Gonzalo Rodríguez (racing driver)

Gonzalo Rodríguez
Born	Gonzalo Rodríguez Bongoll (1971-01-22)January 22, 1971 Montevideo, Uruguay
Died	September 11, 1999(1999-09-11) (aged 28) Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey County, California, U.S.
CART Championship Car
Years active	1999
Teams	Penske Racing
Starts	1
Wins	0
Poles	0
Previous series
1997–1999 1996–1997 1994–1996 1993	International Formula 3000 British Formula 3000 British Formula Renault Spanish Formula Renault

Gonzalo "Gonchi" Rodríguez Bongoll (January 22, 1971 – September 11, 1999) was a Uruguayan racing driver. He was killed in a crash at Laguna Seca Raceway during practice for a CART race which would have been his second start in the series.

Career

He showed promise in Formula 3000 for three seasons, taking two wins in 1998 at Spa-Francorchamps and Nürburgring, winning the following season in Monaco and finishing third in both championships. Following a rotation of drivers as team mates to Al Unser Jr. in CART Penske Racing's second car, he was given his opportunity at the Detroit Grand Prix in 1999 and scored a point in his only race.

Death

At the Laguna Seca Raceway during a practice session for his second CART race, he was fatally injured in a crash. A stuck throttle was initially thought to be the cause for his car overshooting the braking point, leaving the track, striking a tire barrier and slamming into a concrete wall behind the barrier at the entry of the Corkscrew corner. Review of the in-car telemetry refuted this supposition. The impact caused his car to flip over the barrier and land upside down on the other side of the wall. Rodríguez was killed instantly by a basilar skull fracture caused by the impact with the wall, which was lined by only a thin layer of tires. Because of the incident, an additional tire wall was installed at the end of the straight.

Rodríguez had a contract in place to compete in the 2000 CART championship with Patrick Racing, and there were rumours that Minardi could hire him for the 2001 Formula One season.

Legacy

In 2014, a Spanish-language documentary of his life, Gonchi, was released.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Points
1997	Redman & Bright F3000	SIL DNQ	PAU	HEL Ret	NÜR 6	PER Ret	HOC 17	A1R 7	SPA	MUG 8	JER Ret			22nd	0.5
1998	Team Astromega	OSC Ret	IMO 3	CAT 21	SIL Ret	MON 2	PAU Ret	A1R 4	HOC 11	HUN 7	SPA 1	PER Ret	NÜR 1	3rd	33
1999	Team Astromega	IMO 5	MON 1	CAT 2	MAG Ret	SIL 15	A1R DNQ	HOC 4	HUN Ret	SPA 2	NÜR			3rd	27
Source:

Complete American Open Wheel results

(key)

CART

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Rank	Points	Ref
1999	Team Penske	Lola B99/00	Mercedes-Benz IC108E	MIA	MOT	LBH	NZR	RIO	STL	MIL	POR	CLE	ROA	TOR	MIS	DET 12	MDO	CHI	VAN	LS WD	HOU	SRF	FON	32nd	1

Gallery

• 
  1999 Penske and Astromega firesuits
• 
  1999 Penske helmet
• 
  Monument at the Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini

External links

• Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez - a foundation which promotes child road safety and physical education
• Profile at HistoricRacing.com
• News report and footage of the crash on YouTube