’t care that I was coming. There I lost almost 2 seconds, but more importantly I lost Martin’s slipstream. That was it, I had to then manage [my second place] but it is motorsport.”
The 49-year old driver agrees that the Vallelunga round, where an opening lap crash in Race 1 eliminated him for the rest of the weekend, was the lowest point of his campaign in 2024.
“The lowest point, with no doubt, was the big crash in Vallelunga,” continued Cappelli. “I was very competitive that weekend, but got no points and a big bill of damage instead.”
“Race 2 in Brands Hatch was not so lucky as well with the contact with Martin. I was in the wrong place two times, I had contact and no chance to react.”
With less than a month before the 2024 season resumes with the NASCAR GP Czech Republic on Autodrom Most, Cappelli expressed his hope to have “no more crashes” in the remaining three rounds of the year.
“For the second half of the season, there will be races on very nice tracks that I like,” said Cappelli on his second half goals. “I hope for no more crashes, no mistakes.”
“I need good qualifications to start in a good position and to stay away from troubles. I hope the unlucky wind will change direction.”
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