Raul Boesel
Raul de Mesquita Boesel is a Brazilian former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League.
Boesel won the 1987 [World Sportscar Championship season|1987 World Sportscar Championship] and the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona.
Personal and early life
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, Boesel resides in Key Biscayne, Florida with his wife Vera and children Raul Boesel Jr and Gabriela. He owns a Cigarette 38 Top Gun boat.
Career
Boesel studied engineering, gave up his degree and went on to motor racing. He entered into the first ever season of the Brazilian Stock Car championship in 1979.Boesel moved to Britain in 1980 to race in Formula Ford 1600 and in 1981 entered Formula 3 and finished third in the championship. In November 1981, he tested for McLaren 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.
In 1987, Boesel switched to World Sportscar Championship with Jaguar and won the title with five victories. In 1988. he won the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Jaguar XJR-9, along with Martin Brundle 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 Indy Racing League. Because of this, he has multiple starts in the Indy 500. His last race in CART was at the 1999 Marlboro 500 at Fontana.
Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba, a racing circuit in Curitiba, is officially nicknamed "Circuito Raul Boesel" in honour of his success in Europe.
Boesel ended his professional racing career in 2005 after returning to Stock Car Brasil, although he still competed in some races after his retirement.
Afterwards, Boesel often commented about various racing categories. In 2007, he started a career as a disc jockey.
Racing record
Complete World Sportscar Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts | |
| 1982 | Dome Co. Ltd. | C | Dome RC82 | Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 | MNZ | SIL Ret | NÜR | 1982 [24 Hours of Le Mans|LMS] | SPA | MUG | FUJ | BRH | NC | 0 | |||
| 1987 | Silk Cut Jaguar | C1 | Jaguar XJR-8 | Jaguar 7.0 V12 | 1987 [360 km of Jarama|JAR] 3 | JER 1 | MNZ Ret | SIL 1 | NOR 4 | BRH 1 | NÜR 1 | SPA 1 | FUJ 2 | 1st | 127 | ||
| 1987 | Silk Cut Jaguar | C1 | Jaguar XJR-8 | Jaguar 6.9 V12 | LMS 5 | 1st | 127 | ||||||||||
| 1988 | Silk Cut Jaguar | C1 | Jaguar XJR-9 | Jaguar 7.0 V12 | JER | JAR | MNZ | SIL | LMS Ret | BRN | BRH | NÜR | SPA | FUJ | SAN | NC | 0 |
| 1990 | Konrad Motorsport | C | Porsche 962C | Porsche Type-935 3.0 F6t | SUZ | MNZ Ret | SIL | SPA | DIJ | NÜR 11 | DON | CGV | MEX | NC | 0 | ||
| 1991 | Silk Cut Jaguar | C2 | Jaguar XJR-12 | Jaguar 7.4 V12 | SUZ | MNZ | SIL | LMS 2 | NÜR | MAG | MEX | AUT | 21st | 15 |
Complete European Le Mans Series results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pts | |
| 2007 | Dener Motorsport | GT2 | Porsche 997 GT3 RSR | Porsche 3.8L Flat-6 | MNZ | VAL | NÜR | SPA | SIL | 2007 [Mil Milhas Brasil|INT] 5 | 40th | 4 |