WTCC
Macau: Nicola Larini to retire
NICOLA LARINI TO RETIRE FROM WTCC RACING AFTER MACAU The Italian Driver Eager To Devote More Time To His Personal Life After A Long And Successful Career In Touring Car Racing MACAU, 20 November 2009 Touring car star and Chevrolet WTCC driver ...
Edited: Nov 22, 2009, 2:16 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
NICOLA LARINI TO RETIRE FROM WTCC RACING AFTER MACAU
The Italian Driver Eager To Devote More Time To His Personal Life After A Long And Successful Career In Touring Car Racing
MACAU, 20 November 2009 Touring car star and Chevrolet WTCC driver Nicola Larini today announced that he will retire from WTCC racing at the end of this season, after the championship's two last races in Macau on Sunday.
Explaining his decision, the 45-year old Italian driver commented that having spent 20 seasons at the highest level in touring car racing, he intends to devote more time to his personal life and other interests. He will not quit racing, his lifelong passion, but wishes not be involved anymore in professional projects as demanding as the WTCC.
After starting his career with single-seaters, spending ten years in Formula 1 and fulfilling the dream of any Italian racer to be a Grand Prix driver for Ferrari, Nicola has become a touring car legend, clinching the DTM (1993) and ISC (1992) titles and no less than 48 race wins in major international touring car series.
A Chevrolet driver since the very launch of the WTCC programme in 2005, Nicola has been a valuable asset for the team, contributing his talent and experience over these five years and playing a significant role in developing the cars and building up a successful team. He has brought home 14 podium finishes, including his fantastic victory this year in Marrakech, without forgetting his success in the Bologna Motor Show exhibition races in 2007-08.
Nicola Larini: "After so many years in motorsports, time has come for me to take a different approach to racing, to give back to my family and to develop my other interests. I say goodbye to the WTCC today in Macau, but I will not quit racing altogether. I will continue racing, but want to be involved in projects not taking such a heavy toll on my personal life. Chevrolet and RML have been my WTCC home for the last five years, a spell of my career nearly as long as the ones I spent with Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. It has been a fantastic time that I will cherish forever in my memory. I wish to thank Chevrolet and RML for all the support received during these five years and wish them well for the future".
Ray Mallock: "Nicola has been a cornerstone of our WTCC programme since its inception and I would like to thank him for his tremendous contribution. His team spirit, professionalism and gentlemanly behavior mark him out as one of the best drivers I have worked with. It's sad he won't be part of the team next year and we will miss him".
Eric Nève: "When Chevrolet engaged in the WTCC programme, we looked at the best possible drivers for our cars and Nicola was clearly one of them. We were honored that he accepted the challenge and throughout these five years he has done an outstanding contribution to our team, with his abilities and his experience. In the first three years of our WTCC involvement, he has actually been the Chevrolet driver scoring most points. We will always be grateful to Nicola and he'll always be a friend of all of us at Chevrolet".
Wayne Brannon: "Nicola has a personality that has always impressed me: he is a true competitor and a passionate character, not only when in he is in a race car but in everything he does, from biking to cooking pasta in the Chevrolet hospitality! I wish to thank him warmly for everything he has done for our team and wish him and his family all the very best for the future".
-credit: chevy
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Homestead: Pole winner interview
Next article Macau: Series qualifying report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Ray Mallock
What could have been: Ray Mallock's lost F1 chance
Formula 1
Formula 1
What could have been: Ray Mallock's lost F1 chance
Andretti Autosport engineer Roger Griffiths high on Formula E
Formula E
Formula E
Andretti Autosport engineer Roger Griffiths high on Formula E
RML celebrates 30 years of success
WEC
WEC
RML celebrates 30 years of success
Latest news
MotoGP seeks compromise with riders over Qatar Grand Prix
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
30 min
MotoGP seeks compromise with riders over Qatar Grand Prix
F1 publishes first Social Impact Report; key student scholarship renewed
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
57 min
F1 publishes first Social Impact Report; key student scholarship renewed
Sergio Perez signs fresh Cadillac F1 deal until 2029
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
57 min
Sergio Perez signs fresh Cadillac F1 deal until 2029
Oliver Bearman explains why Haas’ 2026 F1 car is ‘hitting its ceiling’
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
3 h
Oliver Bearman explains why Haas’ 2026 F1 car is ‘hitting its ceiling’
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe