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. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

who raced for the

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

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 Cham ...

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

teams and later raced in

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

and the

Indy Racing League IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...

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

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. Since 1988, he resides in

Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Located on the island of Key Biscayne, the village is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 14,809 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...

with his wife Vera and children Raul Boesel Jr and Gabriela. 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 have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

1600 and in 1981 entered

Formula 3 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 ...

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

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

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 draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

. In 1987 he switched to

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...

with

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

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

in a Jaguar XJR-9, along with

Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Champions ...

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 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 shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. His last race in CART was at the 1999 Marlboro 500 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 St ...

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

, 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 personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

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

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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

References

External links

Raul Boesel official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boesel, Raul 1957 births Living people Sportspeople from Curitiba Racing drivers from Paraná (state) 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