Raul de Mesquita Boesel (, born 4 December 1957) is a Brazilian former

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

who raced for the

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

and

Ligier Ligier (() is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Champ ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

teams and later raced in

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...

and the

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

. He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and the 1988

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layo ...

Personal and early life

Raul Boesel was born on 4 December 1957 in Curitiba, Brazil as the son of Jorny and Elizadea de Mesquita Boesel. Boesel had a brief career in equestrian show jumping winning state championships and other competitions. He lives in

Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne is an island town in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 12,344 at the 2010 census. Key Biscayne lies south of Miami Beach and east of Miami. The village is connected to Miami via the Rickenbacker Causeway, originall ...

with his wife Vera and children Raul Boesel Jr and Gabriela where they have resided since 1988. He owns a Cigarette 38 Top Gun boat.

Career

He studied engineering, gave up his degree and went on to motor racing. He entered into first ever season of the Brazilian Stock Car championship in 1979. He moved to Britain in 1980 to race in

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

1600 and in 1981 entered

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

and finished third in the championship. In November 1981 he tested for

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...

and entered the March team, only to switch in 1983 to Ligier. At the end of the year he went to the United States to race in

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed ...

. In 1987 he switched to

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and ...

with

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

and won the title with five victories. In 1988 he won the

in a

Jaguar XJR-9 The Jaguar XJR-9 is a sports-prototype race car built by Jaguar for both FIA Group C and IMSA Camel GTP racing, debuting at the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona. Development An evolution of the design for the XJR-8, the XJR-9 was designed by Ton ...

, along with

Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012. Brundle contested the ...

and John Nielsen. That year he also returned to CART and finished third at Indianapolis in 1989. In 1991 he finished second in

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

with Jaguar and returned to CART, finishing fifth in the 1993 series, although never winning a race. He raced in CART until 1998, when he went to

. Because of this, he has multiple starts in the

Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianap ...

. His last race in CART was at the

1999 Marlboro 500 The 1999 Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota was held on October 31, 1999, at Auto Club Speedway (then known as California Speedway) in Fontana, California as the final race of the 1999 CART World Series season. The race was marred by an accident i ...

at Fontana.

Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba (also known as Autódromo de Pinhais and Circuito Raul Boesel) was a motorsports circuit located in Pinhais, Brazil. It has been host to the World Touring Car Championship, TC2000, Fórmula Truck and Stoc ...

, a racing circuit in Curitiba, is officially nicknamed "Circuito Raul Boesel" (Raul Boesel circuit) in honour of his success in Europe. Boesel ended his professional racing career in 2005 after returning to

Stock Car Brasil Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in 1979 with Chevrolet as the ...

, although he still competes in some races after his retirement. Afterwards, he often comments about various racing categories. In 2007, he started a career as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

Racing record

Complete Formula One results

( key)

American open-wheel racing

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

CART

Indy Racing League

Indianapolis 500

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

Raul Boesel official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boesel, Raul 1957 births Living people Sportspeople from Curitiba Brazilian racing drivers Brazilian Formula One drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Brazilian Champ Car drivers Brazilian IndyCar Series drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Grand Prix Masters drivers Stock Car Brasil drivers Brazilian DJs 24 Hours of Daytona drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States March Formula One drivers Ligier Formula One drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Jaguar Racing drivers Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers Andretti Autosport drivers