Roberto José Mouras (February 16, 1948 – November 22, 1992) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

racing driver. He won the 1983, 1984 and 1985 Turismo Carretera championships. Also, he won 50 races in this series between his debut in 1970 and his fatal accident in 1992.

Racing career

Roberto Mouras started his racing career in the 60s. He made his debut in Turismo Carretera in 1970, driving a Torino. He switched to

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

in 1975 and made his first victory in 1976, at

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...

. He won the next five races, achieving a total of six consecutive wins that remain a record to this day. But despite this, Mouras lost the championship to Héctor Gradassi. In 1980, Mouras would change his allegiance again, going from Chevrolet to

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

. With Dodge, Mouras achieved his greatest successes, as he won all three championships in 1983, 1984 and 1985, in addition to a small tournament disputed in late 1981. Of Mouras' 50 wins, 27 were in his period with Dodge between 1981 and 1985. In 1986, Mouras returned to Chevrolet. He won a total of 15 races after this.

Death

He died on November 22, 1992, during a race in

Lobos Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado. Background Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known m ...

, the penultimate race of that year. Mouras's car blew it's left front tire, causing him to lose control of the car and hit a mound of dirt. The violence of the impact caused severe damage to the left side of the car, killing Mouras almost instantly. In the accident, his co-driver Amadeo González was also injured. He died two days later. The race was immediately red flagged. For this, Mouras declared the winner of the race, which would be his 50th victory in Turismo Carretera.

Legacy

In his memory, the

Autódromo Roberto Mouras Autódromo Roberto José Mouras is a motorsports circuit located in La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plat ...

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

bears his name. A thematic museum in Carlos Casares about his life and career. In Lobos, Mouras is honored at the accident site.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mouras, Roberto 1948 births 1992 deaths Argentine racing drivers Turismo Carretera drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in Argentina Filmed deaths in motorsport