Drivers

Raul Boesel

From a wealthy Brazilian family, Raul de Mesquita Boesel originally intended to follow his brothers into the equestrian world and was an outstanding show jumper. He studied engineering but gave up his degree when he decided that he wanted to go motor racing, starting out in touring cars. He moved to Britain in 1980 to race in Formula Ford 1600 and the following year moved up to Formula 3 and finished third in the championship with Murray Taylor Racing.

In November 1981 he tested for McLaren and the following year joined the Rothmans March Formula 1 team but this was not a great success and in 1983 he switched to the underfunded Ligier, with backing from Cafe do Brasil. This was a bad season for the team and at the end of the year Boesel went to the United States to race in CART with Dick Simon Racing.

In 1987 he switched to the World Sportscar Championship with Jaguar and won the title with wins at Jerez, Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Nurburgring and Spa. The following year he won the Daytona 24 Hours, sharing a Jaguar XJR-9 with Martin Brundle and John Nielsen. That year he also raced CART with the Shierson team and in 1989 he finished third at Indianapolis. He moved to Truesports in 1990.

In 1991 he raced with Jaguar in IMSA and finished second in the Le Mans 24 Hours before returning to CART with Dick Simon and finishing fifth in the 1993 series. He continued to race in CART until 1998, racing in the latter years with Team Green, but then switched to the Indy Racing League with McCormack Motorsports. But he soon faded from the US scene although he continues to race in his native Brazil.