Raul de Mesquita Boesel (Portuguese pronunciation: [raˈuw boˈɛzew], born 4 December 1957 in Curitiba, Brazil) is a former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona.

Personal and early life

Raul Boesel was born on 4 December 1957 in Curitiba, Brazil as the son of Jorny and Elizadea de Mesquita Boesel. Boesel had a brief career in equestrian show jumping winning state championships and other competitions.He lives in Key Biscayne, Florida with his wife Vera and children Raul Boesel Jr and Gabriela where they have resided since 1988. He owns a Cigarette 38 Top Gun boat.

Career

He studied engineering, gave up his degree and went on to motor racing. He entered into first ever season of the Brazilian Stock Car championship in 1979.He moved to Britain in 1980 to race in Formula Ford 1600 and in 1981 entered Formula 3 and finished third in the championship. In November 1981 he tested for McLaren and entered the March team, only to switch in 1983 to Ligier. At the end of the year he went to the United States to race in CART. In 1987 he switched to World Sportscar Championship with Jaguar and won the title with five victories. In 1988 he won the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Jaguar XJR-9, along with Martin Brundle and John Nielsen.