Italy’s Ivan Capelli race in F1 93 times from 98 attempts.  He is the man that led the 1988 Japanese GP in the non-turbo Leyton House March Judd, he is the man that nearly defied all the odds, only just losing out on the 1990 French GP win and he is the man that raced for Ferrari at their lowest ebb possibly of all time.

His pre F1 career could not read better, winning the 1984 European F3 Championship and the 1986 International Formula 3000 Championship.  He started his F1 career with Tyrrell in 1985, scoring points in only his second race in Australia.  1986 saw two races with the Jolly Club AGS before he went to the team that made his name.  The Leyton House March team was the little team that could of the time.  He races with Adrian Newey – he saw the highs and the lows of the sport.

The funding ran out from Leyton House and he took the change to move to Ferrari – a year that only yielded three points.  The car was stunning to look at but neither he or Jean Alesi could make it work.  A further two races with Jordan would end his F1 career.  A stint with Nissan in touring cars would follow and an attempt at Le Mans would not go his way.  Recently he has been competing in GT machines, and was racing with Trofeo Motorsport at the 2013 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hours (a separate interview on that race will follow).

His F1 experience included 3 podiums and 31 points – if he had the machinery, it could have been so much more.

We talk to Ivan about his F1 experience, that experience at Japan, that experience in France, what it was like racing with Ferrari and what he thinks about F1 cars of today.  Ivan opens up and it is truly a fascinating interview.

We will be bringing you more throughout the weekend and keep an eye on www.speedtv.com and www.dailysportscar.com for more news throughout the weekend.

Keep up on our Bathurst 12 Hour coverage here.

Click here to download the interview with Ivan Capelli (right click and save as)

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Interview by Sam Tickell, February 2013

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