Raphael Matos
| Raphael Matos | |
|---|---|
Raphael Matos at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the first day of qualifying for the 2011 500
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|
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Born |
August 28, 1981 Belo Horizonte |
| IndyCar Series career | |
| Debut season | 2009 |
| Current team | AFS Racing |
| Car no. | 17 |
| Former teams | de Ferran Dragon Racing |
| Starts | 34 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 13th 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 | |
| 2009 | IndyCar 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.
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.
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.
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 US Dollar "scholarship" for a ride in Champ Car for the 2008 season.
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