Raphael Matos

Last updated
Raphael Matos
Raphael Matos Indy 2011.JPG
Raphael Matos at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the first day of qualifying for the 2011 500
Nationality Flag of Brazil.svg Brazilian
Born (1981-08-28) August 28, 1981 (age 43)
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
IndyCar Series career
Debut season 2009
Current team AFS Racing
Racing licence FIA Gold Driver.png FIA Gold
Car number17
Former teams de Ferran Dragon Racing
Starts34
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish13th in 2009
Previous series
2008
2006-2007

2004-2005
2002-2003		 Firestone Indy Lights
Champ Car Atlantic Series
A1 Grand Prix
Star Mazda Series
Skip Barber Formula Dodge Series
Championship titles
2008
2007
2005
2003		Firestone Indy Lights Series
Champ Car Atlantic Series
Star Mazda Series
Skip Barber Formula Dodge
Awards
2009IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year

Raphael Matos (born August 28, 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He was the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion and the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Series champion. He lives in Miami. He is sometimes also called Rafa Matos.

Contents

Career highlights

Early career

Born in Belo Horizonte, Matos came to the United States in 2002 after karting in Brazil and began competing in Skip Barber Formula Dodge, winning the championship in 2003. In 2004, he moved up to the Star Mazda Series and in 2005 he won the Star Mazda championship. In 2006 he moved up the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Series where he drove for the Sierra Sierra team and captured one victory on his way to 4th place in the points standings.

Matos celebrating an Atlantics victory in Houston in 2007 MatosAtlantics2007.jpg
Matos celebrating an Atlantics victory in Houston in 2007

He also competed in 4 Indy Pro Series races for Guthrie Racing and swept the two races held in March at St. Petersburg, Florida. During the fall he was named a driver for A1 Team Brazil in the A1 Grand Prix series and made his debut at the series' race in Beijing in the 2006–2007 season. He raced a Lola B07/40-Mazda in the 2007 12 Hours of Sebring and the 2007 Petit Le Mans. [1]

Matos driving in the 2008 Firestone Freedom 100 MatosFreedom100.jpg
Matos driving in the 2008 Firestone Freedom 100

Atlantics championship and Indy Lights

Matos continued with the Sierra Sierra team in Atlantics in 2007 and clinched the championship with several races remaining in the season, securing for himself the $2 million "scholarship" for a ride in Champ Car for the 2008 season.

However, Matos decided to pass on the scholarship and sign with Andretti Green Racing to drive in the Indy Racing League's Firestone Indy Lights Series in 2008, where he won the series championship. [2]

Prior to the 2008 Indy Lights season, he drove a Mazda RX-8 for the SpeedSource team in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, taking first in the GT class and a 9th place overall finish, sharing the car with Nick Ham, David Haskell and Sylvain Tremblay. After the season, he drove for Michael Shank Racing on the winning team in the DP class (with Ian James and John Pew) at the SunRichGourmet.com 1000 at Miller Motorsports Park.

IndyCar Series

Matos driving in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 Matos09Indy.jpg
Matos driving in the 2009 Indianapolis 500

Matos competed in the full 2009 IndyCar Series season for Luczo-Dragon Racing. [3] He qualified third in his second race, the Long Beach Grand Prix and finished eight. He was the fastest rookie qualifier in his first Indy 500 and ran in the lead pack, but had a crash with Vítor Meira in which Meira was injured. Matos finished 22nd. Matos captured seasonal Rookie of the Year honors by a wide margin over former F1 driver Robert Doornbos. Matos' best finish was 6th at the Milwaukee Mile. He was running at the finish of each of the last ten races of the season, consistency that led to 13th in the championship despite few top ten finishes. Raphael qualified 12th in both the 2009 and 2010 Indy 500 and he also crashed in both races in roughly the same location at the exit of turn 1. He failed to qualify the AFS entry for the 2011 Indianapolis 500. He was also the fastest Rookie during the 2009 Indy 500 qualifying.

After IndyCar

Matos raced full-time in Stock Car Brasil between 2013 and 2015, claiming a race win in 2014, and a best of 13th overall in 2015. [4] At the end of 2015, he failed a drug test, and was suspended for two years. [5] Matos claimed that he used the undisclosed substance in question in order to treat several tumors he had since he was 18. [6]

In 2018, Matos started racing in the Trans-Am Series, and won the TA2 class championship at his first attempt. He won the class championship again in 2021, after finishing in first place in six out of twelve races. [7]

On August 30, 2024, it was announced that Matos would attempt to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen International, driving the No. 87 Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing in collaboration with Peterson Racing Group, [8] but several days later, it was revealed that Matos would not make his debut due to being unable to come to a mutual agreement with the team. He would be replaced by Mike Skeen.

Motorsports career results

American Le Mans Series

American Le Mans Series results
YearEntrantClassChassisEngineTyres123456789101112RankPoints
2006 B-K MotorsportsLMP2 Courage C65 Mazda R20B 2.0L 3-rotor G SEB
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret		 TEX MID LIM UTA POR AME MOS PET MON 23rd14
2007 B-K Motorsports
Mazdaspeed 		LMP2 Lola B07/46 Mazda MZR-R 2.0L Turbo I4 K SEB
ovr:NC
cls:NC		 STP LNB TEX UTA LIM MID AME MOS DET PET
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret		 MON 28th10
2008 B-K MotorsportsLMP2 Lola B07/46 Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4
(E85 ethanol)		 Y SEB
ovr:DNS
cls:DNS		 STP LNB UTA LIM 33rd10
Lola B08/86 D MON
ovr:30
cls:10
Andretti Green Racing Acura ARX-01b Acura 3.4L V8 M MID
ovr:14
cls:7		 AME MOS DET PET
2011 Risi Competizione GT Ferrari 458 Italia GTC Ferrari 4.5 L V8 M SEB LNB LIM MOS MID AME BAL MON PET
ovr:DNS
cls:DNS		NC-
2012 Performance Tech MotorsportsPC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 M SEB
ovr:49
cls:6		 LNB MON LIM MOS MID AME BAL
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret		 VIR PET 28th10

A1 Grand Prix

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

A1 Grand Prix results
YearEntrant12345678910111213141516171819202122DCPoints
2006–07 Brazil NED
SPR 		NED
FEA 		CZE
SPR 		CZE
FEA 		BEI
SPR
6		 BEI
FEA
7		 MYS
SPR
19		 MYS
FEA
18		 IDN
SPR 		IDN
FEA 		NZL
SPR
16		 NZL
FEA
14		 AUS
SPR 		AUS
FEA 		RSA
SPR 		RSA
FEA 		MEX
SPR 		MEX
FEA 		SHA
SPR 		SHA
FEA 		GBR
SPR 		GBR
SPR 		18th9

American open–wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Atlantic Championship

YearTeam123456789101112RankPoints
2006 Sierra Sierra Enterprises LBH
2		 HOU
11		 MTY
23		 POR
6		 CLE1
5		 CLE2
Ret		 TOR
9		 EDM
Ret		 SJO
1		 DEN
2		 MTL
7		 ROA
2		4th205
2007 Sierra Sierra Enterprises LVG
1		 LBH
1		 HOU
1		 POR1
4		 POR2
6		 CLE
1		 MTT
2		 TOR
3		 EDM1
1		 EDM2
1		 SJO
4		 ROA
2		1st341

Indy Lights

YearTeam12345678910111213141516RankPoints
2006 Guthrie Racing
HMS 		STP1
1		 STP2
1		 INDY WGL
13		 IMS
4		 NSH MIL KTY SNM1 SNM2 CHI 10th154
2008 AGR-AFS Racing HMS
8		 STP1
1		 STP2
12		 KAN
19		 INDY
10		 MIL
3		 IOW
7		 WGL1
1		 WGL2
2		 NSH
5		 MDO1
1		 MDO2
18		 KTY
6		 SNM1
2		 SNM2
6		 CHI
3		1st510

IndyCar Series

IndyCar Series results
YearTeamChassisNo.Engine123456789101112131415161718RankPointsRef
2009 Luczo Dragon Racing Dallara IR-052 Honda HI7R V8 STP
20		 LBH
8		 KAN
20		 INDY
22		 MIL
6		 TXS
12		 IOW
16		 RIR
8		 WGL
12		 TOR
10		 EDM
18		 KTY
16		 MDO
9		 SNM
9		 CHI
9		 MOT
9		 HMS
14		13th312 [9]
2010 de Ferran Dragon Racing SAO
4		 STP
8		 ALA
14		 LBH
20		 KAN
16		 INDY
29		 TXS
16		 IOW
14		 WGL
4		 TOR
21		 EDM
13		 MDO
7		 SNM
21		 CHI
29		 KTY
16		 MOT
18		 HMS
17		14th290 [10]
2011 AFS Racing 17 STP
7		 ALA
20		 LBH
11		 SAO
25		 INDY
DNQ		 TXS1 TXS2 MIL IOW TOR EDM MDO NHM SNM BAL MOT KTY LSV 30th67 [11]
YearsTeamsRacesPolesWinsPodiums
(Non-win)		Top 10s
(Non-podium)		Indianapolis 500
Wins		Championships
32380001300

Indianapolis 500

YearChassisEngineStartFinishTeam
2009 Dallara Honda 1222 Luczo Dragon Racing
2010 Dallara Honda 1229 de Ferran Dragon Racing
2011 Dallara Honda DNQ AFS Racing

Stock Car Brasil

Stock Car Brasil results
YearTeamCar123456789101112131415161718192021RankPoints
2012 RC3 Bassani Peugeot 408 INT CTB VEL RBP LON RIO SAL CAS TAR CTB BSB
23		 INT
9		NC†0†
2013 Bardahl Hot Car Chevrolet Sonic INT
10		 CUR
26		 TAR
16		 SAL
26		 BRA
10		 CAS
19		 RBP
6		 CAS
8		 VEL
16		 CUR
18		 BRA
10		 INT
18		13th84
2014 Bardahl Hot Car Chevrolet Sonic INT
1
17		 SCZ
1
7		 SCZ
2
23		 BRA
1
2		 BRA
2
26		 GOI
1
17		 GOI
2
Ret		 GOI
1
DSQ		 CAS
1
Ret		 CAS
2
27		 CUR
1
22		 CUR
2
12		 VEL
1
Ret		 VEL
2
Ret		 SCZ
1
10		 SCZ
2
1		 TAR
1
15		 TAR
2
8		 SAL
1
10		 SAL
2
2		 BRA
1
Ret		16th104

† Ineligible for championship points.

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References

  1. ↑ NEW LOLA, MAZDA-DERIVED ENGINE FOR B-K IN 2007 [ permanent dead link ], American Le Mans Series, retrieved December 20, 2008
  2. ↑ Andretti Green, AFS To Field Two-Car Indy Pro Team - Matos Added to Driver Lineup Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine , PaddockTalk, January 18, 2008
  3. ↑ DiZinno, Tony. Matos, Luczo Dragon latest to confirm 2009 plans Archived 2008-10-09 at the Wayback Machine , Motorsport.com, October 7, 2008
  4. ↑ "Driver: Rafa Matos | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  5. ↑ "Former IndyCar driver Raphael Matos suspended in Brazil for doping". Autoblog. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  6. ↑ "Matos defends substance use, saying it was to fight against tumors". Motorsport. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  7. ↑ "Trans Am champions in review: Rafa Matos, TA2". RACER. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  8. ↑ Srigley, Joseph (August 30, 2024). "Rafa Matos to Attempt Xfinity Debut at Watkins Glen with Peterson Racing Group". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Raphael Matos – 2009 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Raphael Matos – 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Raphael Matos – 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Firestone Indy Lights Champion
2008		Succeeded by
Preceded by Champ Car Atlantic Champion
2007		Succeeded by
Preceded by Star Mazda Championship Champion
2005		Succeeded by
Achievements
Preceded by IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year
2009		Succeeded by
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