Benito Guerra Jr.
 Guerra, Jr., with Javier Lozano (left), in 2005 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Mexican |
| Born | 25 March 1985 Estado de Mexico, Mexico |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 2006 – present |
| Co-driver |  Borja Rozada |
| Teams | Ralliart, Citroën Racing |
| Rallies | 1 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Stage wins | 0 |
| Total points | 4 |
| First rally | 2006 Rally México |
| Last rally | 2013 Rally México |
| Last updated on: 12 March 2013. | |
Benito Iván Guerra Latapí (born 25 March 1985) is a Mexican rally driver competing for Citroën Racing, a privateer team in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2013, with his co-driver Borja Rozada.
In 2012 he won the Production World Rally Championship (PWRC) and became a World Champion.[1]
Personal life
His father is Benito Guerra, Sr., a vintage racing driver like La Carrera Panamericana[2] and Notary public in Mexico City, his mother is Mercedes Guerra (née Latapí), a CPA. Benito has a younger sister named Mercedes, a fan of motorsport.
Career
2006 – 2010
Guerra, Jr. made his World Rally Championship debut on his home event Rally Mexico in 2006, finishing the event in 26th.[3] In 2007 he started both Rally Mexico and Rally Argentina, but retired from both with mechanical problems. He finished 14th on the 2008 Rally México, winning the Group N category. In 2009 he won the Spanish Production title, winning the Spanish gravel title outright in 2010. He finished 15th overall and fourth in PWRC on the 2010 Rally México.
2011
He began 2011 by finishing 11th overall on Rally Mexico, and then committed to a PWRC programme. He finished fourth in PWRC in Portugal, fourth in Australia and third in Spain. At the end of the season Guerra, Jr. finished sixth overall, scoring 47 WRC points.[4]
2012
Benito and his co-driver Borja Rozada, won in México, Argentina and España rallies, plus a second place in Germany, thereby the Mexican-Spaniard duo got the PWRC world championship with 109 points, over the Argentinian team Marcos Ligato and Rubén García (88 points).[5] So, Guerra, Jr. became the first Mexican rally driver to got a World Championship, and the second Mexican to earn a title in the world of motorsport. Until then only Pedro Rodríguez(†) was the only one who has achieved in 1970 and 1971 at the World Sportscar Championship with JW-Porsche.
- Race of Champions
As of the 2012, PWRC champion Benito Guerra, Jr. is invited to participate in the 25th edition of the Race of Champions, from 14 to 16 December in Bangkok along with racing legends like Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. His teammate of Team Americas is the Texan Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2012 IndyCar Series champion.[6][7]
Guerra, Jr. said: “This is a great end-of-season challenge and it’s fantastic for my career to be part of ROC 2012. I’m very excited to compete with all of these great drivers and join Team Americas with Ryan Hunter-Reay. See you all in Bangkok!” [8]
In the Nations Cup race Guerra beats Jorge Lorenzo and the ROC Champion of Champions of 2011, Sébastien Ogier but is defeated by Andy Priaulx, due to a penalty. Therefore the Team Americas is eliminated in the first round because Hunter-Reay is defeated in two of his three rounds.[9][10]
For the Champion of Champions event Guerra, Jr. bears little fortune and is eliminated in first round. At the end the overall winner of the ROC 2012 is the F1 driver Romain Grosjean.[11][12]
2013
Due to lack of sponsorship Guerra, Jr. did not participate in Monaco and Sweden rallies but in his country México he started with Citroën Racing, a privateer team in the WRC in 2013, with his co-driver Borja Rozada.
On his very first race in the WRC, as a rookie in the category, Guerra gets a great result entering in the top-ten of the Mexican rally, thus he gets his first four points for the championship ending at 8th overall position behind the winner Sébastien Ogier for 12:49.8 minutes.[13][14][15]
Complete World Rally Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Benito Guerra | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII | MON | SWE | MEX 26 |
ESP | FRA | ARG | ITA | GRE | GER | FIN | JPN | CYP | TUR | AUS | NZL | GBR | NC | 0 |
| 2007 | Benito Guerra | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII | MON | SWE | NOR | MEX Ret |
POR | ARG Ret |
ITA | GRE | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | NC | 0 | ||||
| 2008 | Benito Guerra | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII | MON | SWE | MEX 14 |
ARG | JOR | ITA | GRE | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | NC | 0 | |
| 2009 | RMC Motorsport | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII | IRE | NOR | CYP | POR | ITA | GRE | POL | FIN | AUS | ESP 30 |
GBR | NC | 0 | |||||
| 2010 | Benito Guerra | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | SWE | MEX 15 |
JOR | TUR | NZL | POR | BUL | FIN | GER | JPN | FRA | ESP | GBR | NC | 0 | |||
| 2011 | Ralliart | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | SWE | MEX 11 |
POR 18 |
JOR | ITA | ARG 15 |
GRE | FIN Ret |
GER | FRA | ESP 24 |
GBR Ret |
26th | 2 | ||||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | AUS 9 |
|||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Ralliart | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | MON | SWE | MEX 11 |
POR | ARG 11 |
GRE 19 |
NZL | FIN | GER 16 |
GBR | FRA | ITA 24 |
ESP 18 |
NC | 0 | |||
| 2013 | Benito Guerra, Jr. | Citroën DS3 WRC | MON | SWE | MEX 8 |
POR | ARG | GRE | ITA | FIN | GER | AUS | FRA | 24th | 4 | |||||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | ESP 14 |
GBR |
* Season in progress.
PWRC results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | PWRC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Benito Guerra | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | SWE | MEX 5 |
JOR | NZL | FIN | GER | JPN | FRA | GBR | 18th | 12 |
| 2011 | Ralliart | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | SWE | POR 4 |
ARG 6 |
FIN Ret |
ESP 3 |
GBR Ret |
6th | 47 | |||
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | AUS 4 |
||||||||||||
| 2012 | Ralliart | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | MON | MEX 1 |
ARG 1 |
GRE 4 |
NZL | GER 2 |
ITA 6 |
ESP 1 |
1st | 109 |
References
- ^ Beer, Matt (November 11, 2012). "Sunday PWRC wrap: Guerra crowned". WRC.com. WRC.com. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "Resultados oficiales/Official results" (PDF). LaCarreraPanamericana.com.mx. LaCarreraPanamericana.com.mx. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "Driver profile – Beníto Guerra jr". eWRC-results.com. eWRC.cz. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ "2011 FIA WRC-3 Standings". WRC.com. WRC.com. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ http://www.wrc.com/pwrc/results/
- ^ http://www.periodico.am/aguascalientes/benitoguerraesconvocadoalraceofchampions-53342.html
- ^ http://www.raceofchampions.com/pages/common/RaceofChampions.aspx?pg=7619
- ^ http://www.raceofchampions.com/News/general-news/guerra-to-partner-hunterreay-on-team-americas.aspx
- ^ http://raceofchampions.com/News/general-news/team-germany-win-sixth-roc-nations-cup.aspx
- ^ http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104840
- ^ http://raceofchampions.com/News/general-news/grosjean-crowned-2012-champion-of-champions.aspx
- ^ http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104845
- ^ http://www.wrc.com/results/
- ^ http://www.wrc.com/results/2013/rally-guanajuato-mexico/stage-times/
- ^ http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105939
External links
- Official website
- Benito Guerra Jr. on Facebook
- Benito Guerra Jr. on X
- Benito Guerra – Guerra, Jr.'s profile at WRC's official website
- Benito Guerra – Guerra, Jr.'s profile at Race of Champions' official website