Guillermo "Memo" Rojas Jr. (born August 18, 1981) is a Mexican former

race car 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 n ...

. Successful in American

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

, Rojas is a four-time series champion in the

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

, a three-time winner of the

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 racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

, and a two-time

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

champion. He is the first Mexican driver to win a major American racing championship.

Personal life

Rojas was born in 1981 in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He is son of the Mexican driver Guillermo Rojas, Sr.

Career

Early career

Rojas began his racing career in 1993, racing

karts Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size moto ...

; in 1996 he moved up to professional racing in the Mexican

Formula Two Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...

series. Heading to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1997, he joined the Barber Dodge series, before returning to Mexico in 1998 to race for two years in the national

Formula Three Formula Three (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 drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

series. Returning to the United States in 2000, he spent two years racing in the American

Formula Ford 2000 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 have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One d ...

series, before moving up to the Barber Dodge Pro Series for the 2002 and 2003 seasons, claiming two wins during his time in the series, and finishing second in the series championship in 2003. He then graduated to the European

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to auto racing, motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before mov ...

series with

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

in 2004, scoring two top-five finishes over the course of the year. In 2005 he returned to the United States, racing in the

Toyota Atlantic The Atlantic Championship Series is an American open-wheel racing series with races throughout North America. It has previously been called Champ Car Atlantics, Toyota Atlantics (after its then engine supplier for sponsorship reasons), or just ...

championship series for a single race at the

Fundidora park Fundidora Park (''Parque Fundidora'' in Spanish) is an urban park located in the Mexican city of Monterrey, built in what once were the grounds of the Monterrey Foundry, the first steel and iron foundry in Latin America, and, for many years, the ...

circuit in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Grand-Am

DP01 Scott Pruett Memo Rojas 2011 Road America

Switching from open-wheel racing to sports cars in 2007, Rojas joined

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rally ...

to compete in the Grand American Road Racing

, as a teammate to

Scott Pruett Scott Donald Pruett (born March 24, 1960) is an American former racing driver who has competed in numerous disciplines of the sport. In the 1980s, Pruett established himself as a top sports car racer, winning two IMSA GTO, and three Trans-Am ...

. Claiming his first win in the series in 2007, Rojas won his first

endurance race the following year with co-drivers Pruett,

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...

and

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti (born 19 May 1973) is a British motorsport commentator and retired motor racing driver from Scotland. Franchitti won the IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011; the Indianapolis 500 in ...

. The victory propelled Rojas and Pruett to the Rolex Sports Car Series championship that year, setting a series record for the most victories in a season with six wins over the course of the year. In 2009, Rojas would finish second in the Rolex Sports Car Series championship standings, only six points out of first place at the end of the year, before returning in 2010 to once again win the series championship partnered with Pruett. Over the course of the year Rojas set another series record for most victories in a season with nine, and finished on the

podium A podium (: podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of a ...

eleven times in twelve races. Rojas' 2011 season started with a co-victory, partnered with Pruett,

Graham Rahal Graham Robert Rahal ( ; born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently races in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner of ...

and

Joey Hand Joseph Alan Hand (born February 10, 1979) is an American professional racing driver who competes in sports car racing as a Ford factory driver. A former champion of the Star Mazda Series, Hand is the co-winner of the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona dri ...

, in the

, his second win in the event. On the 51st edition of the

on January 26–27, 2013 Memo Rojas got the first place, winning his third 24 Hours of Daytona, along with his co-drivers Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Charlie Kimball.

12 Hours of Sebring

On the 62nd edition of the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

on March 15, 2014, Memo Rojas Jr., from Telmex Ganassi Riley Mk XXVI- Ford EcoBoost DP team won the second round of the new

United SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association ( ...

by just under five seconds as nine cars in the Prototype class finished on the lead lap. Along with his co-drivers Scott Pruett and

Marino Franchitti Marino Alessandro Cesare Franchitti (born 7 July 1978) is a British racing driver, and the younger brother of Dario Franchitti. He has spent the majority of his career racing in sports cars and grand tourers, with a career highlight of winning t ...

, Rojas Jr., become the first Mexican to achieve a victory in the

Retirement

After 31 years of professional career, on December 11, 2023, Memo Rojas, Jr., announces his retirement from motorsport.

Racing record

Racing career summary

^† As Rojas was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. ^* Season still in progress.

American Open-Wheel racing results

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

Barber Dodge Pro Series

Atlantic Championship

Rolex Sports Car Series (Grand-Am)

( key) ♯ Did not complete 30 minutes drive time. No driver's points awarded.

24 Hours of Daytona

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

( key)(Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)

12 Hours of Sebring

24 Hours of Le Mans results

European Le Mans Series Results

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Memo Living people 1981 births Racing drivers from Mexico City Mexican racing drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Atlantic Championship drivers Formula Renault V6 Eurocup drivers Mexican Formula Three Championship drivers Formula Ford drivers Barber Pro Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Chip Ganassi Racing drivers DAMS drivers G-Drive Racing drivers IDEC Sport drivers DragonSpeed drivers Greaves Motorsport drivers Duqueine Team drivers Signature Team drivers