Bobby Rahal

From the start, Rahal was refreshingly different from most American drivers in that he wanted to go road racing, and was prepared to come to Europe and measure himself against the best talent around. After three years (1975-77) in Canadian Formula Atlantic, where he was somewhat overshadowed by the exploits of Gilles Villeneuve, Bobby crossed the Atlantic for a selection of Formula 3 races with Walter Wolf Racing. He did well enough to be offered a drive with the team in the end-of-season United States and Canadian GPs, the latter in the old WR1 chassis, which had been dragged from a museum after he had pranged his WR5 in practice.

Determined to make the grade, he came back to Europe in 1979 for a full Formula 2 season with a works Chevron, and scored some good finishes in a car that was not the most competitive in the series. That was the end of Rahal's dreams of Formula 1, however, for in 1980 he went Can-Am racing, which was to be followed by a successful year in endurance events, Bobby winning the Daytona 24 Hours and taking second place at Brands Hatch in a Porsche 935 turbo.

In 1982 he moved into Indy Car racing, winning the Cleveland race and finishing second in the PPG Cup, and in 1986, racing for Truesports, Rahal won the championship and the Indianapolis 500. He won the title again in 1992, having set up his own team in partnership with Carl Hogan.

After this third championship Bobby raced on to the end of the 1998 season, and although he failed to add to his 24 career wins Rahal remained a canny and robust racer who could never be discounted, given his still burning desire to succeed. Having ended a fabulous CART career, Bobby continued to run his own highly professional outfit from the safer side of the pit wall. Indeed his esteem was such that in 2001 Ford persuaded him to take over the running of the Jaguar F1 team that was in need of a steady hand at the helm.
In the event he soon departed after another shake-up in which saw him unceremoniously eased out by Niki Lauda.

Having returned to the relative calm of racing in the US, Rahal found himself at the centre of more controversy when he decided to drop out of the Champ Car series and race in the Indy Racing League in deference to his sponsors. It appeared to be a shrewd move by 2004 when his driver Buddy Rice won the Indianapolis 500 in commanding style. The following year's race may not have provided Rahal with another win, but the achievement of his female driver Danica Patrick in finishing fourth caused a massive upsurge media interest that far outweighed the performance. The 2006 season began on a tragically for Rahal and his team, as newcomer Paul Dana was killed after an accident during practice for the season's opening race in Homestead. On a happier note, his son Graham established himself as an outstanding talent by winning five races in the Mazda Atalntic Championship and erened himself a chance with the Newman Hass Champ Car team in 2007.

Meanwhile, Bobby stays committed to the IRL, running veteran Scot Sharp and former Pro Series standout Jeff Simmons.