# Raul Boesel

Raul de Mesquita Boesel (Portuguese pronunciation:, born 4 December 1957) 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.
He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona.

## Personal and early life

Raul 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, he 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

He studied engineering, gave up his degree and went on to motor racing. He entered into first ever season of the Brazilian Stock Car championship in 1979.
He 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 he 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" (Raul Boesel circuit) in honour of his success in Europe.
Boesel ended his professional racing career in 2005 after returning to Stock Car Brasil, although he still competes in some races after his retirement.
Afterwards, he often comments about various racing categories. In 2007, he started a career as a disc jockey.

## Racing record
### Complete Formula One results

(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Pts |
| 1982 | March Grand Prix Team | March 821 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | RSA 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1982 | Rothmans March Grand Prix Team | March 821 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | | BRA Ret | USW 9 | SMR | BEL 8 | MON DNPQ | DET Ret | CAN Ret | NED Ret | GBR DNQ | FRA DNQ | GER Ret | AUT DNQ | SUI Ret | ITA DNQ | CPL 13 | NC | 0 |
| 1983 | Équipe Ligier Gitanes | Ligier JS21 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | BRA Ret | USW 7 | FRA Ret | SMR 9 | MON Ret | BEL 13 | DET 10 | CAN Ret | GBR Ret | GER Ret | AUT DNQ | NED 10 | ITA DNQ | EUR 15 | RSA NC | | NC | 0 |

### American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

#### CART

| Year | Team | No. | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1985 | Dick Simon Racing | 22 | March 85C | Cosworth DFX V8t | LBH 20 | INDY 18 | MIL | POR 11 | MEA 11 | CLE 12 | MCH 28 | ROA 8 | POC | MDO 23 | SAN | MCH | LAG 20 | PHX | MIA 23 | | | | | | 28th | 10 |
| 1986 | Dick Simon Racing | 22 | Lola T86/00 | Cosworth DFX V8t | PHX 13 | LBH 19 | INDY 13 | MIL 14 | POR 8 | MEA 23 | CLE 6 | TOR 7 | MCH 5 | POC 5 | MDO 7 | SAN 9 | MCH 15 | ROA 8 | LAG 14 | PHX 13 | MIA 19 | | | | 13th | 54 |
| 1987 | Vince Granatelli Racing | 4 | March 87C | Cosworth DFX V8t | LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH | POC | ROA | MDO | NAZ | LAG 16 | MIA 6 | | | | | | 26th | 8 |
| 1988 | Shierson Racing | 30 | March 88C | Cosworth DFX V8t | PHX 5 | LBH 4 | | MIL 4 | POR 26 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8th | 89 |
| 1988 | Shierson Racing | 30 | Lola T88/00 | Cosworth DFX V8t | | | INDY 7 | | | CLE 5 | TOR 8 | MEA 9 | MCH 11 | POC 5 | MDO 6 | ROA 14 | NAZ 5 | LAG 21 | MIA 22 | | | | | | | | | 8th | 89 |
| 1989 | Shierson Racing | 30 | Lola T89/00 | Judd AV V8t | PHX 14 | LBH 6 | INDY 3 | MIL 4 | DET 28 | POR 7 | CLE 8 | MEA 6 | TOR 7 | MCH 20 | POC 20 | MDO 23 | ROA 9 | NAZ 11 | LAG 10 | | | | | | 11th | 68 |
| 1990 | Truesports | 8 | Lola T89/00 | Judd AV V8t | PHX 18 | LBH 8 | INDY 28 | MIL 6 | DET 6 | POR 18 | CLE 20 | MEA 13 | TOR 10 | MCH 9 | DEN 28 | VAN 19 | MDO 9 | ROA 10 | NAZ 8 | LAG 11 | | | | | 11th | 42 |
| 1992 | Dick Simon Racing | 11 | Lola T92/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | SRF | PHX | LBH | INDY 7 | DET 2 | POR 9 | MIL 10 | NHA 18 | | MCH 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 9th | 80 |
| 1992 | Dick Simon Racing | 23 | Lola T92/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | | | | | | | | | TOR 22 | | CLE 6 | ROA 8 | VAN 11 | MDO 7 | NAZ 6 | LAG 6 | | | | | | | 9th | 80 | |
| 1993 | Dick Simon Racing | 9 | Lola T93/00 | Ford XB V8t | SRF 8 | PHX 2 | LBH 12 | INDY 4 | MIL 2 | DET 2 | POR 7 | CLE 7 | TOR 7 | MCH 4 | NHA 21 | ROA 4 | VAN 9 | MDO 4 | NAZ 9 | LAG 11 | | | | | 5th | 132 |
| 1994 | Dick Simon Racing | 5 | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB V8t | SRF 27 | PHX 8 | LBH 4 | INDY 21 | MIL 8 | DET 28 | POR 23 | CLE 6 | TOR 12 | MCH 9 | MDO 8 | NHA 4 | VAN 23 | ROA 6 | NAZ 4 | LAG 2 | | | | | 7th | 90 |
| 1995 | Rahal-Hogan Racing | 11 | Lola T95/00 | Mercedes-Benz IC108B V8t | MIA 6 | SRF 8 | PHX 6 | LBH 16 | NAZ 10 | INDY 20 | MIL 11 | DET DNS | POR 5 | ROA 22 | TOR 6 | CLE 20 | MCH 24 | MDO 20 | NHA 18 | VAN 10 | LAG 12 | | | | 16th | 48 |
| 1996 | Team Green | 1 | Reynard 96i | Ford XB V8t | MIA 14 | RIO 7 | SRF 13 | LBH 16 | NAZ 21 | 500 24 | MIL 26 | DET 8 | POR 28 | CLE 26 | TOR 24 | MCH 7 | MDO 22 | ROA 14 | VAN 23 | LAG 20 | | | | | 22nd | 17 |
| 1997 | Patrick Racing | 40 | Reynard 97i | Ford XB V8t | MIA 17 | SRF 7 | LBH 8 | NAZ 8 | RIO 5 | GAT 14 | MIL 4 | DET 6 | POR 3 | CLE 16 | TOR 8 | MCH 18 | MDO 4 | ROA 21 | VAN 6 | LAG 8 | FON 20 | | | | 10th | 91 |
| 1999 | Team Green | 26 | Reynard 99i | Honda HRS V8t | MIA 27 | MOT | LBH | NAZ | RIO | GAT | MIL | POR | CLE | ROA | TOR | MCH | DET | MDO | | | | | | | 32nd | 1 |
| 1999 | All American Racers | 36 | Eagle 997 | Toyota RV8D V8t | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CHI 12 | VAN | LAG | HOU | SRF | FON 17 | 32nd | 1 |

#### Indy Racing League

| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1998 | McCormack Motorsports | G-Force GF01B | 30 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | WDW 18 | PHX 8 | INDY 19 | TXS 28 | NHA 19 | DOV 14 | CLT 24 | PPR 25 | ATL 10 | TXS 17 | LVS 18 | | | | | 20th | 132 |
| 1999 | McCormack Motorsports | G-Force GF01B | 30 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | WDW 5 | PHX 19 | CLT C | | | | | | | | | | | | | 23rd | 98 |
| 1999 | Brant Motorsports | Riley & Scott MkV | 3 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | | | | INDY 12 | TXS 23 | PPR 18 | ATL 11 | DOV | PPR | LVS | TXS | | | | | 23rd | 98 |
| 2000 | Treadway Racing | G-Force GF01C | 5 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | WDW | PHX | LVS | INDY 16 | TXS | PPR | ATL | KTY | TXS | | | | | | | 37th | 14 |
| 2002 | Team Menard | Dallara IR-02 | 2 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | HMS | PHX | FON | NAZ | INDY 21 | TXS 13 | PPR | RIR | | | | | | | | 19th | 158 |
| 2002 | Bradley Motorsports | Dallara IR-02 | 12 | Infiniti VRH35ADE V8 | | | | | | | | | KAN 11 | NSH 5 | MCH 15 | KTY 13 | GAT 8 | CHI 11 | TXS 22 | 19th | 158 |

#### Indianapolis 500

| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
| 1985 | March 85C | Ford Cosworth DFX | 23 | 18 | Dick Simon Racing |
| 1986 | Lola T86/00 | Ford Cosworth DFX | 22 | 13 | Dick Simon Racing |
| 1988 | Lola T88/00 | Ford Cosworth DFX | 20 | 7 | Shierson Racing |
| 1989 | Lola T89/00 | Judd | 9 | 3 | Shierson Racing |
| 1990 | Lola T89/00 | Judd | 17 | 28 | Truesports |
| 1992 | Lola T92/00 | Chevrolet 265A | 27 | 7 | Dick Simon Racing |
| 1993 | Lola T93/00 | Ford XB | 3 | 4 | Dick Simon Racing |
| 1994 | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB | 2 | 21 | Dick Simon Racing |
| 1995 | Lola T95/00 | Mercedes-Benz IC108B | 22 | 20 | Rahal-Hogan Racing |
| 1998 | G-Force | Oldsmobile | 30 | 19 | McCormack Motorsports |
| 1999 | Riley & Scott | Oldsmobile | 33 | 12 | Brant Racing |
| 2000 | G-Force | Oldsmobile | 24 | 16 | Treadway-Vertex Cunningham Racing |
| 2001 | G-Force | Oldsmobile | DNQ | DNQ | Treadway-Hubbard Racing |
| 2002 | Dallara | Chevrolet | 3 | 21 | Team Menard |

### Complete World Sportscar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1982 | Dome Co. Ltd. | C | Dome RC82 | Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 | MNZ | SIL Ret | NÜR | LMS | SPA | MUG | FUJ | BRH | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1987 | Silk Cut Jaguar | C1 | Jaguar XJR-8 | Jaguar 7.0 V12 | 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 |

### 24 Hours of Le Mans results

| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 1987 | Silk Cut Jaguar Tom Walkinshaw Racing | Eddie Cheever Jan Lammers | Jaguar XJR-8LM | C1 | 325 | 5th | 5th |
| 1988 | Silk Cut Jaguar Tom Walkinshaw Racing | John Watson Henri Pescarolo | Jaguar XJR-9LM | C1 | 129 | DNF | DNF |
| 1991 | Silk Cut Jaguar Tom Walkinshaw Racing | Davy Jones Michel Ferté | Jaguar XJR-12 | C2 | 360 | 2nd | 2nd |
| Source: ||||||||

### Complete European Le Mans Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Pts |
| 2007 | Dener Motorsport | GT2 | Porsche 997 GT3 RSR | Porsche 3.8L Flat-6 | MNZ | VAL | NÜR | SPA | SIL | INT 5 | 40th | 4 |