Gonzalo "Gonchi" Rodríguez Bongoll (January 22, 1971 – September 11, 1999) was a Uruguayan

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. He was killed in a crash at

Laguna Seca Raceway Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for sponsorship reasons) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 ...

during practice for a

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

race which would have been his second start in the series.

Career

He showed promise in

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...

for three seasons, taking two wins in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

and

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

, winning the following season in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and finishing third in both championships. Following a rotation of drivers as team mates to Al Unser Jr. in

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Da ...

's second car, he was given his opportunity at the

Detroit Grand Prix The title of Detroit Grand Prix (United States Grand Prix – East) was applied to the Formula One races held at the Detroit street circuit in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America from 1982 through 1988. History In 1982, the U ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and scored a point in his only race.

Death

At the

during a practice session for his second CART race, he was fatally injured in a crash. A stuck throttle was initially thought to be the cause for his car overshooting the braking point, leaving the track, striking a tire barrier and slamming into a concrete wall behind the barrier at the entry of the Corkscrew corner. Review of the in-car telemetry refuted this supposition. The impact caused his car to flip over the barrier and land upside down on the other side of the wall. Rodríguez was killed instantly by a

basilar skull fracture A basilar skull fracture is a bone fracture, break of a bone in the base of skull, base of the skull. Symptoms may include Battle sign, bruising behind the ears, periorbital ecchymosis, bruising around the eyes, or hemotympanum, blood behind the ...

caused by the impact with the wall, which was lined by only a thin layer of tires. Because of the incident, an additional tire wall was installed at the end of the straight. In 2021, teammate Al Unser, Jr. released his biography ''Al Unser, Jr.: A Checkered Past,'' written by motorsport author Jade Gurss. Unser noted the nuances of the incident, basing information on what happened to him during various testing and practice sessions during the season. Both he and Rodríguez were driving the Lola B99/00 chassis and not the Penske PC-27 chassis for the weekend, and he specifically noted a mechanical nuance with the Hewland gearbox in the Lola versus the Xtrac used by the Penske and Reynard chassis. Unser believed the Hewland gearbox downshifted to neutral in the crash while Rodríguez was making a shift. Rodríguez had a contract in place to compete in the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

CART championship with

Patrick Racing Patrick Racing was an auto racing team in United States Auto Club, USAC, Championship Auto Racing Teams, CART, Champ Car World Series, Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Patrick Racing was started by Pat Patrick (auto racing), U.E. "Pat" Patri ...

, and there were rumours that

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...

could hire him for the 2001 Formula One season.

Legacy

In 2014, a Spanish-language documentary of his life, ''Gonchi'', was released.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Complete American Open Wheel results

( key)

CART

Gallery

Expo Automovilismo 2024 - Gonzalo Rodríguez clothing 01.jpg, 1999 Penske and Astromega firesuits Expo Automovilismo 2024 - Gonzalo Rodríguez clothing 04.jpg, 1999 Penske helmet Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini de El Pinar - Gonchi Rodríguez monument.JPG, Monument at the Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini

References

External links

Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez
- a foundation which promotes child road safety and physical education
Profile at HistoricRacing.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Gonzalo 1971 births 1999 deaths British Formula Three Championship drivers British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Champ Car drivers Sportspeople from Montevideo Racing drivers who died while racing Uruguayan racing drivers Uruguayan people of Spanish descent Sports deaths in California International Formula 3000 drivers British Formula 3000 Championship drivers Filmed deaths in motorsport Burials at Cementerio del Buceo, Montevideo Team Penske drivers Team Astromega drivers Alan Docking Racing drivers People educated at Stella Maris College (Montevideo)