IVAN CAPELLI TO RETURN FOR ADELAIDE MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL

Ivan Capelli will return to drive his Leyton House March at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival – Photo: Supplied

Adelaide-era Formula One favourite Ivan Capelli has confirmed he will return to the Adelaide Motorsport Festival in 2018.

The Italian driver won many fans in his years as an F1 driver thanks to his competitive driving and cheerful disposition, traits that won him even more fans when he attended AMF in 2016.

“We’re delighted to welcome Ivan back to Adelaide and we know he is equally happy to be returning,” said Tim Possingham, Adelaide Motorsport Festival Event Director.

“Ivan was a hit with the crowds in 2016, both on and off the track, and we’re looking forward to seeing him in action.”

Capelli will again drive the Leyton House March that he raced in the 1989 Adelaide Grand Prix, and drove again in Adelaide in 2016, setting the lap record on the Victoria Park Sprint circuit. He will be keen to regain that record after it was broken last year by Tim Slade.

Ivan Capelli last attended the Adelaide Motorsport Festival in 2016 – Photo: Supplied

Capelli’s F1 career began in 1986 after success in karts and Formula 3. He performed strongly with March, scoring the team’s first ever World Championship point with sixth at Monaco in 1987.

In 1988 Capelli took his first podium, coming third behind Senna and Prost at Spa-Francorchamps, then followed that up with a second place in Portugal and sixth in Adelaide, to finish seventh in the World Championship that year.

In Suzuka, he became the first non-turbo driver since 1983 to lead a Grand Prix, until Alain Prost’s superior power won the day. Capelli went on to drive for Ferrari and Jordan and now works as an F1 commentator on Italian television.

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