Roberto Moreno facts for kids
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Roberto Pupo Moreno (born 11 February 1959) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He is known as Roberto Moreno or Pupo Moreno. He competed in many different types of racing. These include Formula One and CART.
In Formula One, he took part in 75 races. He earned one podium finish and 15 championship points. He was also the Formula 3000 champion in 1988. Later in his career, he was often called the "Super Sub." This was because he frequently filled in for injured drivers. Away from racing, he enjoys building light airplanes.
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Roberto Moreno's Racing Journey
Starting His Racing Career
Roberto Moreno began his racing journey in karting. He won the Brazilian 125cc Karting championship in 1976. After this, he moved to England in 1979 to race in Formula Ford. He worked as both a driver and a mechanic for his car.
In 1980, he joined Van Diemen as a factory driver. He won the British Formula Ford title that year. He won eight races and also the Formula Ford Festival. His success caught the eye of Colin Chapman, who owned the Lotus Formula One team.
Racing in Formula Three and Atlantic
In 1981, Chapman gave Moreno a testing contract. This helped him continue racing in Formula Three. He won two races in British Formula Three. The next year, he raced in North America. He won against Al Unser Jr. in a support race. He also won the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.
Winning the Australian Grand Prix
Between 1981 and 1984, Roberto Moreno won the Australian Grand Prix three times. These races were not part of the Formula One World Championship yet. He often beat famous drivers like Nelson Piquet, Alan Jones, and Niki Lauda. He drove a Ralt RT4 car with a Ford engine.
Becoming the "Super Sub" in F1
Moreno got his first chance in Formula One in 1982. He filled in for Nigel Mansell at Lotus for the 1982 Dutch Grand Prix. However, the car was hard to drive. Moreno failed to qualify for the race. This made it difficult for him to get another F1 chance for a while.
Five years later, in 1987, he got another call. He replaced Pascal Fabre for the AGS team. He didn't qualify for the 1987 Japanese Grand Prix. But then, Nigel Mansell got injured. This allowed Moreno to make his Formula One debut. In the next race, the 1987 Australian Grand Prix, he finished 7th. After another driver was disqualified, Moreno was moved up to 6th place. This earned him his first Formula One point.
Success in Formula 3000
After his F1 substitute appearances, Moreno went back to other racing series. In 1988, he joined Bromley Motorsport in International Formula 3000. He had very little money for the team. But he won three races in a row. He won a total of four races that season. This helped him become the FIA International Formula 3000 champion.
Returning to Formula One (1989–1995)
Even after winning the F3000 championship, Moreno didn't get a top F1 team seat. He signed with Coloni in 1989. Their car was not very good. He only qualified for four out of 16 races.
In 1990, he started with EuroBrun, another struggling team. He only qualified for two races. But then, Benetton called him. Their driver, Alessandro Nannini, was injured. Moreno joined Benetton for the last two races.
At the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, he finished an amazing 2nd place. This was his first podium finish in F1. He then got a full contract with Benetton for 1991. In 1991, he finished 4th twice. He also set the fastest lap at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix. However, he was soon replaced by a young driver named Michael Schumacher.
After Benetton, Moreno raced for Jordan and Minardi. In 1992, he joined Andrea Moda. This team had many problems. Moreno only qualified for one race, the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix. The team eventually collapsed.
After a break, Moreno returned to F1 in 1995 with the Forti team. Their car was very slow. His best finish was 14th. He left Formula One after crashing in his last race.
Racing in IndyCar
In 1996, Moreno started racing in Champ Car. He finished 3rd at Michigan. In 1997, he drove for three different teams. This earned him the nickname "Supersub" again. He finished 5th at Detroit.
In 2000, he got a full-time seat with Patrick Racing. He won his first Champ Car race at Cleveland. He was very emotional after the win. He won again in 2001 at Vancouver. He finished 3rd overall in the championship in 2000.
In 2003, he drove for Herdez Competition. He finished 2nd at Miami. He announced his retirement from full-time racing at the end of that year. However, he still makes appearances in historic racing events.
Roberto Moreno's Helmet Design
Moreno's helmet has a classic design. It is usually yellow. It has blue, red, and white wing shapes around the visor and sides. His name "Moreno" is written on the lower part of the helmet. Later versions of his helmet also included blue cylinder designs. His helmets were designed by Sid Mosca.
Images for kids
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Practicing for the 2007 Indianapolis 500
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Moreno in 2007
See also
In Spanish: Roberto Moreno para niños
