Maurício Gugelmin

Maurício Gugelmin
Gugelmin at the 1991 United States Grand Prix
Born	(1963-04-20) 20 April 1963 (age 61) Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Spouse	Stella Maris
Children	3
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Brazilian
Active years	1988–1992
Teams	March, Leyton House, Jordan
Entries	80 (74 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	10
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1988 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry	1992 Australian Grand Prix
Champ Car career
147 races run over 8 years
Years active	1993–2001
Team(s)	Dick Simon, CGR, PacWest
Best finish	4th (1997)
First race	1993 Pioneer Electronics 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Last race	2001 Marlboro 500 (Fontana)
First win	1997 Molson Indy Vancouver (Vancouver)
Wins Podiums Poles 1 8 2

Maurício Gugelmin (born 20 April 1963) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from 1988 to 1992.

Born and raised in Joinville, Gugelmin began competitive kart racing aged seven, winning several regional and national titles. He progressed to Formula Ford in 1982, dominating the British and European championships. Gugelmin then won the 1985 British Formula Three Championship, further winning the Macau Grand Prix to emulate Ayrton Senna two years prior. Gugelmin signed for March in 1988, making his Formula One debut at his home Grand Prix in Brazil. In his rookie season, he scored points finishes at the British and Hungarian Grands Prix, driving the Adrian Newey-designed 881. Retaining his seat for 1989, Gugelmin achieved his only career podium finish at the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix. After two further seasons at the re-branded Leyton House—including a non-classified championship finish in 1991—Gugelmin moved to Jordan for his 1992 campaign, but was unable to score points again and departed at the end of the season.

After exiting Formula One, Gugelmin competed in CART IndyCar from 1993 to 2001. Across 147 races, Gugelmin achieved eight podiums, including one victory at the Molson Indy Vancouver in 1997, finishing a career-best fourth in the standings that year. His best result at the Indianapolis 500 came in 1995, where he finished sixth after leading 59 laps. For a period, he held the world speed record for a closed race track, set at California Speedway in 1997 at a speed of 240.942 mph (387.759 km/h). Gugelmin retired from motor racing at the end of 2001 following the death of his son.

Gugelmin was born to a wealthy family in Joinville, Brazil on 20 April 1963.^[1] His father is a timber merchant and a collector of antique cars.^[2] Gugelmin is married to Stella Maris,^[2] and they have two sons, Bernardo and Gabriel. Their third son, Giuliano, who was Bernardo's twin, died from cerebral palsy in April 2001 at the age of six.^[3]

Gugelmin started racing go-karts as a child in Brazil in 1971, winning his local championship nine years in a row from 1971 to 1979. He progressed to the Brazilian national championship in 1980, which he also won. He progressed to single-seater racing cars in 1981, when he won the Brazilian Formula Fiat Championship.^[1]

In 1982 Gugelmin, like many Brazilian drivers of his generation, moved to the United Kingdom to further his racing career. He was a longtime friend of future Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna, who was already racing in the country, and the two shared a house from 1982 to 1987.^[4] Senna, having previously been a Formula Ford driver with the Van Diemen team, used his influence within the organisation to secure Gugelmin a race seat with them for 1982.^[4] By the end of the year, Gugelmin was the British Formula Ford 1600 cc champion with 13 race wins and 90 points scored.^[2][5] He followed this up by finishing as runner-up in the British Formula Ford 2000 cc series the following year. He moved to the European Formula Ford series in 1984, and won the title at his first attempt.^[6] A progression to Formula Three followed in 1985 with West Surrey Racing, winning the British championship and the season-ending Macau Grand Prix.^[7] Gugelmin subsequently spent two years in International Formula 3000 (F3000), the final step before Formula One, competing with sponsorship backing for the 1986 season.^[2] He took one victory in F3000, at Silverstone in 1987 while driving for the Ralt factory team.^[6]

Gugelmin entered Formula One, the highest category of circuit racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body, with the March team in the 1988 season, as team-mate to Ivan Capelli. He had previously been in contention for a drive with Lotus in the 1986 championship at the request of his friend Ayrton Senna, however the British team could not promote two Brazilian drivers and he was overlooked in favour of Johnny Dumfries.^[1] Gugelmin began the season with five retirements from the first six races due to mechanical failure, but soon afterwards he took his first points scoring finish with fourth place at the British Grand Prix. Gugelmin scored points in one other race with a fifth-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He finished the season as the highest-scoring newcomer in the Formula One World Championship, ending the year in 13th position overall.^[8]

The 1989 championship was barren for the March team, and Gugelmin took their only points scoring finish of the year at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He finished in third position; an excellent result given that March were financially troubled.^[9] At the French Grand Prix, Gugelmin was involved in a large accident at the start of the race which resulted in a spectacular barrel roll. A photograph of the accident was later selected for a London Exhibition as one of Formula One's most striking photographs.^[10] The race was stopped as a result; Gugelmin took the restart from the pit lane and set the race's fastest lap, the only one of his F1 career.^[6]

In 1990 the March team was sold, and became known as Leyton House. Gugelmin was once again partnered by Capelli, but the team's CG901 chassis proved troublesome,^[11] and between them they failed to qualify six times during the season, including at the Mexican Grand Prix. However, at the next race, the French Grand Prix, modifications had been made to the car,^[11] which improved the performance. Running the whole race without changing their tyres, Capelli and Gugelmin ran first and second during the race.^[12] Gugelmin retired from fourth position mid-race with engine problems but he went on to score a single point for finishing in sixth place in the Belgian Grand Prix later in the season.^[6][8]

The 1991 championship saw internal turmoil at the team with several key staff leaving.^[13] The car lacked pace and both Gugelmin and Capelli struggled; the team scored just one point all season. Gugelmin's best result amounted to three seventh-place finishes, although he retired from eight of the season's sixteen races. In September, the team's principal, Akira Akagi, was arrested on suspicion of fraud.^[13] Money was tight,^[13] and Gugelmin made the decision to leave the team at the end of the year. A switch to the Jordan team for the 1992 season did not improve Gugelmin's fortunes. The team struggled with financial difficulties^[14] and scored only one point all year. The team's Yamaha engine was underpowered,^[12] and the car was unreliable. Gugelmin failed to finish eleven out of the sixteen races, and scored no points.^[8]

Gugelmin signed with Dick Simon Racing to take part in the North American Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) racing series for the last three races of 1993.^[2] Although races at Mid Ohio and Nazareth resulted in non-finishes, Gugelmin finished 13th at Laguna Seca although this was not high enough to receive any points. Despite this, Gugelmin demonstrated promise.^[7] In the 1994 season, Gugelmin signed with Chip Ganassi Racing to partner Michael Andretti who returned to the series after a season in Formula One. Andretti was more successful than Gugelmin, and took two wins, including Reynard's first win in Champ Car at Surfers Paradise. Gugelmin was hindered by a lack of cooperation between his and Andretti's crews,^[7] and his first full-time year in the Champ Car World Series resulted in seven points finishes and 16th in the points standings.^[15]

The 1995 season commenced with Gugelmin finishing in second place to Jacques Villeneuve in the first round of the year at Miami.^[16] He went on to finish in sixth position at the Indianapolis 500 after leading the most laps of any driver.^[17] Eight additional points finishes, including a third place at the final round at Laguna Seca, meant he finished tenth in the final drivers' points standings,^[15] nine positions ahead of his experienced teammate and former series champion Danny Sullivan.^[18]

For the 1996 championship, Gugelmin was partnered at PacWest by the British driver Mark Blundell. He established a reputation for being quick at superspeedway tracks after taking a second and a third place at the two events at Michigan International Speedway.^[19] On top of this he took four other points finishes, finishing the season in 14th place.^[20] For the 1997 season, Gugelmin had lost 40 lb (18 kg) under a fitness programme,^[2] and the PacWest team switched to using Firestone tyres and Mercedes-Benz engines.^[21] The package was competitive throughout the year and Gugelmin and Blundell finished fourth and sixth in the championship respectively.^[22] Gugelmin's notable races of the year include the Detroit Indy Grand Prix, where Gugelmin was leading the race on the last lap when he ran out of fuel, and the Molson Indy Vancouver, where Gugelmin won his first Champ Car race. One of the most popular men in the championship, virtually the entire pit-lane was full of happiness for him.^[23] In qualifying for the final race of the season at the California Speedway, Gugelmin set a world record for the fastest ever lap of a closed race track at 240.942 mph (387.759 km/h).^[24] This record stood until 2000 when Gil de Ferran surpassed it with a lap of 241.428 mph (388.541 km/h), also at California Speedway.^[25] Gugelmin went on to finish the race in fourth place.^[26]

The 1998 championship proved not to be as successful. Setbacks plagued the team and they struggled to get to grips with the new chassis.^[27] Gugelmin showed determination,^[27] and scored nine points-scoring finishes. A highlight was Gugelmin leading 40 laps during the final event at California Speedway, en route to finishing in fifth place. Gugelmin was unable to reproduce his race-winning form, and finished no higher than 15th position in the final points standings over the next three years.^[2] In the 2000 season, Gugelmin was named as the chairman of the Championship Drivers Association, the organisation set up to represent the interests of the drivers in the CART series.^[28] That year, his best finish was a second place at Nazareth Speedway and was 17th in the points standings.^[2]

The 2001 season saw PacWest switch engine manufacturers from Mercedes to Toyota and Gugelmin would be partnered by Indy Lights champion Scott Dixon.^[2] During the practice session for the race at Texas Motor Speedway, Gugelmin crashed after he lost control in the second turn and hit the wall with the acceleration peaked at 66.2 g, before a second impact with the wall where acceleration peaked at 113.1 g.^[29] The event was eventually cancelled after drivers complained of dizziness, nausea and blurred vision, which were caused by the high g-forces experienced when driving at speed on the track.^[30] During the week before the race at Nazareth Speedway, Gugelmin's son, Giuliano, died from respiratory complications. Giuliano was quadriplegic and a lifelong sufferer from cerebral palsy owing to complications at birth.^[3] As a result, he did not take part in the race after PacWest Racing withdrew his entry as a mark of respect.^[31] He qualified on pole position for the Grand Prix of Cleveland later in the season.^[32] At the end of 2001, Gugelmin decided to retire from the sport, stating "I definitely want to spend more time with my family. After those two big accidents, and Alex [Zanardi]'s deal in Germany, I said, 'That's it. Forget it.' "^[33]

In 2003 Gugelmin was announced as a competitor by the organizers of the new Renault Megane Super Cup in his native Brazil. However, the series did not launch and since then Gugelmin has made no competitive appearances in motorsport.^[34] Following his retirement, Gugelmin put his Florida mansion in Coral Gables up for sale for $17 million, and moved back to live in Brazil full-time.^[35] He runs the family business along with his brother, Alceu, and has also done consultancy work for Mercedes-Benz subsidiary AMG.^[1] Both his surviving sons compete in go-kart events.^[36]

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1982	Formula Ford 1600	Van Diemen	22	13	8	8	16	?	1st
1983	Formula Ford 2000	Van Diemen	23	6	6	6	12	?	2nd
1984	Formula Ford 2000 Europe	Rushen Green	24	3	6	6	12	128	1st
1985	British Formula Three	West Surrey Racing	18	3	5	9	12	84	1st
	Macau Grand Prix	West Surrey Racing w/ Theodore Racing	1	1	1	0	1	N/A	1st
1986	International Formula 3000	West Surrey Racing	9	0	0	0	0	4	13th
1987	International Formula 3000	Team Ralt	11	1	2	0	5	29	4th
1988	Formula One	Leyton House March Racing Team	16	0	0	0	0	5	13th
1989	Formula One	Leyton House Racing	15	0	0	1	1	4	16th
1990	Formula One	Leyton House	11	0	0	0	0	1	18th
1991	Formula One	Leyton House	16	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1992	Formula One	Sasol Jordan Yamaha	16	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1993	PPG Indy Car World Series	Dick Simon Racing	3	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1994	PPG Indy Car World Series	Chip Ganassi Racing	16	0	0	0	0	39	16th
1995	PPG Indy Car World Series	PacWest Racing	17	0	0	0	2	80	10th
1996	PPG Indy Car World Series	PacWest Racing	16	0	0	0	2	53	14th
1997	CART PPG World Series	PacWest Racing	17	1	3	0	3	132	4th
1998	CART FedEx Championship Series	PacWest Racing	19	0	0	0	0	49	15th
1999	CART FedEx Championship Series	PacWest Racing	20	0	0	0	0	44	16th
2000	CART FedEx Championship Series	PacWest Racing	20	0	0	0	1	39	17th
2001	CART FedEx Championship Series	PacWest Racing	19	0	1	0	0	17	24th
Source:[6]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position.)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos.	Pts
1985	West Surrey Racing	SIL 3	THU 3	SIL 3	THU 4	DON 2	ZOL 4	THU 7	THU Ret	SIL 1	BRH 3	SIL 3	DON 3	SNE 2	OUL 2	SIL 5	SPA 7	ZAN 1	SIL 1	1st	84
Source:[37][6]

Year	Team	Chassis/Engine	Qualifying	Race1	Race2	Overall ranking	Ref
1985	West Surrey Racing w/ Theodore Racing	Ralt・Toyota	1st	1	1	1st	[38]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position.)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos.	Pts
1986	West Surrey Racing	March 86B	Cosworth V8	SIL 14	VAL 4	PAU DNS	SPA 7	IMO Ret	MUG DNQ	PER Ret	ÖST 8	BIR 14	BUG 9	JAR 6	13th	4
1987	Team Ralt	Ralt RT21	Honda V8	SIL 1	VAL 3	SPA Ret	PAU Ret	DON Ret	PER Ret	BRH 2	BIR 3	IMO 7	BUG 10	JAR 2	4th	29
Source:[39][6]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number indicates finishing position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Pts
1988	Leyton House March Racing Team	March 881	Judd CV 3.5 V8	BRA Ret	SMR 15	MON Ret	MEX Ret	CAN Ret	DET Ret	FRA 8	GBR 4	GER 8	HUN 5	BEL Ret	ITA 8	POR Ret	ESP 7	JPN 10	AUS Ret	13th	5
1989	Leyton House Racing	March 881	Judd CV 3.5 V8	BRA 3	SMR Ret															16th	4
		March CG891	Judd EV 3.5 V8			MON Ret	MEX DNQ	USA DSQ	CAN Ret	FRA NC	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 7	ITA Ret	POR 10	ESP Ret	JPN 7	AUS 7
1990	Leyton House	Leyton House CG901	Judd EV 3.5 V8	USA 14	BRA DNQ	SMR Ret	MON DNQ	CAN DNQ	MEX DNQ	FRA Ret	GBR DNS	GER Ret	HUN 8	BEL 6	ITA Ret	POR 12	ESP 8	JPN Ret	AUS Ret	18th	1
1991	Leyton House	Leyton House CG911	Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10	USA Ret	BRA Ret	SMR 12	MON Ret	CAN Ret	MEX Ret	FRA 7	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN 11	BEL Ret	ITA 15	POR 7	ESP 7	JPN 8	AUS 14	NC	0
1992	Sasol Jordan Yamaha	Jordan 192	Yamaha OX99 3.5 V12	RSA 11	MEX Ret	BRA Ret	ESP Ret	SMR 7	MON Ret	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 15	HUN 10	BEL 14	ITA Ret	POR Ret	JPN Ret	AUS Ret	NC	0
Source:[8]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; small number denotes finishing position)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Rank	Points	Ref
1993	Dick Simon Racing	Lola T93/00	Ford XB V8t	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MIC	NHM	ROA	VAN	MID 21	NZR 24	LAG 13						-	0	[40]
1994	Chip Ganassi Racing	Reynard 94I	Ford XB V8t	SRF 6	PHX 15	LBH 7	INDY 11	MIL 15	DET 8	POR 30	CLE 8	TOR 20	MIC 15	MID 25	NHS 14	VAN 5	ROA 19	NZR 10	LAG 22						16th	39	[41]
1995	PacWest Racing	Reynard 95I	Ford XB V8t	MIA 2	SRF 4	PHX 13	LBH 5	NZR 17	INDY 6	MIL 14	DET 15	POR 7	ROA 24	TOR 12	CLE 23	MIC 11	MID 6	NHS 11	VAN 20	LAG 3					10th	80	[42]
1996	PacWest Racing	Reynard 96I	Ford XB V8t	MIA 26	RIO 25	SRF 4	LBH 15	NZR 15	MIC 2	MIL 15	DET 16	POR 16	CLE 21	TOR 12	MIC 3	ROA 26	MID 21	VAN 24	LAG 5						14th	53	[43]
1997	PacWest Racing	Reynard 97I	Mercedes-Benz IC108D V8t	MIA 6	SRF 17	LBH 2	NZR 9	RIO 22	GAT 6	MIL 5	DET 16	POR 6	CLE 15	TOR 6	MIC 6	MID 7	ROA 2	VAN 1	LAG 9	FON 4					4th	132	[44]
1998	PacWest Racing	Reynard 97I	Mercedes-Benz IC108D V8t	MIA 10	MOT 20	LBH 10																			15th	49	[45]
		Reynard 98I	Mercedes-Benz IC108E V8t				NZR 17	RIO 9	GAT 16	MIL 21	DET 19	POR 7	CLE 20	TOR 12	MIC 13	MID 4	ROA 19	VAN 6	LAG 27	HOU 18	SRF 12	FON 5
1999	PacWest Racing	Reynard 99I	Mercedes-Benz IC108E V8t	MIA 11	MOT 7	LBH 14	NZR 18	RIO 22	GAT 18	MIL 8	POR 25	CLE 21	ROA 12	TOR 14	MIC 22	DET 24	MID 20	CHI 19	VAN 4	LAG 11	HOU 6	SRF 26	FON 6		16th	44	[46]
2000	PacWest Racing	Reynard 2KI	Mercedes-Benz IC108F V8t	MIA 16	LBH 10	RIO 21	MOT 22	NZR 2	MIL 11	DET 16	POR 19	CLE 10	TOR 15	MIC 13	CHI 7	MID 20	ROA 17	VAN 21	LAG 7	GAT 19	HOU 23	SRF 10	FON 17		17th	39	[47]
2001	PacWest Racing	Reynard 01I	Toyota RV8F V8t	MON 15	LBH 22	TEX C	NZR DNP	MOT 12	MIL 10	DET 10	POR 20	CLE 10	TOR 7	MIC 15	CHI 22	MID 14	ROA 23	VAN 15	LAU 16	ROC 20	HOU 20	LAG 16	SRF 24	FON 20	24th	17	[48]
Source:[15]

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1994	Reynard 94I	Ford XB V8t	28	11	Chip Ganassi Racing
1995	Reynard 95I	Ford XB V8t	6	6	PacWest Racing
Source:[15]

• Maurício Gugelmin's Official Website (Portuguese)