Guido Cappellini facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Guido Cappellini
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1959-09-07) 7 September 1959 (age 66) Mariano Comense, Italy
Retired	2009
F1 Powerboat World Championship
Years active	1990-2009
Teams	DAC Racing
Best finish	1st in 1993-96, 1999, 2001-03, 2005, 2009
Previous series
1986-89 1985 1983	FONDA Formula Grand Prix Formula 3 World Championship S850 Class

Guido Cappellini was born on September 7, 1959, in Mariano Comense, Italy. He is a famous Italian motorboat racer. Guido is known as the most successful driver ever in the F1 Powerboat World Championship. He won an amazing ten world titles! After retiring from Formula 1 in 2009, he also raced in other types of boat competitions, like the Class 1 offshore championship.

Guido's Racing Journey

Guido Cappellini actually started his racing career on land, driving go-karts. In 1981, he won the 135cc Italian Championship. He won it again in 1982, and also took home the 135cc European Championship. In 1982, he even tried out a Formula 3 car and got the best starting position in his very first race. This showed he had a lot of talent!

Switching to Boats

In 1983, Guido decided to switch to boat racing. That same year, he won the S850 class in the 100 Miglia del Lario race. He also won in the F3 Inshore category at the Six Hours of Paris. By 1985, he finished fifth overall in the F3 Inshore World Championship.

Racing in Formula Grand Prix

Guido joined the Formula Grand Prix series in 1986. He drove a Molinari boat with a Mercury engine. In his first year, he finished fourth twice, in Hanover and Singapore. Even when Formula 1 racing moved to the United States, Guido kept competing in Europe. He raced with DAC Racing, which was the factory team for DAC boats.

In 1987, Guido got his first podium finish (a top-three spot) by coming third in Miami. In 1988, he finished second three times, in Augusta, Dublin, and Singapore. He ended that year in fourth place overall. Then, in 1989, Guido won his first race in the series, which happened in Como, Italy.

Becoming a Formula 1 Champion

More wins followed for Guido in 1990 in Budapest, as the series was renamed the Formula 1 World Championship. He also won in Penang in 1991. In 1992, he almost won the championship but was just beaten by fellow Italian Fabrizio Bocca.

Things got much better for Guido after that. From 1993 to 1996, he won four F1 driver's titles in a row! This was a record that no one has matched since. He won another title in 1999. Then, he showed his amazing skill again by winning three more championships in a row from 2001 to 2003.

During these years, Guido's main rival was Scott Gilman. They often shared the wins. Gilman won in 2004, then Guido won his ninth title and his 50th career victory in 2005. Gilman won again in 2006. After this, Guido's performance in the sport started to slow down a bit. Other drivers like Sami Seliö and Jay Price began to win more.

But Guido was determined to get an incredible tenth world title. He worked hard and achieved it in 2009 with a fantastic performance in the second half of the season. He beat strong competitors like Seliö, Price, Thani Al Qamzi, and Jonas Andersson. After reaching this huge milestone, Guido announced he was retiring from F1 racing. He then decided to focus on other types of boat racing.

Life After F1 Racing

After leaving F1, Guido Cappellini moved into the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship. This is a type of offshore powerboat racing. He became the team manager for the DAC Racing team, which uses boat No. 74. Since 2010, Guido has had some good results in this class. In 2013, he stepped back from driving himself, with Tomaso Polli taking over. Guido said he would gladly drive again if the rules became fair for all teams.

Guido's Career Highlights

Guido Cappellini's career is full of impressive achievements. Here's a quick look at his top finishes in the World Championship:

Images for kids

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  Guido Cappellini, a champion powerboat racer.

See also

In Spanish: Guido Cappellini para niños