Capello opts for quieter life

Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Rinaldo Capello has driven his last race in a prototype.

The Italian, who won the French endurance classic twice with Audi and once with Bentley, confirmed that this year’s Le Mans marked the end of an era. Capello, whose factory contract comes to an end in December, didn’t rule out contesting the race in a GT car, but said it was only likely if Audi produced such a car in the future.

Capello, 48, finished second at Le Mans in June after sharing an R18 e-tron quattro with long-time teammates Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish.

“I was mentally prepared for Le Mans to be my last race in a prototype,” he said. “When the chance to do Le Mans again came up this year, it was always the plan for it to be my last race with the factory. I feel ready to stop whereas last year I wasn’t ready.”

Capello has a series of outings lined up in the Italian GT Championship with Audi Sport Italia and hasn’t ruled out continuing to drive Audis in this series or the Italy-based Superstars tin-top championship.