Roberto Guerrero

Roberto Guerrero

Nation:	Colombia
Formula 1 world championship
First start:	US Grand Prix West 1982
Last start:	1983 European Grand Prix
Constructors
1982 Ensign  • 1983 Theodore
statistics
World Cup balance:	no World Cup placement
Starts Victories Poles SR 21st - - -
World Cup points :	-
Podiums :	-
Leadership laps :	-

Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born November 16, 1958 in Medellín ) is a former Colombian automobile racing driver .

As for some other pilots in international motorsport, this also applies to Roberto Guerrero - often in the wrong place at the wrong time . The Colombian was said to have great talent, which was only partially reflected in his successes.

formula 1

Guerrero, who finished second overall in the British Formula 3 championship with the defeated Argo in 1980 and won the Formula 2 race in Thruxton for Maurer Motorsport in 1981, entered Formula 1 in 1982 . Mo Nunn , the owner of the Ensign Formula 1 team, was always on the lookout for young drivers as he could not raise the salaries demanded by the top drivers. Guerrero made his debut at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Long Beach. The Ensign N181 was a cumbersome and slow racing car, but Guerrero performed well. He drove clean and fast. The accidents in which he was involved usually resulted from the poor starting positions and the heavy traffic, especially at the beginning of the races. The N181 was also prone to breakdowns, so eighth place in the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring remained the best place during the entire season.

In 1983 , Guerrero was forced to join Theodore , as Ensign merged with the team from Hong Kong Chinese Teddy Yip . The merger was more of a takeover, because the “new team” started the season with Ensign technology. The racing car was called Theodore N183 and was even inferior to the Ensign from the previous year. Guerrero's teammate was another South American, former motorcycle world champion Johnny Cecotto . As in the previous year, Guerrero showed good driving performance and total commitment. More than two twelfth places and a 13th place could not be achieved with all the effort. He left Formula 1 at the end of the season and went to the USA.

Champ Car

In 1984 Guerrero switched to the American Champ Car series with Mo Nunn and became a pilot of the new Bignotti-Cotter team . Almost overnight, the Colombian became a star pilot there. When he first started at the Indianapolis 500 , he had a chance of winning as a rookie until just before the end of the race . In the end he only had to admit defeat to Rick Mears and finished second.

After finishing third in 1985 , Guerreo drove the race of his career in Indianapolis in 1987 . He dominated the event from the start. After each pit stop phase he pulled away from the field and already looked like the sure winner when a clutch problem threw him back at the last stop. Driving record laps he caught up with Al Unser just before the end of the race, but was unable to overtake him and was only second again.

In 1987 Guerrero still won the races in Mid-Ohio and Phoenix before a serious accident while testing in Indianapolis nearly cost him his life. He was in a coma for 17 days and had a long recovery period afterwards . Although he returned to the US racetracks completely recovered, his career took a slight turn.

When Alfa Romeo began its Indianapolis program, Guerrero became a works driver for Kenny Bernstein's team . In 1992 he took pole position in Indianapolis , but had an accident on the warm-up lap caused by cold tires and had to watch the race from the pit wall. When the contract with Bernstein expired at the end of 1993, he was no longer given an annual contract with any other team. In 1994 he therefore had to start with a two-year-old Lola in Indy. This time he only got the 33rd and last starting place. In the race he was again the first driver to retire when he collided with a wall in the lane just after the start of the race.

Indy Racing League

When the Indy Racing League was formed in 1996 , Guerrero was one of the few champ car drivers who switched to the new racing series. He was hoping for a one-year contract, as the doors in the Champ Car were now locked to him. Until 2000 he drove regularly for different teams before his career slowly ended. In 1996 he achieved another top result in Indianapolis with fifth place. A victory in this popular race was denied him.

In 1989 Roberto Guerrero got the unlimited residence permit in the USA. He now lives in Orange County , California with his wife and three children .

literature

• Steve Small: Grand Prix Who's Who, 3rd Edition . Travel Publishing, London 2000, ISBN 1-902007-46-8 .

Web links

Commons : Roberto Guerrero  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Image: Roberto Guerrero