Carlo Capone – Wheel of Fortune

This is a story whose script could have been entirely different. The story of a great and genuinely gifted young Italian driver that could have reached far more on the rallying world. Instead, this man was wholly forgotten until his life's sad situation raised some awareness. His name was Carlo Capone and, as his history inspired a movie, the true story is far more common, tragic and sad. When I first wrote this article, it touched deeply on my hearth, and it was always my objective to focus on his human side and his career, not on his late-life and innumerable problems. Let's remember the man at his best.

 

Capone at his best in 1984 (unknown)

            Carlo Capone was born on the 12^th of April, 1957 at Gassino Torinese, on the outskirts of the Piedmontese capital – by the way, the hometown of Fiat and Lancia – a place used to see the hugely popular Rally Team ‘971 on their roads, so it's relatively easy to understand how a young teenager could become enthralled by motorsport. It duly happened with Carlo which, in 1977 – even before reaching his twenties – debuted on his home ground with an Autobianchi A112 Abarth. Back then, the Fiat Group management had created the A112 Trophy, a one-make cup to run alongside the Italian Rally Championship with the A112 Abarth, with the patronage of both Fiat and Lancia to provide a competitive ground to breed Italian rally talents. The first edition took place in 1977 and Capone soon established himself as one of the fastest and more regular drivers of the series, won by Attilio Bettega. In the last round, the Rally 100.000 Trabucchi, he surprised everyone to take an impressive and stinging win, raising the attention of the legendary H.F. Grifone team boss Luigi Tabaton, which invited Carlo to drive for him in 1978!

 

It's hard to be a rising star:

            It was the beginning of a fantastic career, but I dare to say it was also the first step for its end… Capone was paired alongside the promising Fabrizio Tabaton – the son of Luigi, two years older than Carlo – to do the entire season in 1978, and he duly fulfilled the expectations by ending second on the Trophy, tied with his teammate. Fabrizio won more rounds, thus being crowned as champion. Yet, it must be said that team orders favoured Tabaton. On the last round, the Giro d'Italia Automobilistico, Capone carefully slowed during the latter stages of the rally, offering the title to Tabaton… perhaps being the son of Grifone's boss had something to do with it. Capone's skills and allegiance to the team led to a renewal of his contract with Grifone and a chance to drive one of the works Autobianchi at the season-ending RAC Rally, alongside Tabaton and Mirri. In his international debut on one of the most technical rallies of the WRC Capone retired early with a broken engine. 

Trying (not) to win at the Giro d'Italia in 1978 (unknown)

 

            However, the loss of the Trophy meant that, instead of driving the Lancia Stratos promised to the winner in 1979, Carlo had to content himself with a humble Fiat Ritmo 130 early in the season, then switching to a Fiat Ritmo 75 Abarth. The car wasn't by any means the class of the field, yet it was good enough for a young driver to hone his skills and show what he could do with a less competitive machine. In 1979 and 1980 Capone left everyone without doubts about his capacities, achieving impressive stage times for such a small front-wheel-drive car and grabbing some top placements on more significant rallies such as a sixth-place overall at the Italian ERC round Rally Il Ciocco at the end of 1980, and an impressive win at the Rally della Lanterna, one of the few overall wins for the small Ritmo. 

Rallye della Lana 1980 (Girardo & Co. Archive)

A troubled man:

            1981 was more or less the same, Capone being now partnered with young co-driver Luigi Pirollo (which became widely known years later alongside Alessandro Fiorio, Franco Cunico and Giandomenico Basso) and Carlo had his second WRC outing at the Sanremo, sadly ending off the road. Interestingly, Pirollo reminds Capone as a driver who took considerable risks to succeed with a notoriously aggressive style but, taking a look at his records, major shunts ending in retirements were relatively rare. Perhaps what is more troubling when reading "Gigi" Pirollo's memories is his personal view of Carlo, already saying he was terribly shy and introvert and with a strange character, looking like Capone was only able to express his emotions at the wheel of a rally car. Apart from these personality traits, Carlo was also known to be hugely professional and meticulous with the car preparation and tuning, which was sometimes a true headache for the mechanics that got a little bit tired of such perfectionism.

Rallye Sanremo 1981 (Jiri Marsicek)

             Fiat Group was going through significant changes, and the competition department focused on the development of the brand new Lancia 037 accounting on the Group B regulations that would be enforced since January 1983; consequently, the drivers from the works team and satellite ones had to content themselves with the old Lancia Stratos or the Fiat 131 Abarth until the new car was ready. In 1982, after four seasons with Grifone, Capone was called by another of the usual Lancia/Fiat clients, Jolly Club Milano, to drive their Group A Fiat Ritmo Abarth 125 TC, which proved an immediate success, as Carlo was often on the top-10 among the fastest cars and duly won the Italian Group A title. However, his participation in the Sanremo ended again with a crash on the second leg. By then the 037 was already developed and was a genuine contender for 1983, which meant the 25-years-old Capone finally expected to have a chance to aim for overall wins regularly.

Rallye dell'Isola d'Elba 1982 (Paolo Tamburelli)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Carlo's hopes would be fulfilled in 1983 as Lancia management distributed the 037 by their three satellite teams – Grifone, Tre Gazzelle and Jolly Club – and Capone remained with the latter alongside Miki Biasion (which was the Lancia-backed driver for the ERC). Since the first round of the Italian Championship, he was among the best, finishing second at the Targa Florio Rally and fourth at the ERC-coefficient 4 Rally Costa Smeralda. It was a matter of time until he managed to win, a success that Capone achieved at the Rally della Lana, in front of Biasion, Cunico, Cerrato and Tabaton – easy to see how competitive was the Italian Championship back then, plenty of local glories and a big bunch of young guns aspiring to become European and World Champions. He could have won at Piancavallo if not for engine problems, but the second place left him fourth overall on the Championship, while his teammate Biasion won both the European and the Italian titles, effectively launching his impressive international career.

Somewhere in 1983... (unknwon)

 

Significant responsibilities at last:

            In 1984 Lancia decided to back Capone for the ERC title, so he was relocated to Tre Gazzelle to drive their West-liveried Lancias. Giorgio Leonetti's squad was the chosen team to aim for the ERC, while Jolly Club would do a part-time WRC program for Miki Biasion. Pirollo had left Carlo, which was now co-driven by Sergio Cresto, sadly remembered by his horrific death alongside Toivonen at Corsica in 1986. Back then, the ERC was a remarkably long fifty-rally season, each round with a points' coefficient allocated, turning it very hard to preview who'd be the leading contenders, as it all depended on the points scored in the earlier coefficient 4 rallies. Apart from conditioning the rest of the season because the less graded events had almost no weight on the final overall, scoring early points helped raise attention to possible additional sponsors. But it was easy to preview that Henri Toivonen – himself a Lancia driver, more about that later – would be Capone's biggest rival, driving a Porsche 911 SC RS entered by David Richards under the banner of Rothmans Porsche Rally Team. There were many tarmac rallies on the Championship; thus the 2WD cars weren't so down on power against possible 4WD rivals, even if there were no Audis nor Peugeots bar the Quattros of Harald Demuth and Martino Cinotto. Yet, local contenders such as Jimmy McRae, Béguin, Andruet, Zanini and even other Italians could be in the mix.

 

Boucles de Spa 1984 (Olivier Delhez)

            To prevent any eventual teething problems with their first full-time ERC campaign, Leonetti decided to start the season earlier than usual on the co.2 Boucles de Spa, where Capone took his first win of the season after a fair fight with Tony Pond. The primary though match against Toivonen & co. was on the foremost co.4 round, the Spanish Costa Brava Rally, but both contenders ended prematurely: Carlo crashing out on the first gravel stage while leading by six minutes and Henri with a broken driveshaft. Then, Capone dominated and won the RACE-Costa Blanca (co.3) and finished second at the Costa Smeralda after a great battle against Toivonen, the Finn winning by 57 seconds while Cerrato finished third, a massive thirteen minutes behind the Porsche. Next, the Albena-Zlatni Piassatzi in Bulgaria ended with the same two on the top places on reverse order – this time luck played for Capone as Toivonen penalised after a pointing error of his co-driver, Ian Grindrod. 

Rallye RACE - Costa Blanca 1984 (Paquito Martinez)

 

      By mid-season, the ERC standings were:

1.      Carlo Capone (Lancia) – 240 points

2.      Henri Toivonen (Porsche) – 209 points

3.      "Lucky" (Ferrari) – 145

4.      Harald Demuth (Audi) – 100

5.      Adartico Vudafieri (Lancia) – 100

As expected, the title soon turned into a contest between Toivonen and Capone, as even the Championship's peculiarities left almost no margin to other drivers. Before returning to the ERC, Tre Gazzelle provided Capone with a chance to measure himself against the WRC bunch again, this time on the Acropolis, an exciting test for Carlo as it was the toughest European rally. Still, it ended too soon when the differential and suspension broke on the first stage, ironically when he was running as the fastest Lancia, the works team being scourged by punctures.

 

An intense duel:

Back to ERC for the 24 Hours of Ypres, the legendary rally on Flemish soil provided the perfect place for a royal battle between the title contenders and the cream of the most important national championships: McRae, Béguin, Andruet, Colsoul, Snijers, Droogmans et al. As expected, it was full speed since the beginning and Capone was on the dice till he penalised after a gearbox change. Toivonen dominated the second part of the rally in exemplar style in front of the local star Snijers in another Porsche, Capone ending third after further problems with the differential, thus minimising points losses. But he could have lost it all at the breath-taking scenario of the Rali Vinho da Madeira… Capone was in "maximum attack" mode and atomised his rivals on the first stage. Yet, on the second he lost control of the Lancia on the wet tarmac and destroyed it. At the same time, Toivonen won again and took the lead of the Championship 81 points ahead – Capone said it was due to a broken brake pipe but, unconvinced, sports manager Gianfranco Silecchia criticised him, leading to some tension.

Ypres 24 Hours 1984 (Stéphane Prevot)

             Now Capone desperately needed to win on the harsh Greek stages of the Halkidikis, which he duly complied by smashing the Mehta-led outpowered Nissan opposition, thus reducing his disadvantage to just one point (Toivonen was absent, driving for Martini Lancia on the 1000 Lakes). Facing this context, Tre Gazzelle kept its planned outing at Cyprus (co.3), plus every other round where Toivonen may drive. Only one coefficient 4 round remained, the Tour de France Automobile, overlapping dates with the Sanremo, which sparked a contractual feud between Lancia and Prodrive concerning the young Finn… The problem came from the beginning of the season, as a disappointed Henri Toivonen chose to sign with David Richard for an assault to the ERC after failing to secure a top WRC drive. Soon after, Cesare Fiorio offered him some rounds with a works Lancia 037, so Henri found himself with two contracts that led to this explosive situation… Obviously, Cesare Fiorio wanted Lancia to win the ERC – which meant Capone – so his aim while drafting Henri for the Sanremo was to prevent the Flying Finn to gain precious points (Capone hadn't the Tour in his schedule), which deeply angered David Richards who saw himself as Toivonen's leading employer. 

Rally Halkidikis 1984 (Mario Rossi)

 

All this controversy was useless because Henri was suffering from a back injury (after entering a go-kart race for fun during a pause on the Circuit of Ireland earlier in the season) and was forcibly put to rest for two months, having no chances to defend his leadership. Capone returned for another dose of terrifying rocky gravel roads in Cyprus but retired with a broken engine after being delayed by a sequence of punctures. The decision was further postponed to the co.3 Rally Antibes, and with Toivonen yet injured (Prodrive had hired Jean-Luc Thérier to replace Henri) Capone only needed to score two points. Nevertheless, he took a hard-fought win against Béguin, effectively sealing the ERC title, winning the Championship with 428 points, against Toivonen's 369 and Demuth's 245. It had been an excellent season, and the 27-years-old deserved the title he had achieved on his first international season, despite the setbacks expected from a growing driver. However, the ambience was already extremely sour between Capone and Lancia.

Rallye d'Antibes 1984 (unknwon)

 Why me?

Apart from his deep contractual problems, Toivonen's future was uncertain due to the possible extent of his back injuries and the possibility of being drafted for the military early in 1985. All these things could compromise his place at Lancia. But no one could deny Henri was the man Cesare Fiorio really wanted to partner with Alén, and it really hurt Carlo. Shortly after Cyprus, with the title almost on his pocket, Capone gave an interview to Autosprint in which he said that "Many say that in 85 I'll still be with Tre Gazzelle: it isn't true. And I want to add that for the next year I don't desire to drive for a private squad. Works or nothing. I know in Italy it won't be easy, but I don't lose my heart. We’ll see” [Autosprint, nº 54:49, p.34]. It was like dropping a bomb. Lancia reacted on the spot and needed some power of persuasion by Leonetti not to end the season and release Carlo on the spot, so it was a demoralised Capone that drove at Antibes and took the title, even if totally aware that all the doors in Turin were closed.

Both Fiorio and Leonetti were deeply angered by his statements. Even if Carlo Capone had reasons for complaining – at Grifone and Jolly Club he often drove less-powerful machinery than his teammates, speaking in such tone and directly to the press, was regarded as too ambitious and rude by Cesare Fiorio, which immediately stated it was the drivers' choice to accept or not a contract. If Capone was unhappy, the door was open, effectively sidelining him at the end of the season. To be accurate, Capone was increasingly uncomfortable with the broad preference their bosses had for Toivonen, and the fact he bet him on the ERC without any possible reward deeply frustrated an already insecure and complicated man.

It's also impossible to forget that Italy had a big bunch of young and fast drivers vying for a WRC place, epitomised by Miki Biasion, so Capone quickly discovered he had no chance to secure a competitive ERC or WRC drive in Italy, as Lancia had replaced him with Zanussi at Tre Gazzelle, while Jolly Club hired Cerrato from Conrero Opel. Leonetti himself told in an interview to Autosprint that Capone couldn't bear the fact the works team preferred Toivonen because the Finn was a world ace, and even if Carlo bet him on the ERC, he was forgetting he was on a semi-works team and had by far the best car, and the injuries that ended Toivonen's season prevented the Italian to measure against Henri until the end of the year. It's quite unfair to simplify Capone's campaign in such a way, as Toivonen would say at the end of the season, even if he was strong until his back problems were aggravated by the multiple 1000 Lakes jumps, Henri recognised he was fighting against a terrific and talented driver. However, I'm not denying what was obvious for everyone back then – Toivonen had that "little bit" that makes the difference between an excellent driver and a true champion. 

Toivonen highly regarded Capone as a talented driver (unknwon)

 

Nevertheless, the damage was done. As it was told before, most of Carlo's acquaintances remember him as a very introvert and slightly strange man, generally living in his own world, also the way to give his best at the wheel, as he was terribly focused on the career. His opponents reckoned Capone was very talented, a fast and neat driver really sensitive and smooth with the car which rarely crashed or broke the mechanics, but his personality wasn't attractive for the increasingly essential PR job for the marques and sponsors, something even the journalists noticed when Lancia presented their junior programmes earlier in the year. But what definitively defined his fate was that he lived in an era in which the Italian rally scene and press was dominated by the Fiat/Lancia group. Capone always suffered from being set aside for rivals (not questioning their aptitudes) with better sponsors or connections. Had he rejected team orders in 1978 it would have killed his career on the spot, so Carlo managed to thrive under harsher circumstances till the top. Still, by the end of 1984, he was too frank. Giorgio Leonetti and Cesare Fiorio estranged him definitively – one of the things he criticised about the development program of Italian youngsters could be quoted more or less like this: "In Italy, they put us first on the A112 Trophy to gain experience, then driving a Group 1 Ritmo to gain more experience, and then a Group 2 Ritmo to gain yet more experience, and then they say you too old for the works team" [RallyMania Forum].

 

Endless sorrow:

Even if it was rumoured that Rothmans Porsche was interested in hiring Carlo Capone to replace Toivonen, as the Finn solved his troubles and signed an exclusive contract with Lancia for three years, and even that there were other manufacturers interested, his deception with Lancia was a huge psychological blow and undoubtedly contributed to the radical decision Capone took by the end of the season. He just retired, bitterly disappointed with the motoring world, despite barely having reached his prime, and undoubtedly with a talent for much more. Carlo's father tried to help him and contacted friends and journalists trying to find his son a team, but to no avail, and Capone became more and more introvert and depressed. It's worthy to say, however, that it's a mistake to state he retired at all after 1984 because Capone occasionally appeared on regional events till the late '80s, but the passion had waned, and his personal life was already totally shattered.

Bad fortune didn't abandon Carlo after the sad end of his promising career. After his winning season, Capone plunged into a severe depression, and his marriage crumbled, but the terminal blow was the sudden death of his baby daughter Cristina. It all happened in a few months after the collapse of his career and definitively immersed Carlo into a heavy depression and dependence on medications. He went back to his parents' home at Gassino and lived there increasingly alone and dejected, occasionally driving around the places where took his first steps in rallying and reminiscing on what could have been if not the Lancia attitude and subsequent lobbying over the remaining Italian teams… Capone was absorbed in a downwards spiral that took a heavy toll on his health, and he became more and more forgotten by everyone, even from his old rally mates. Isolation aggravated his psychological problems, and it took another deep blow with his father Aldo's death late in 2013.

More or less a year and a half later, Carlo Capone and his aged mother were admitted to the Residenza Anni Azzurri, near Asti. It's a nursing home for senior people also offering aid to people unable to live alone, mainly with dementia, cognitive impairments, and psychiatric problems, and both mother and son remain there till today. However, when all this happened, a wave of sympathy rose in the local community and on social media, thanks to his friends such as the prestigious motoring journalist Carlo Canova, Capone's co-driver in his early years. The latter created a Facebook page to raise attention to his situation and help him get adequate treatment and regain life as usual as possible after so many tragedies he suffered and also end with the countless rumours that surround mental illnesses. Thirty years ago psychological and psychiatric treatment was far more inefficient than it is today and these issues tend to aggravate after so many setbacks and years without proper attendance, so it's sad to say that Carlo Capone will never have an ordinary everyday life again, but let's have hope and faith he may recover as most as he can.

Meanwhile, Matteo Rovere released a movie, Veloce come il vento, allegedly inspired by Carlo Capone' story, starring Stefano Accorsi. It was launched in April 2016, and Matteo Rovere said Carlo Capone's sad story was a great inspiration to create Loris De Martino's complex character. However, many divergent questions are also addressed in the movie, namely drug addiction, which raised some criticism by the purists and friends and admirers of Carlo Capone. In my opinion, Veloce come il vento is a story of resilience through bad times and fits well for a fiction movie, but shouldn't be seen as a fictionalised portrait of Carlo's past. 

Happy days (unknwon)

Personal Note: As I said before, when I first read Carlo Capone's story, I became terrible saddened, however, fascinated with it, because it is an epitome of the human side of motorsport. On the motoring scene, it's common to focus on the driver before the man. Yet, there's so more underneath their performances with fast cars that are usually ignored, that I decided to do further investigation into this story in particular. I sincerely hope Carlo Capone could improve to live a good life soon and that all of us, rally fans or not, remember him as the great driver and man he was, and give him the strength to win this rally, against the depression. Ti vogliamo bene, Carlo!

 

 Dedicated to Carlo Canova, one of the first persons in the motorsport world that helped me when I began professionalising my research and gladly met me at the 2016 edition of the Portuguese Rally.