Roberto Guerrero

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Roberto Guerrero
Escort Radar Warning 200 (Mid-Ohio
)
Wins Podiums Poles
2 10 5
1984
1998
Indianapolis 500 Co-Rookie of the Year
CART Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year
Scott Brayton Driver's Trophy

Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a

race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One
Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula One Grand Prix.

With no championship points in Formula One and no prospects to drive for a competitive team, Guerrero left at the end of the 1983 season to race in the

Indycar racing career, winning both CART and Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year honors in 1984. His initial promise was never completely fulfilled, winning only two CART races, both in 1987. Later the same year he had a massive accident which left him in a coma
for 17 days.

Of special note were Guerrero's participations in the Indianapolis 500. He came very close to winning outright on two occasions, but bad luck always kept the victory out of his grasp. In 1992 he spun off on the pace lap after having qualified on the pole position. Guerrero finished runner up twice, in the top-five five times, and held the qualifying speed record from 1992 through 1996. Guerrero was also selected to participate in the 1988 International Race of Champions.

Guerrero became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1989. He and his wife have three children and reside in San Juan Capistrano in Orange County, California.

In recent years Guerrero has returned to racing, but of a different venue. He began off-road racing at the legendary Baja 2000. He has since continued to race in

Baja Peninsula
with Wide Open Baja.

Early racing

Karting

Guerrero began his racing career in 1972 by competing in kart racing. From 1972 to 1977 he won two national championships in his native Colombia. He also finished third in the 1975 Pan American Karting Championship.

Jim Russell Driving School

Guerrero then joined the

Jim Russell Racing School
in 1977. In the school's six events Guerrero managed to win 5 of the races and finished second in the other race.

Open wheel racing

Formula car racing

British Formula Ford 1600

Guerrero began competing in British Formula Ford 1600 in 1978. He took eight wins during the season.

Formula Three

British Formula 3

Guerrero competed in

Vandervell British Formula 3 for Angila Cars in an Argo JM3-Toyota
. He finished 9th in points with 15 points.

Guerrero returned to the series in

Kenneth Acheson
, each with 95 points.

European Formula Three

While competing in

European Formula Three. He again drove for Angila Cars in an Argo JM3-Toyota
. At the end of the season he scored 2 points to finish in 25th place in the championship.

European Formula Two

In

Gran Premio dell'Adriatico
at the Misano Circuit and he finished 7th in the championship with 16 points.

Formula One

Roberto Guerrero's Theodore N183.

Guerrero began competing in

Avon withdrew from Formula One and that left the team tireless. The team got some older tires to use for the race, but Guerrero failed to qualify. Michelin started supplying tires to the team after Monaco and Guerrero qualified for Michelin's first race for the team, the Detroit Grand Prix, starting in a respectable 11th place. In the race Guerrero was involved in a crash 6 laps into the race and was credited with a 19th-place finish. After that, Guerrero then only failed to qualify at the Dutch Grand Prix and the French Grand Prix. Guerrero scored his best finish of 1982 (and his entire Formula One career) at the German Grand Prix with an 8th-place finish. At the season-ending Caesars Palace Grand Prix
Guerrero qualified in 15th place. The car's engine then blew in the warm up and Guerrero missed the race. Guerrero was unranked in the championship standings due to the fact that he had scored no points.

In

1983 Ensign Racing merged with Theodore Racing and as a result Guerrero began driving the No. 33 Café de Colombia Theodore N183-Ford Cosworth DFV. Guerrero only failed to qualify at the Monaco Grand Prix and became more consistent in finishing races. Despite this Guerrero's best finishes were a pair of 12th-place finishes at the Dutch Grand Prix and the European Grand Prix. At the end of the season Guerrero again failed to score points and was as a result unranked in the championship while rookie teammate Johnny Cecotto
managed to get a 6th-place finish and with it 1 point towards the championship for himself and Theodore (although Cecotto failed to qualify four times to Guerrero's single time).

Indy car racing

CART Indycar World Series

.
.

Guerrero made his Indy car debut in

. Guerrero finished out the season 11th in points with 52 points, only one point out of the top ten. Guerrero won the series' rookie of the year award.

In

(due to Guerrero crashing). Guerrero finished the season 17th in points with 34 points.

Guerrero returned with Team Cotter in

Miami Indy Challenge 200 at Tamiami Park. In the latter Guerrero qualified on pole position and led every lap, except the final lap due to running out of fuel and handing the win to Al Unser Jr.
Guerrero finished the season 9th in points with 87 points.

In

Lyle Kurtenbach. On lap 177 Andretti started to have electrical troubles and Guerrero took the lead. On lap 182 Guerrero came in for his final pit stop and as he exited his pit stall the engine stalled. Third gear had been damaged earlier in the race by the Bettenhausen incident and the car began to get moving, only to stop just outside the pit lane. This caused Al Unser Sr.
to take the lead and get a lap on Guerrero. Guerrero finally got going and unlapped himself on lap 191 and there was a caution on lap 192 for Andretti stopping on the track. On lap 196 the restart came out with six cars between Unser and Guerrero. Guerrero was unable to get by Unser and ended up finishing 2nd to one of the year-old March 86Cs to be pressed into race service.

Near-fatal crash and recovery

After his near-win in Indianapolis, subsequently, Guerrero scored four pole positions at the

Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mays at the Milwaukee Mile, the Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 presented by Texaco at Portland International Raceway, Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland at Burke Lakefront Airport, and the Escort Radar Warning 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In the latter Guerrero scored his second (and unbeknownst at the time, last) IndyCar victory. Just days after his Mid-Ohio victory, Guerrero was testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when he crashed and was hit by a tire off of his car. Guerrero was in a coma
for seventeen days and did not compete in any more races in 1987. Guerrero finished a career-best 4th in points with 106 points, despite missing the final three races of the season.

Guerrero's recovery from his near-fatal accident was documented by IndyCar Medical Director, Dr. Steve Olvey, who said in his biography, Rapid Response: My Inside-Story as a Motor-Racing Life-Saver, that he saved Guerrero's life by lowering the pressure in his brain with injections of medicines that were brand-new to the medical field and were not widely practiced yet. Somehow, his treatment worked and Guerrero's recovery, which only took less than 3 months, led to him studying traumatic brain injuries as his primary focus of study.

Later career

In

Quaker State 500 at Pocono International Raceway in the Lola and the Bosch Spark Plugs Grand Prix at Nazareth Speedway
in the March. After starting 10th at Long Beach Guerrero's best start was at Nazareth, where he started 11th. At the end of the season Guerrero finished 12th in points with 40 points, despite skipping two races.

Following the 1988 season Guerrero and Granatelli split for

Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix on the Streets of Detroit. In the race Guerrero was able to finish 8th. The remainder of the season saw Guerrero score only one additional point due to a 12th-place finish at the Red Roof Inns 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
. Guerrero would finish 23rd in points with 6 points.

Prior to

. In the race Guerrero finished in 5th place. At the end of the season Guerrero finished 16th in the points with 24 points.

In

, qualifying and finishing in 18th place. Guerrero scored no points for the first time in his CART career and finished 37th in the championship.

For

1992 Guerrero drove in a pair of races for the part-time team King Racing, first driving the No. 26 Quaker State Lola T91/00-Buick V6 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the Streets of Long Beach, starting 14th and finishing 13th. At the Indianapolis 500 King updated Guerrero to a Lola T92/00-Buick V6 and the number was changed to 36 (Jim Crawford began to drive the No. 26 car). During qualifying Guerrero set a new four-lap track record of 232.482 mph and a new one-lap record of 232.618 mph on the third lap. Guerrero qualified on pole position and became the first part-time driver to qualify on the pole since Pancho Carter in 1985. In the race Guerrero spun out and crashed on the backstretch during the second parade lap and did not even get to start the race, being credited with 33rd (last) place. Guerrero joined Cliff Woodbury in 1929 and Carter in 1985 as drivers who started first in the Indianapolis 500 and finished last; they were later joined by Greg Ray in 2000 and Scott Sharp in 2001
. Guerrero finished 38th in the championship with 1 point.

In

King released Guerrero. Guerrero finished 14th in the championship with 39 points (he was 13th in the championship at the time of his release).

In

1994 Guerrero could only get a car to drive at the Indianapolis 500 with Pagan Racing (the same team who owned the car that Jeff Andretti crashed into Guerrero the previous year) in their No. 21 Interstate Batteries Lola T92/00-Buick V6. The chassis was the same chassis that Guerrero drove in 1992
. Guerrero qualified 20th and finished 33rd (last) due to a crash after 20 laps. He scored no points and tied for 54th in the championship.

In

Phoenix International Raceway, starting 25th and finishing 16th. The team then competed in the Indianapolis 500
, where Guerrero qualified in a respectable 13th place and finished in 12th place. Guerrero finished the season 33rd in the championship with 1 point.

Indy Racing League

In

Reynard 95i and Guerrero qualified 6th and led for a race-high 47 laps and battled for the win with Tony Stewart, Arie Luyendyk, Davy Jones, Alessandro Zampedri and eventual winner Buddy Lazier. On Guerrero's final pit stop on lap 167 he and Lazier came into the pits. While in the pits the nozzle was connected awkwardly and fuel began to spill out. The car then began to catch fire and Guerrero began to climb out of the car when it was determined to be okay to continue racing. Guerrero fell out of contention and went a lap down. On the final lap of the race, as Lazier and Jones crossed the finish line, Guerrero lost control of his car in turn 4 and took out 4th place Zampedri (who was on the lead lap) and 6th place Eliseo Salazar
(who was two laps down) and caused Zampedri to get airborne and flip. Guerrero came to a rest inside the pit lane, just past the entrance. Guerrero finished 4th in the championship with 237 points.

During the 1996 portion of the

Las Vegas 500K
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Guerrero suffered a major accident on lap 201 on the backstretch. Guerrero flipped coming off of turn 2 and flipped into the grass area next to the racetrack. He climbed out of his destroyed car just moments after the accident finished. Guerrero finished the season ranked 7th in points with 221 points.

In

. Guerrero finished 26th in the championship with 83 points.

In

Transworld Diversified Services 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway. The team closed down following the Indianapolis 500
where Guerrero started and finished 25th. After Indianapolis Guerrero was ranked 17th in points. He eventually finished 30th in the championship with 36 points.

For

Harrah's Dallara IR00-Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8. Guerrero was unable to qualify for the race, making it the first time since 1989 that he failed to start the Indianapolis 500. Guerrero later competed in the Belterra Resort Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway for Team Coulson in the No. 40 Team Coulson G-Force GF01
-Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8. In the race Guerrero started 25th and finished 23rd after retiring after 48 laps due to engine troubles in what would be his final Indy car race. Guerrero finished the season 44th in the championship with 7 points.

In

Yellow Transportation Dallara IR01-Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8 after Stéphan Grégoire left the team. Guerrero eventually managed to qualify the car. On the final day of qualifying Grégoire began driving for Heritage Motorsports
and bumped Guerrero from the field and Guerrero failed to qualify for the second consecutive year.

Guerrero was reported to be searching for a car to drive in the 2002 Indianapolis 500, although nothing materialized. He eventually retired from racing by 2003.[2]

Stock car racing

International Race of Champions

In 1988 Guerrero was among the drivers chosen to compete in

1987. Guerrero drove an identical Chevrolet Camaro, like all other participants. He missed the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway due to his injuries received the previous year at an Indianapolis Motor Speedway test. Guerrero qualified on the pole position for the second and third races of the season at Riverside International Raceway and Michigan International Speedway. At Riverside Guerrero crashed after 10 laps and finished in 11th place and at Michigan he finished 10th after leading for 4 laps. At the season-ending race at Watkins Glen International
Guerrero started 12th and finished 11th, 10 laps down. At the end of the season Guerrero finished 12th (last) in the championship with 19 points, earning $30,400 for his efforts during the season.

NASCAR

Guerrero attempted to compete in the

but again failed to qualify for the race.

Announcing

Guerrero served as a TV live race commentator for

SpeedTV and FOX 3 Latin America broadcasts of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series from 2009 to 2013.[3]

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts
1981 Maurer Motorsport Maurer MM81 BMW SIL
Ret
HOC
10
THR
1
NÜR
Ret
VAL

Ret
MUG
6
PAU
Ret
PER
4
SPA
Ret
DON
Ret
MIS

4
MAN
Ret
7th 16

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Points
1982
Ensign Racing
N180B
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA
WD
NC 0
N181
BRA
DNQ
USW
Ret
SMR BEL
DNQ
MON
DNQ
DET
Ret
CAN
Ret
NED
DNQ
GBR
Ret
FRA
DNQ
GER
8
AUT
Ret
SUI
Ret
ITA
NC
CPL
DNS
1983
Theodore Racing Team Theodore N183 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 BRA
NC
USW
Ret
FRA
Ret
SMR
Ret
MON
DNPQ
BEL
Ret
DET
NC
CAN
Ret
GBR
16
GER
Ret
AUT
Ret
NED
12
ITA
13
EUR
12
RSA NC 0

American Open Wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year 1 2 Rank Points
1983–84 DUQ
INDY
2
2nd 800

CART Indycar World Series

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points
1984 Bignotti-Cotter Racing March 84C
DFX
LBH
26
PHX1
24
INDY
2
MIL
21
POR
19
MEA
25
CLE
5
MIS1
5
ROA
11
POC
31
MDO
15
SAN
25
MIS2
23
PHX2
24
LS
7
LVG
6
11th 52
1985 Team Cotter March 85C
DFX
LBH
26
INDY
3
MIL
6
POR
15
MEA
DNS
CLE
19
MIS1
13
ROA
19
POC
18
MDO
18
SAN
23
MIS2
24
LS
4
PHX
21
MIA
28
    17th 34
1986 Team Cotter March 86C
DFX
PHX1
8
LBH
DNS
INDY
4
MIL
18
POR
13
MEA
4
CLE
17
TOR
20
MIS1
24
POC
21
MDO
2
SAN
17
MIS2
22
ROA
4
LS
5
PHX
12
MIA
2
9th 87
1987 Vince Granatelli Racing March 87C
DFX
LBH
12
PHX
1
INDY
2
MIL
16
POR
19
MEA
19
CLE
5
TOR
4
MIS
14
POC
3
ROA
7
MDO
1
NAZ
Inj
LS
Inj
MIA
Inj
    4th 106
1988 Vince Granatelli Racing
Lola T88/00
DFX
PHX
2
LBH
19
INDY
32
MIL
DNS
CLE
20
TOR MEA MIS
20
POC
3
MDO
11
MIA
26
12th 40
March 87C POR
14
ROA
22
NAZ
6
LS
14
1989 Alex Morales Motorsports March 89CE Alfa Romeo Indy V8 PHX LBH INDY MIL DET
8
POR
23
CLE
13
MEA
22
TOR
28
MIS
22
POC
16
MDO
12
ROA
21
LS
25
23rd 6
March 88C NAZ
20
1990 Patrick Racing March 90CA Alfa Romeo Indy V8 PHX
16
LBH
14
INDY
23
MIL
18
DET
21
POR
8
CLE
19
MEA
15
TOR 16th 24
Lola T90/00
MIS
5
DEN
17
VAN
24
MDO
26
ROA
8
NAZ
9
LS
18
1991 Patrick Racing
Lola T91/00
Alfa Romeo Indy V8 SRF LBH PHX INDY
30
MIL 38th 0
King Racing
(t/c)
DET
15
POR CLE MEA DEN
19
VAN MDO ROA NAZ LS
18
Euromotorsport
DFS
TOR
18
MIS
1992 King Racing
Lola T91/00
(t/c)
SRF
PHX LBH
13
38th 1
Lola T92/00
INDY
33
DET POR MIL NHA TOR MIS CLE ROA VAN MDO NAZ LS
1993 King Racing
Lola T93/00
SRF
19
PHX
15
LBH
5
INDY
28
MIL
7
DET
26
POR
24
CLE
29
TOR
10
MIS
7
NHA
4
ROA
23
VAN
11
MDO NAZ LS 14th 39
1994 Pagan Racing
Lola T92/00
(t/c)
SRF PHX LBH INDY
33
MIL DET POR CLE TOR MIS MDO NHA VAN ROA NAZ LS 54th 0
1995 Pagan Racing Reynard 94i
MIA
SRF PHX
16
LBH NAZ INDY
12
MIL DET POR ROA TOR CLE MIS MDO NHA VAN LS 33rd 1

Indy Racing League

Year Team Chassis No. Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rank Points Ref
1996
Pagan Racing Reynard 94i 21 Ford Cosworth XB WDW
5
PHX
16
4th 237 [4]
Reynard 95i INDY
5
1996–97
NHM
6
7th 221 [5]
Reynard 94i LVS
4
Dallara IR7 Nissan Infiniti Q45 WDW
17
PHX
7
INDY
27
TXS
13
Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8 PPIR
18
CLT
17
NH2
6
LV2
14
1998
Dallara IR8 WDW
26
PHX
27
INDY
22
TXS
24
NHM DOV CLT 26th 83 [6]
CBR Cobb Racing G-Force GF01 23 Nissan Infiniti Q45 PPIR
21
ATL
19
TX2
4
LVS
20
1999
Cobb Racing 50 WDW
13
PHX
16
CLT INDY
25
TXS
DNP
PPIR ATL DOV PPI2 LVS TX2 30th 36 [7]
2000
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Dallara IR00 41 Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8 WDW PHX LVS INDY
DNQ
TXS PPIR ATL 44th 7 [8]
Team Coulson Racing G-Force GF01 40 KTY
23
TX2
2001
Dick Simon Racing Dallara IR01 07 PHX HMS ATL INDY
DNQ
TXS PPIR RIR KAN NSH KTY STL CHI TX2 NC - [9]

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1984 March 84C
DFX
7 2 Bignotti-Cotter Racing
1985 March 85C
DFX
16 3 Team Cotter
1986 March 86C
DFX
8 4 Team Cotter
1987 March 87C
DFX
5 2 Vince Granatelli Racing
1988 Lola T88/00
DFX
12 32 Vince Granatelli Racing
1990 March 90CA Alfa Romeo Indy V8 28 23 Patrick Racing
1991 Lola T91/00 Alfa Romeo Indy V8 28 30 Patrick Racing
1992 Lola T92/00
(t/c)
1 33 King Racing
1993 Lola T93/00 10 28 King Racing
1994 Lola T92/00
(t/c)
30 33 Pagan Racing
1995 Reynard 94I 13 12 Pagan Racing
1996 Reynard 95i Ford Cosworth XB 6 5 Pagan Racing
1997 Dallara IR7 Nissan Infiniti Q45 19 27 Pagan Racing
1998 Dallara IR8 Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8 9 22 Pagan Racing
1999 G-Force GF01 Nissan Infiniti Q45 25 25 Cobb Racing
2000 Dallara IR00 Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8 DNQ
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2001 Dallara IR01 Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8 DNQ Dick Simon Racing

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series
results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 NBSC Pts Ref
2000 Hispanic Racing Team 72 Chevy
DAY
CAR
LVS
ATL
DAR
BRI
TEX
NSV
TAL
CAL
RCH
NHA
CLT

DNQ
DOV
SBO MYB
GLN
MLW
NZH
PPR
GTY
IRP
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
CLT
CAR
MEM
PHO
HOM
NA - [10]
2002 Hispanic Racing Team 09 Chevy
DAY
CAR
LVS
DAR
BRI
TEX
NSH
TAL
CAL
RCH
NHA
NZH
CLT
DOV
NSH
KEN
MLW
DAY
CHI
GTY
PPR
IRP
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
KAN
CLT
MEM
ATL

DNQ
CAR
PHO
HOM
NA - [11]

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold - Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Year Make 1 2 3 4 Pos. Points Ref
1988 Chevy DAY RSD
11
MCH
10
GLN
11
12th 19 [12]

References

  1. ^ "Roberto Guerrero - Biography". Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "Roberto Guerrero - Biography". Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "Where Are They Now? - Roberto Guerrero - Indianapolis Motor Speedway". Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
  4. ^ "Roberto Guerrero – 1996 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "Roberto Guerrero – 1997 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "Roberto Guerrero – 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  7. ^ "Roberto Guerrero – 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  8. ^ "Roberto Guerrero – 2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "Roberto Guerrero – 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "Roberto Guerrero – 2000 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Robert Guerrero – 2002 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Roberto Guerrero – 1988 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 21 July 2020.

External links