Rodrigo Sperafico (born 23 July 1979) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He currently drives in the Stock Car Brasil series. He belongs to the Sperafico family of racing drivers, which includes twin brother Ricardo (with whom his career has been closely linked), along with cousins Alexandre and the late Rafael.
| Rodrigo Sperafico | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Born | 23 July 1979 Toledo, Paraná (Brazil) |
| Related to | Ricardo Sperafico (twin brother) Alexandre Sperafico (cousin) Rafael Sperafico (cousin) |
| Stock Car Brasil career | |
| Debut season | 2004 |
| Current team | JF Racing |
| Car number | 19 |
| Former teams | WB Motorsport Biosintética Action Power Terra Racing RC3 Bassani Racing Mico's Racing |
| Starts | 60 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 2nd in 2007 |
| Previous series | |
| 1997 1998–1999 2000 2001–2002 2003–2004 | British Formula Ford Formula Three Sudamericana Italian Formula 3000 International Formula 3000 World Series by Nissan |
Career edit
Formula Ford edit
Sperafico raced in the British Formula Ford Championship in 1997. Driving a Mygale chassis, he finished ninth in the final championship standings, behind Ricardo who finished second and then took third place in the annual Formula Ford Festival.
Formula Three edit
The brothers took the unusual step of returning to South America for 1998 by competing in the Formula Three Sudamericana series. On this occasion, Rodrigo fared the better, finishing seventh to Ricardo's ninth. The following year, the pair both raced Dallara chassis for the Amir Nasr Racing team and proved closely matched: Rodrigo and Ricardo improved to third and fourth overall, behind champion Hoover Orsi and runner-up Jaime Melo.
Formula 3000 edit
The Speraficos returned to Europe in 2000 to race in the Italian Formula 3000 series. Rodrigo signed for the Draco Junior Team alongside compatriot Leonardo Nienkötter, and finished fourth in the championship with one pole position and three podium finishes to his name. He finished behind Gabriele Lancieri, Warren Hughes and Ricardo, who was the drivers' champion.
For the following year, the brothers switched to the more prestigious International Formula 3000 championship; Rodrigo signed for Coloni alongside the experienced Fabrizio Gollin, whilst Ricardo partnered Antônio Pizzonia at the Super Nova Racing-run Petrobras Junior Team. Whilst Ricardo finished an impressive fifth in the championship, including a win at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Rodrigo's season was less successful: although he finished every race he started, he did not score any points, although he lost a potential podium finish at his home race after being penalised for overtaking under yellow flags.[1] He was replaced by Marc Goossens after nine of the calendar's twelve races after his sponsorship deal ran out.[2]
Sperafico tested for several teams in the off-season period, including Arden and Astromega.[2][3] However, he eventually signed for the Durango team for the 2002 season, along with Alex Müller (who was later replaced by Derek Hill).[4] He again competed alongside Ricardo, who kept his seat in the Petrobras team, and also on the occasion his cousin Alexandre, who moved up to International F3000 for a part-season with the Coloni-run Minardi junior team.[5] Rodrigo began the championship strongly, winning the first race of the season at his home track of Interlagos, but was fortunate to take the victory as hitherto dominant leader Tomáš Enge suffered a mechanical problem.[6] He then finished a close second to eventual title winner Sébastien Bourdais at the next race in Imola to take the championship lead.[7] Thereafter his campaign faltered through inconsistency, and he took only one further podium finish.[8] He eventually finished sixth in the championship, two points and one position behind Ricardo.
World Series by Nissan edit
Sperafico also competed in eight races of the 2002 World Series by Nissan season for the Meycom team, finishing 18th in the championship with 12 points. He failed to retain a drive in F3000 for 2003 and took the year out, before returning to the World Series with the Vergani Racing team for four races of the 2004 season, in which he did not score any points.
Stock Car Brasil edit
During 2004, Sperafico moved back to Brazil to drive in the Stock Car Brasil championship, his single-seater career having effectively ended. Driving a part-season, he finished 25th in the championship. The following year he drove a Chevrolet Astra for the WB Motorsport team, improving to 13th in the standings and taking a podium finish on the way. For 2006 he drove an Astra for JF Racing, and climbed to ninth place overall with three podiums.
For 2007, Sperafico again switched teams to Action Power, who also provided him with a different car, the Volkswagen Bora. He was joined in the series for the first time by Ricardo, who had also moved back to Brazil by this point in his own career. In his strongest season to date, which included three pole positions and two victories, Rodrigo finished runner-up to champion Cacá Bueno. The championship was marred, however, by the death of his cousin Rafael in a Stock Car Light race which supported the final Stock Car Brasil event of the season.[9]
Sperafico moved to a Mitsubishi Lancer run by the Avallone Motorsport in 2008 called Terra Racing team for 2008, but faded to 14th in the championship. He drove a Peugeot 307 for part of the 2009 season, and also competed in the Copa Vicar. He reverted to a Bassani-run Chevrolet Astra for the 2010 season, but could only manage 24th position in the championship after leaving the team after two races, and then missing the next three races before returning to action with the Mico's Racing team.
Racing record edit
Career summary edit
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | British Formula Ford | ? | ? | ? | ? | 52 | 9th |
| 1998 | Formula Three Sudamericana | ? | ? | ? | 0 | 79 | 7th |
| 1999 | Formula Three Sudamericana | Amir Nasr Racing | 18 | 4 | 2 | 172 | 3rd |
| 2000 | Italian Formula 3000 | Draco Junior Team | 8 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 4th |
| 2001 | International Formula 3000 | Coloni F3000 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2002 | International Formula 3000 | Durango Formula | 12 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 6th |
| World Series by Nissan | Repsol Meycom | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 18th | |
| 2004 | Stock Car Brasil | Katalogo Racing | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 25th |
| World Series by Nissan | Vergani Racing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2005 | Stock Car Brasil | WB Motorsport | 12 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 13th |
| 2006 | Stock Car Brasil | Neosoro JF Racing | 12 | 0 | 0 | 223 | 9th |
| 2007 | Stock Car Brasil | Biosintética Action Power | 12 | 3 | 2 | 265 | 2nd |
| 2008 | Stock Car Brasil | Terra Racing | 11 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 14th |
| 2009 | Stock Car Brasil | RZ Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 26th |
| Copa Vicar | Carlos Alves Competições | 2 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 12th | |
| 2010 | Stock Car Brasil | RC3 Bassani Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 24th |
| Mico's Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Complete Italian Formula 3000 results edit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Draco Junior Team | VLL 2 |
MUG 6 |
IMO 3 |
MNZ 3 |
VLL 6 |
DON 4 |
PER 8 |
MIS 4 |
4th | 22 |
Complete International Formula 3000 results edit
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Coloni F3000 | INT 13 |
IMO 7 |
CAT 22 |
A1R 8 |
MON 9 |
NÜR 12 |
MAG 15 |
SIL 14 |
HOC 8 |
HUN | SPA | MNZ | NC | 0 |
| 2002 | Durango Formula | INT 1 |
IMO 2 |
CAT 7 |
A1R 12 |
MON Ret |
NÜR 8 |
SIL 9 |
MAG 8 |
HOC 3 |
HUN Ret |
SPA 12 |
MNZ 8 |
6th | 20 |
Complete Stock Car Brasil results edit
† Ineligible for championship points.
References edit
- ^ "Wilson wins as Brazilians pay penalty". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2001-03-31. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ a b "Sperafico to test with Arden". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2001-10-31. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ "New-look Formula 3000 looks much the same". grandprix.com. Inside F1. 2001-12-07. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ "Sperafico signs after strong Durango test". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2002-02-23. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ "Sperafico signs for European Minardi F3000". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2002-03-18. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ "The invasion of the Sperafici". grandprix.com. Inside F1. 2002-03-31. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ "Bourdais wins F3000 at Imola". grandprix.com. Inside F1. 2002-04-14. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ Arron, Simon (2002). "F3000 Review: Bourdais' Pot-Luck Title". Autocourse 2002–2003. Hazleton Publishing. pp. 242–245. ISBN 1-903135-10-9.
- ^ Schilke, Nancy Knapp (2007-12-09). "Rafael Sperafico dies in Brazilian race". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2009-08-12.[permanent dead link]
External links edit
- Rodrigo Sperafico career summary at DriverDB.com
- Rodrigo Sperafico career summary at DriverDB.com
- Stock Car Brasil-based profile at forix.autosport.com