Raul Boesel

After karting and saloon car success, Boesel followed the well-trodden path of Brazilian hopefuls bound for Europe with the aim of becoming the next Fittipaldi. Never having driven a single-seater and with little grasp of English, Raul sensibly bought himself a drive with Van Diemen. Quickly learning from team-mates Moreno and Byrne, he finished runner-up in both Formula Ford championships in 1980, winning eight races.

Opting for F3 for 1981, Boesel enjoyed a remarkably consistent season, finishing in the points in 16 of the 20 rounds and winning three of them to take third place in the Marlboro championship. Well funded after his success, Raul took his sponsorship money into F1 with the RAM March team but it was to be a disastrous season. Things were not much better the following year, his F1 career effectively torpedoed as he struggled in a Ligier team then in decline.

Deciding to change course, he headed off to the States and found a ride with Dick Simon's Indy Car team in 1985 and '86. Just missing out on a couple of good seats for 1987, Boesel found himself a berth in the TWR Jaguar sports car team and enjoyed a highly successful season, the Brazilian winning the drivers' sports car title to raise his stature immensely.

Returning to Indy cars, Raul made little impression until 1993, when he enjoyed an excellent season with Simon. He posed a consistent threat to the élite, and was distinctly unlucky not to notch up a win. Unfortunately he was not so competitive the following year, and a once beautiful partnership ended in litigation as the Brazilian took his Duracell sponsorship to Rahal-Hogan. His new team, running a Lola-Mercedes chassis/engine combination, struggled, however, and it was often poor Boesel's car that hit problems.

For 1996, Raul opted to join forces with Barry Green's team - the reigning champions – with hopes high for an upturn in his fortunes. Sadly for the Brazilian, only fleeting glimpses of competitiveness were seen in a season plagued with engine and electrical maladies and he took his substantial Brahma beer sponsorship to Patrick Racing for 1998. A late switch to Reynard chassis at the start of the season put the team on the pace and Raul posted some convincing performances, peaking with a pole position at Gateway. Unfortunately the second half of the year saw a slump in the team's fortunes and Boesel was left without a CART ride at season's end.

The Brazilian decided to switch to the Indy Racing League for 1998, and his two full seasons brought only modest success. He briefly returned to the CART ranks in 1999 with Team KOOL Green at Miami (substituting for Paul Tracy), and with All American Racers at Chicago (where he scored a single point) and Laguna Seca. Raul also enjoyed a couple of sports car appearances in the DAMS Panoz, sharing third place at Mid Ohio (with Bernard) and fifth at Watkins Glen (with Bernard and Wallace). Since 2000, Boesel has returned to Brazil to race touring cars, but was still in demand for sporadic Indy Racing League appearances, and most recently, the Grand Prix Masters series.