Roberto Moreno

Roberto Moreno
Born	Roberto Pupo Moreno (1959-02-11) February 11, 1959 Brazil
Other names	Pupo Moreno, "Super Sub"
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, driver coach, consultant
Years active	1976–2008 (racing career)
Known for	Formula One driver, 1988 International Formula 3000 champion

Roberto Pupo Moreno (born 11 February 1959), widely known as Roberto Moreno or Pupo Moreno, is a retired Brazilian racing driver. Over his career, he took part in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, earning a single podium finish and accumulating 15 championship points. Before securing a full-time seat in Formula One in 1989, Moreno claimed the 1988 International Formula 3000 title. He also competed in the CART series during 1986 and made a return from 1996 to 2008, achieving significant results particularly in the years 2000 and 2001. Besides his single-seater endeavors, Moreno also engaged in endurance and GT racing within Brazil. Presently, he is active as a driver coach and consultant while occasionally participating in historic racing events. Toward the end of his career, he gained the nickname "Super Sub" for frequently stepping in to replace injured drivers. Outside of motorsports, Moreno has an interest in constructing light aircraft.

Early career

Following his triumph in the 1976 Brazilian 125cc Karting championship, Moreno relocated to England in 1979 to compete in Formula Ford. Partnering with Marc Smith, he took on dual roles as both driver and mechanic for his Royale chassis. Ron Tauranac, owner of Ralt, provided him with workshop support. His impressive performances led Ralph Firman Sr. to recruit him as a factory Van Diemen driver for the 1980 season. That year, Moreno secured the Townsend Thoresen British Formula Ford championship with eight wins, finished runner-up in the EFDA Townsend Thoresen Euroseries Formula Ford 1600 Championship, placed fourth in the RAC British series, and sixth in the P&O Ferries series. He concluded the season by winning the prestigious Formula Ford Festival and made a return to this event as recently as 2021.

Moreno’s achievements attracted the attention of Colin Chapman, founder of Formula One’s Team Lotus, who offered him a testing role with Lotus in 1981. This opportunity allowed Moreno to maintain his racing career despite limited funding. During that year, he competed in Formula Three, securing two victories while driving for Barron Racing. In 1982, he excelled in the CASC North American Formula Atlantic Championship, notably defeating Al Unser Jr. at the support race for the 1982 United States Grand Prix West held in Long Beach and winning the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. Additionally, he participated part-time in the British Formula 3 Championship with Ivens Lumar Racing, achieving three wins before attempting his Formula One debut at the 1982 Dutch Grand Prix with Lotus; however, he did not qualify.

Australian Grand Prix (1981–1984)

Between 1981 and 1984, under the management of Australian Greg "Pee Wee" Siddle—who also managed Moreno’s friend Nelson Piquet—he claimed victory at the Australian Grand Prix three times before it joined the Formula One World Championship calendar in 1985. These wins occurred when the event was contested as a Formula Mondial race at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway, a circuit measuring 1.6 km. Throughout these editions, Moreno often outperformed notable World Drivers’ Champions such as Piquet, Alan Jones, Niki Lauda, and Keke Rosberg, alongside established F1 competitors including Jacques Laffite, Andrea de Cesaris, and François Hesnault. The sole exception was in 1982 when Moreno finished third behind future four-time World Champion Alain Prost and Ligier’s Laffite. During these pre-Formula One Australian Grands Prix, Moreno drove a Formula Pacific or Formula Mondial–specification Ralt RT4 powered by a 1.6-litre inline-four Ford engine.

F1 replacement roles (1982 and 1987)

While achieving success in Formula Atlantic, Formula Mondial, and Formula Three, Moreno received a call from Colin Chapman to fill in for Nigel Mansell at Lotus during the 1982 Dutch Grand Prix after Mansell sustained a wrist injury in Canada. Prior to this, Theodore Racing’s owner Teddy Yip had expressed interest in Moreno replacing Jan Lammers, but Chapman declined the proposal. Moreno faced challenges handling the demanding Lotus 91, compounded by minimal testing opportunities compared to Mansell and Elio de Angelis. His fastest qualifying time lagged by more than two seconds behind the cutoff, resulting in his departure from Lotus at the conclusion of 1982 and adversely affecting his standing.

Moreno’s subsequent Formula One chance arose late in the season when he substituted for Pascal Fabre at AGS during the Japanese Grand Prix. Although he initially failed to qualify as the slowest entrant, Nigel Mansell’s withdrawal opened a spot for Moreno. In the final race of the year at Adelaide, he managed to pilot the difficult AGS JH22 to a seventh-place finish. Following Ayrton Senna’s Lotus disqualification due to technical violations, Moreno was elevated to sixth place, securing both his and AGS’s inaugural Formula One point.

Intervening years

After losing sponsorship for a full Formula Atlantic campaign because the Long Beach GP support event switched to Super Vee, Moreno returned to North America alongside Siddle. Despite this setback, his new outfit, Theodore Racing, triumphed at their debut race at Willow Springs. Leveraging the prize money, Moreno participated in two additional events before the team ceased operations. Fortunately, Teddy Yip assisted with funding that facilitated Moreno’s transfer to another team where he notched four victories. Nonetheless, championship contender Michael Andretti consistently finished runner-up whenever Moreno won, preventing Moreno from capturing the title.

In 1984, Moreno made a return to European circuits competing in F3 and received an offer from Tauranac to join the factory Ralt squad in Formula Two. He finished second overall behind Mike Thackwell in the 1984 European Formula Two Championship, securing wins at Hockenheim and Donington Park. Tauranac wished for him to continue into the inaugural International Formula 3000 season in 1985; however, after testing a Toleman F1 car late in 1984 and appearing poised for a seat, the arrangement collapsed due to tire supply issues. Subsequently, Moreno transitioned to Indycar racing with Rick Galles' Galles Racing for road course events and was invited for a full campaign in 1986, though mechanical problems hampered his results. Unable to obtain a permanent Indycar drive, he returned to F3000 with Ralt, capturing victory at the Gran Premio del Mediterraneo and finishing third overall before moving on to AGS.

Moreno almost secured a spot with Brabham’s F1 team in 1984 following Nelson Piquet’s recommendation. However, sponsor Parmalat insisted on an Italian driver alongside Piquet, prompting Bernie Ecclestone to sign brothers Teo and Corrado Fabi instead. This unusual setup involved Corrado substituting for Teo when scheduling conflicts with CART arose.

After an unremarkable tenure at AGS, Moreno joined Bromley Motorsport in F3000 under Technical Director Gary Anderson. With limited financial backing but support from Reynard Motorsport, he drove an unsponsored Reynard-Cosworth 88D and clinched the championship by winning early-season races consecutively at Pau, Silverstone, and Monza, along with a fourth victory at the Birmingham Superprix.

In 1988, Moreno also made an appearance at Snetterton participating in the Celebrity Car during the inaugural Honda CR-X Challenge.

F1 substitute (1989–1995)

Although Moreno secured the 1988 FIA International Formula 3000 Championship driving an unsponsored Reynard 88D, he faced difficulties landing a permanent Formula 1 seat. He accepted a testing role with Ferrari, which eventually enabled him to join the underachieving Coloni team, where he managed to qualify for only four races out of sixteen attempts.

In 1990, Moreno started the season with the struggling EuroBrun outfit but was soon called up by Benetton following Alessandro Nannini's accident. He made an impressive debut by finishing second at the Japanese Grand Prix and followed with a seventh place in Australia, earning a full-time contract for the 1991 season. However, the Benetton B191 equipped with Pirelli tires failed to deliver strong results; Moreno's highlights included two fourth-place finishes and recording one fastest lap. Despite consistent performances, he was controversially replaced by Michael Schumacher as Benetton’s management sought a driver to build the team around.

Moreno had a brief stint with Jordan in 1991, showing potential but retiring early in his first race with them. He also competed for Minardi towards the end of that season but was unable to secure a permanent F1 position thereafter.

In 1992, Moreno joined Andrea Moda, a financially troubled team formed from the remnants of Scuderia Coloni. The team struggled with funding and reliability issues; Moreno qualified only once before the outfit folded following the arrest of its owner.

Following this period, Moreno participated in Italian and French Touring Car championships and attempted to compete in the 1994 Indianapolis 500. In 1995, he made a short-lived return to Formula 1 with Forti, capitalizing on his Brazilian heritage to obtain the seat. The car was uncompetitive, and his best result was a 14th place at the Belgian Grand Prix before retiring after a crash in Australia, marking his final F1 appearance.

IndyCar

Moreno resumed his Champ Car career in 1996 with Payton-Coyne Racing, piloting a Lola-Ford and securing third place at Michigan. Early in 1997, he departed Payton-Coyne due to their lack of commitment and drove for three different teams throughout the season, earning the nickname "Supersub." His top finish was fifth at Detroit while driving for Newman-Haas in a Swift-Ford as a substitute for the injured Christian Fittipaldi. Even though he outqualified team leader Michael Andretti multiple times, Moreno only managed to secure a testing role with Team Penske for 1998.

The 1998 season provided limited opportunities with just three race entries, while in 1999 he split time between Newman-Haas and PacWest teams, achieving two fourth-place finishes. That year also marked his debut in the Indy Racing League at Phoenix International Raceway where he finished sixth and saw his return to the Indianapolis 500 after thirteen years, finishing twentieth for Truscelli Team Racing. In 2000, Moreno earned a full-time ride with Patrick Racing driving a Reynard-Ford; he led much of that season and ultimately finished third overall behind Gil de Ferran.

Moreno celebrated his first Champ Car victory at Cleveland, an emotional milestone as it was his first win since Formula 3000 twelve years earlier. He followed this with another win at Vancouver the subsequent year but dropped to thirteenth in the championship standings due to inconsistent results. In 2003, racing for Herdez Competition in a Lola-Cosworth, he achieved second place at Miami before retiring from professional motorsport at the end of that year.

In April 2006, Moreno substituted for Ed Carpenter at Vision Racing during the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after participating once in Brazilian Stock Car racing. That August, he became the inaugural driver to test the new Panoz-built Champ Car chassis; former series champion Paul Tracy commended Moreno’s consistent driving and aptitude for developmental testing.

After extensive trials of the Panoz DP01 model, Moreno competed in it at the 2007 Grand Prix of Houston representing Pacific Coast Motorsports as a replacement for the injured Alex Figge. Later that year, he stepped in for an injured Stéphan Grégoire at the Indianapolis 500 driving for Chastain Motorsports but crashed early and finished last.

Helmet

Moreno's helmet is predominantly yellow and is decorated with blue, red, and white wing motifs positioned on the visor, sides, and chin sections. The name "Moreno" appears on the lower part of the helmet. In subsequent versions, blue cylindrical shapes were added alongside the wing designs. These helmets are crafted by designer Sid Mosca.

Career summary

1983 Formula Atlantic season Formula Mondial North America Theodore Racing1983 IMSA GT ChampionshipAll American Racers1983 IMSA GT Championship1983 European Endurance Championship Charles Ivey Racing Forti Ford 16 0 0 0 0 NC PPG Indy Car World Series Payton/Coyne Racing 15 0 0 0 1 25 21st CART PPG World Series --Newman/Haas Racing-- 6 0 0 0 0 rowspan=3--16-- rowspan=3--19th-- 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1980	British Formula Ford Championship	Van Diemen	14	8	8	8	12	220	1st
	P&O Ferries Formula Ford 1600 Championship		10	1	?	?	?	26	6th
	Euroseries Formula Ford 1600		9	3	3	1	4	104	2nd
	RAC Formula Ford 1600 Championship		6	1	?	?	?	47	4th
	Formula Ford Festival		1	1	0	1	1	N/A	1st
1981	Marlboro British Formula Three	Barron Racing	12	2	0	1	4	10	11th
	European Formula Three		1	1	1	0	1	9	10th
1982	Marlboro British Formula Three	Ivens Lumar Racing	9	3	0	1	5	42	6th
	New Zealand Formula Pacific	Goold Motorsport	8	6	2	5	7	N/A	1st
	North American Formula Atlantic		3	1	2	2	2	61	9th
	Macau Grand Prix		1	1	?	0	1	N/A	1st
	1982 FIA European Formula 3 Championship	Ivens Lumar Racing	1	0	0	0	0	3	16th
1983
	1984
		1984 European Formula Two Championship
		Ralt Racing
11
2
3
2
7
44
2nd
Super Formula Championship
1
0
1
0
1
12
12th
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1995-
align=left-
1996-
1997-
rowspan="3" style="text-align:left"-
--Bettenhausen Racing--
--Payton/Coyne Racing--
--1998--	CART PPG World Series	Project CART	2	0	0	0	0	rowspan=2	31st	- Newman/Haas Racing||1||0||0||0||0||- 1999||||CART PPG World Series||||PacWest Racing||||8||||||||58||||14th||||Newman/Haas Racing||||5|||||||||||||||Indy Racing League|||Truscelli Team Racing|||2|||0|||0|||0|||38|||29th|||20002000 CART PPG World SeriesPatrick Racing201161161147313rd20012001 CART PPG World SeriesPatrick Racing201101761313HVM Racing20031701711671313Spirit of Daytona Racing2005610008039Katalogo Racing20051100000NCBrumos Racing200621000028860Vision Racing200611000123011GT3 Brasil ChampionshipCRT661172117IndyCar SeriesChastain Motorsports110100103622007Champ Car World SeriesPacific Coast Motorsports100090222007Rolex Sports Car SeriesBrumos Porsche100028580Trofeo Maserati Brasil300603030GT3 Brasil ChampionshipTigueis200000NCIndyCar SeriesMinardi Team USA/HVM Racing100004600Champ Car World SeriesMinardi Team USA10000NCRolex Sports Car SeriesKrohn Racing10000NC20122012 Eurocup Mégane TrophyOregon Team20000420142014 Copa Caçula de Pneus de Marcas e PilotosMaguila Motorsport181105193420221Historic Grand Prix of Monaco - Series ELola110005 Full 24 Hours of Le Mans Results Year Team Co-Drivers Vehicle Category Laps Completed Pos. Class Pos. 1984 Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Skoal Bandit Racing Team Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Guy Edwards Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Rupert Keegan Porsche 962 C1 72 DNF (accident) Full 24 Hours of Daytona Results Year Team Co-Drivers Vehicle Category Laps Completed Pos. Class Pos. 2005 Spirit of Daytona Racing Doug Goad Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Stéphane Grégoire Bob Ward Crawford-Pontiac DP03 DP 194 DNF (cooling system failure) 2007 Brumos Racing J. C. France Hurley Haywood Template:Country data PRTTemplate:Namespace detect showall João Barbosa David Donohue Riley-Porsche Mk XI DP 662 4th place Full 24 Hours of Spa Results Year Team Co-Drivers Vehicle Category Laps Completed Pos. Class Pos. 1987 BMW Schnitzer Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Allan Grice Template:Country data AUTTemplate:Namespace detect showall Willi Siller BMW M3 Div.2 178 DNF (piston failure) Complete European Formula Two Championship Results (key) (Races highlighted in bold denote pole position; those in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Team Entrant Chassis Manufacturer Engine Supplier 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Final Standing Points Scored Template:F2 Ralt Racing Ltd. Ralt Honda Silverstone Circuit 2nd Hockenheimring 1st Thruxton Circuit Retired ACI Vallelunga Circuit 2nd Mugello Circuit Retired Pau Grand Prix 3rd Hockenheimring Retired Misano World Circuit Not Classified Autodromo di Pergusa 2nd Donington Park 1st Brands Hatch 3rd 2nd 44 Full International Formula 3000 Results (Legend) (Events highlighted in bold denote pole position; those in italics signify fastest lap.) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Points 1985 Barron Racing SIL THR EST NÜR VAL PAU SPA DIJ PER ÖST ZAN DON 15th 3 1986 Bromley Motorsport SIL VAL PAU SPA IMO MUG PER ÖST BIR BUG JAR NC 0 1987 Ralt SIL VAL SPA PAU DON PER BRH BIR IMO BUG JAR 3rd 30 1988 Bromley Motorsport JER VAL PAU SIL MNZ PER BRH BIR BUG ZOL DIJ '\'1st\ Complete Formula One Results (Legend) (Events in italics indicate fastest lap) ... [Entries for other years continue with similar formatting] ... Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Championship Position (WDC) Points Scored 1982 John Player Lotus Lotus 91 Cosworth V8 1982 South African Grand Prix 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix 1982 United States Grand Prix West 1982 San Marino Grand Prix 1982 Belgian Grand Prix 1982 Monaco Grand Prix 1982 Detroit Grand Prix 1982 Canadian Grand Prix style="background:#ffcfcf;"| 1982 Dutch Grand Prix DNQ 1982 British Grand Prix 1982 French Grand Prix 1982 German Grand Prix 1982 Austrian Grand Prix 1982 Swiss Grand Prix 1982 Italian Grand Prix 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix NC 0 Complete American Open-Wheel Racing Results (Template:American Open Wheel driver results legend#key) CART/Champ Car World Series ... [Season entries continue] ... Year Team Car Number Chassis Engine 1 2 ... [Race columns continue] ... ... [Results and points summary] ... IRL IndyCar Series ... [Season data continues] ... Year Team Chassis Car Number Engine ... [Race results columns] ... ... [Final ranking and points] ... 1 Events held on the same day. 2 Non-championship race. Indianapolis 500 Year Chassis Engine Starting Position Final Position Team 1986 Lola T86/00 Cosworth DFX V8 with turbo 32 19 Galles Racing 1994 Lola T94/00 Ford XB V8 turbocharged DNQ Arizona Motorsport 1999 G-Force GF01C Oldsmobile Aurora V8 23 20 Truscelli Racing 2007 Panoz GF09C Honda HI7R V8 31 33 Chastain Motorsports