Maurício Gugelmin
Gugelmin at the1991 United States Grand Prix
Born	(1963-04-20)20 April 1963 (age 62) 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
Careerpoints	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	1993Pioneer Electronics 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Last race	2001Marlboro 500 (Fontana)
First win	1997Molson Indy Vancouver (Vancouver)
Wins Podiums Poles 1 8 2

Maurício Gugelmin (born 20 April 1963) is a Brazilian formerracing driver and businessman, who competed inFormula One from1988 to1992, andCART from1993 to2001.

Born and raised inJoinville, Gugelmin began competitivekart racing aged seven, winning several regional and national titles. He progressed toFormula Ford in 1982, dominating theBritish andEuropean championships. Gugelmin then won the1985 British Formula Three Championship, further winning theMacau Grand Prix to emulateAyrton Senna two years prior. Gugelmin signed forMarch in1988, making his Formula One debut athis home Grand Prix in Brazil. In his rookie season, he scored points finishes at theBritish andHungarian Grands Prix, driving theAdrian Newey-designed881. Retaining his seat for1989, Gugelmin achieved his only career podium finish at the season-openingBrazilian Grand Prix. After two further seasons at the re-brandedLeyton House—including anon-classified championship finish in1991—Gugelmin moved toJordan for his1992 campaign, but was unable to score points again and departed at the end of the season.

After exiting Formula One, Gugelmin competed inCART IndyCar from1993 to2001. Across 147 races, Gugelmin achieved eight podiums, including one victory at theMolson Indy Vancouver in1997, finishing a career-best fourth in the standings that year. His best result at theIndianapolis 500 came in1995, where he finished sixth after leading 59 laps. For a period, he held the world speed record for a closedrace track, set atCalifornia 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 inJoinville,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 fromcerebral palsy in April 2001 at the age of six.^[3]

Gugelmin started racinggo-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 tosingle-seater racing cars in 1981, when he won the BrazilianFormulaFiat 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 championAyrton Senna, who was already racing in the country, and the two shared a house from 1982 to 1987.^[4] Senna, having previously been aFormula Ford driver with theVan 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 toFormula Three followed in 1985 withWest Surrey Racing, winning theBritish championship and the season-endingMacau Grand Prix.^[7] Gugelmin subsequently spent two years inInternational Formula 3000 (F3000), the final step beforeFormula One, competing with sponsorship backing for the1986 season.^[2] He took one victory in F3000, atSilverstone in 1987 while driving for theRalt factory team.^[6]

Gugelmin entered Formula One, the highest category of circuit racing defined by theFédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body, with theMarch team in the1988 season, as team-mate toIvan Capelli. He had previously been in contention for a drive withLotus in the1986 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 ofJohnny 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 theBritish Grand Prix. Gugelmin scored points in one other race with a fifth-place finish at theHungarian 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]

The1989 championship was barren for the March team, and Gugelmin took their only points scoring finish of the year at theBrazilian Grand Prix. He finished in third position; an excellent result given that March were financially troubled.^[9] At theFrench Grand Prix, Gugelmin was involved in a large accident at the start of the race which resulted in a spectacularbarrel 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]

In1990 the March team was sold, and became known as Leyton House. Gugelmin was once again partnered by Capelli, but the team'sCG901 chassis proved troublesome,^[11] and between them they failed to qualify six times during the season, including at theMexican Grand Prix. However, at the next race, theFrench 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 theBelgian Grand Prix later in the season.^[6][8]

The1991 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 theJordan team for the1992 season did not improve Gugelmin's fortunes. The team struggled with financial difficulties^[14] and scored only one point all year. The team'sYamaha 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 withDick Simon Racing to take part in the North AmericanChampionship Auto Racing Teams (CART) racing series for the last three races of 1993.^[2] Although races atMid Ohio andNazareth resulted in non-finishes, Gugelmin finished 13th atLaguna Seca although this was not high enough to receive any points. Despite this, Gugelmin demonstrated promise.^[7] In the1994 season, Gugelmin signed withChip Ganassi Racing to partnerMichael Andretti who returned to the series after a season in Formula One. Andretti was more successful than Gugelmin, and took two wins, includingReynard's first win in Champ Car atSurfers 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]

The1995 season commenced with Gugelmin finishing in second place toJacques Villeneuve in the first round of the year atMiami.^[16] He went on to finish in sixth position at theIndianapolis 500 after leading the most laps of any driver.^[17] Eight additional points finishes, including a third place at the final round atLaguna Seca, meant he finished tenth in the final drivers' points standings,^[15] nine positions ahead of his experienced teammate and former series championDanny Sullivan.^[18]

For the1996 championship, Gugelmin was partnered at PacWest by the British driverMark Blundell. He established a reputation for being quick atsuperspeedway tracks after taking a second and a third place at the two events atMichigan International Speedway.^[19] On top of this he took four other points finishes, finishing the season in 14th place.^[20] For the1997 season, Gugelmin had lost 40 lb (18 kg) under a fitness programme,^[2] and the PacWest team switched to usingFirestone tyres andMercedes-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 theDetroit Indy Grand Prix, where Gugelmin was leading the race on the last lap when he ran out of fuel, and theMolson 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 theCalifornia Speedway, Gugelmin set aworld 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 whenGil 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]

The1998 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 the2000 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]

The2001 season saw PacWest switch engine manufacturers from Mercedes toToyota and Gugelmin would be partnered by Indy Lights championScott Dixon.^[2] During the practice session for the race atTexas 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 wasquadriplegic 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 theGrand 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, andAlex [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 inCoral 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 subsidiaryAMG.^[1] Both his surviving sons compete in go-kart events.^[36]

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position.)

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 inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position.)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap; small number indicates finishing position)

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

• Maurício Gugelmin's Official Website (Portuguese)

• Living people
• 1963 births
• Brazilian racing drivers
• Brazilian Formula One drivers
• March Formula One drivers
• Leyton House Formula One drivers
• Jordan Formula One drivers
• Brazilian people of Italian descent
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Brazilian Champ Car drivers
• British Formula Three Championship drivers
• International Formula 3000 drivers
• Sportspeople from Joinville
• Sportspeople from Coral Gables, Florida
• Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
• PacWest Racing drivers

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