Roberto Guerrero

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

How was for some other pilots in international motorsport for Roberto Guerrero - often at the wrong time, wrong place. The Colombian was said great talent that reflected only partially in his successes.

Formula 1

Guerrero, who in the British Formula 3 Championship with the inferior Argo second overall in 1980 and 1981 won the Formula 2 race at Thruxton for Maurer Motorsport, came in 1982 in the Formula 1 Mo Nunn, the owner of the Ensign Formula 1 team, was always on the lookout for young drivers, because he could not muster the required of the top pilots salaries. Guerrero made ​​his debut at the U.S. Grand Prix West in Long Beach. The Ensign N181 was a cumbersome and slow race car, but Guerrero was appealing services. He ran clean and fast. The accident, in which he was involved, there were usually caused by the grid positions and the heavy traffic, especially at the beginning of the race. The N181 was also a defective car -prone and therefore remained the eighth place finish at the Grand Prix of Germany at the Hockenheimring, the best placement for the entire season.

1983 Guerrero joined forced to Theodore, as Ensign with the team of Hong Kong Chinese Teddy Yip merged. The merger was more of a takeover, because the " new team " went with Ensign technology in the season. The race car was named Theodore N183 and was still inferior than the Ensign from the previous year. Guerrero's team-mate was another South American, former world motorcycle champion Johnny Cecotto. As in the previous year showed Guerrero good driving skills services and total commitment. However, more than two twelfth places and a rank 13 could not be implemented if all the effort. He left end of the Formula 1 season and went to the USA.

Champ

In 1984, Guerrero with Mo Nunn in the U.S. Champ Car series and was pilot of the new Bignotti - Cotter teams. Almost overnight, the Colombian was there for star drivers. Already in his first appearance at the 500 miles of Indianapolis, he had to just before the end of the race as a rookie a chance to win. In the end he just had to admit defeat Rick Mears and finished second.

After a third place in 1985 Guerrero drove in 1987 the race of his career in Indianapolis. From the beginning, he dominated the event. After each pit stop phase he pulled up and away the field and already looked like the winner when threw him back a clutch problem at the last stop. Record laps driving he got Al Unser just before the end of the race, but could not overtake him and was again only second.

In 1987, he went on to win the race at Mid - Ohio and Phoenix, before a serious accident while testing at Indianapolis nearly cost him his life. He lay in a coma for 17 days and then had a long period of convalescence. Although he fully recovered returned to the U.S. race tracks again, the career got a slight kink.

When Alfa Romeo his Indianapolis program began, Guerrero works driver in the team of Kenny Bernstein. In 1992 he succeeded in Indianapolis pole position, but had in the warm-up lap an accident, caused by cold tires, and had to watch the race from the pit wall. When the contract expired at the end of 1993 with Bernstein, he got no other team an annual contract more. In 1994 he therefore had to go to the start with a two- year-old Lola in Indy. This time it was only the 33rd and final starting position. In the race he was again the first rider, who retired when he collided shortly after the start of the race with a wall of distance limitation.

Indy Racing League

As in 1996, the Indy Racing League was formed, Guerrero was one of the few Champ Car drivers, who moved into the new racing series. He hoped for an annual contract, as the doors were now locked in Champ Car for him. Until 2000 he was a regular for several teams before his career slowly died away. In 1996 he reached the fifth rank again a top result in Indianapolis. A victory in this popular race remained for him but failed.

1989 Guerrero got the permanent residency in the United States. He now lives with his wife and three children in Orange County in California.