CAAL Racing

Did You Know?

• CAAL Racing won the inaugural Superstars Series in 2004 with driver Francesco Ascani, who beat the only other full-time driver, Mauro Simoncini, by 14 points.
• In 2012, former Formula 1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi drove for CAAL Racing and won races at Monza and the Hungaroring.
• In 2022, the team signed Alberto Fontana, better known as the YouTube content creator Alberto Naska, to drive the No. 88 car in EuroNASCAR 2.

History

CAAL Racing first appeared in the Superstars Series when the championship launched in 2004. The team put Francesco Ascani behind the wheel of a BMW M5 E39, and he took victories at Varano and Monza. Ascani claimed the inaugural title by 14 points over Mauro Simoncini, the only other driver competing full-time. The next year saw both the team and the series grow. Ascani stayed on, while Leonardo Baccarelli and Albert Colajanni joined for part-time roles. Ascani won the season opener at Adria, and three additional podium finishes helped CAAL Racing secure the team championship for a second straight year. In 2006, Audi Sport Italia knocked them off the top spot in the teams' standings. Marco Gregori was the squad's highest finisher, ending fourth in the drivers' championship. Ascani moved to a new BMW 550i E60. For 2007, the team ran both the older M5 E39 and the newer 550i E60. Eleven different drivers cycled through its three cars over the season. Only Giuliano Alessi competed in every round, earning four overall podium finishes. He also won the International Superstars Series, with victories at Adria and Vallelunga. In 2008, Stefano Gabellini became CAAL Racing's standout performer, winning two overall races. He finished second in the final standings behind Gianni Morbidelli and took the International Superstars Series title. Gabellini repeated as runner-up in the overall championship in 2009. The team switched from BMW to the Mercedes C63 AMG for 2010. Luigi Ferrara swept both opening races at Monza and added five more podiums, placing third in the standings. Ferrara matched that third-place finish in 2011, winning once at Misano. In 2012, Vitantonio Liuzzi was the only full-time driver on the roster. Mercedes-AMG provided factory support, and Liuzzi became the top Mercedes driver, finishing second in the championship. The former Formula 1 driver won at Monza and the Hungaroring. The 2013 season marked the end of the Superstars Series in its original form. Liuzzi had departed for Romeo Ferraris. None of CAAL Racing's four drivers completed the full schedule or scored major results. Financial troubles led the series to reorganize as the EuroV8 Series in 2014. Diego Romanini delivered the team's best result that year, a third-place finish in the season finale at Hockenheimring. In 2013 the team debuted in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in the final two rounds at Monza and Le Mans. Fabrizio Armetta noted the best result, a fifth place in the Elite 1 class and two fourth places in Elite 2. After the strong outing, the team decided to enter three cars for the 2014 season. Eddie Cheever III, who raced his first season out of single-seaters, was the team's star performer. Cheever won races at Brands Hatch, Magione and the season finale at Le Mans. The Italian-American finished third in the Elite 1 series standings. Cheever remained for 2015 winning the season opener at Valencia. In the course of the season Cheever was surpassed by series newcomer Alon Day. Day won at Magione and both races at Zolder. The third car was manned by Nicolò Rocca who won at Venray, Tours and Magione. Despite the team winning seven out of twelve races, the series championship was won by Ander Vilariño with TFT Racing. Day was the best placed driver in the championship finishing second. The 2016 season was less successful with only Day remaining with the team, again winning three races. Day won races at Valencia, Brands Hatch and Adria. As he struggled on the ovals at Venray and Tours, taking only one top five finish, Day finished third in the championship standings. For the 2019 season, the team initially fielded two cars: The No. 31 team driven by Mauro Trione and Meisam Taheri, and the No. 54 team driven by Alon Day and Arianna Casoli. Moreno di Silvestre would later replace Taheri at Franciacorta before Advait Deodhar took over the seat starting from Brands Hatch. CAAL would later take over the No. 27 entry from Alex Caffi Motorsport starting from the fourth race week of the season at Autodrom Most, bringing its drivers Thomas Ferrando and Pierluigi Veronesi to the team as well. Day scored three wins that year but was relegated to fourth in the standings after scoring three retirements. Ferrando would score his maiden Elite 1 victory that year in the penultimate race at Circuit Zolder whilst Deodhar finished fourth in the Elite 2 standings after scoring his maiden podium finish at Brands Hatch. Day left the team at the end of the 2019 season and CAAL would resign former driver Gianmarco Ercoli to replace Day in the No. 54 team for 2020. Despite the season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, CAAL expanded into a four-car team that year by adding the No. 98 Ford Mustang team, driven by Marc Goossens and Dylan Derdaele, to the team's roster. The team also renumbered the No. 27 entry to the No. 88 car and signed Max Lanza to join Thomas Ferrando in the team for that year. CAAL only won one race that year, courtesy of Ercoli at Vallelunga, and Goossens would finish the season as the team's best finishing driver in fifth place. CAAL downscaled into a three-car team in 2021, shutting down the team's No. 31 entry following Mauro Trione's retirement in the off-season and renumbering the team's No. 98 entry to the No. 56 entry. The team resigned Alon Day and Advait Deodhar after both drivers left the team in 2020, with Day rejoining after PK Carsport withdrew from that year's championship whilst Deodhar rejoined after he took a hiatus in 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic. Day, who competed with the No. 88 team, won three races that year but was unable to defend his title after scoring four retirements. Ercoli, who won one race at Rijeka that year, went on to score his best year in the PRO class so far after he finished second in the championship, just three points off that year's champion Loris Hezemans. Deodhar would become the first Indian driver to win a race in a NASCAR-sanctioned championship after he won from pole position in the first race at Brands Hatch. Day, Deodhar, and Arianna Casoli all left CAAL at the end of the 2021 season. Day left to rejoin PK after the team rejoined the championship in 2022 whilst Deodhar and Casoli switched teams to Not Only Motorsport and SpeedHouse respectively. Luli del Castello was signed by the team to replace Casoli in the No. 54 team whilst Max Lanza was promoted to EuroNASCAR PRO to replace Day's vacated seat in the No. 88 team. The team also signed Alberto Fontana, better known as the YouTube content creator Alberto Naska, to partner Lanza as the No. 88 team's new EuroNASCAR 2 driver. Former drivers Nicolò Rocca and Gil Linster would rejoined the team to drive the No. 56 entry that year. In 2023, the team fields in the No. 54 car Gianmarco Ercoli for EuroNascar PRO and Alberto Fontana for EuroNascar 2. In the No. 56 car Marc Goossens is racing in EuroNascar PRO and Sven van Laere in EuroNascar 2, whilst in the No. 88 Max Lanza is racing in EuroNascar PRO and Roberto Benedetti in EuroNascar 2. Gil Linster switched to Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) driving No. 50 car in EuroNascar 2, whilst 2022 EuroNascar 2 champion Liam Hezemans is driving the Toyota Camry in EuroNascar PRO.