Roberto González Valdés (born March 31, 1976, in Mexico City) is a Mexican racing driver from Monterrey. He competed in Champ Car in the 2003 season and for all of 2004. In 2003, he made his debut in the race at St. Petersburg in Florida for Dale Coyne Racing failing to complete the race. His other appearance in 2003 was at home in Mexico City where he substituted for veteran Roberto Moreno scoring his first Champ Car points in tenth spot.
González was given a full-time ride with PKV Racing for the 2004 season complete with backing from the Mexican arm of Nextel. However, he had a disappointing year with a best result of seventh place in Cleveland highlighting a year where he only finished 15th in the points standings. He was not retained for the 2005 season.
In 2012, González drove in three races for RSR Racing in the American Le Mans Series.
In 2013, González's younger brother Ricardo won the 81st edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2. In 2019, Roberto went on to win the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, both in the LMP2 class.
In the 90th edition of the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, González obtained the first position in the LMP2 class after six attempts. He teamed up with Will Stevens and António Félix da Costa. They would all later win the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship for LMP2.
González is also the founder of Mexican investment management company Soliq. González also serves as a board member of EPM, a cannabis-based drug development company, founded by Reshef Swisa, which sought to go public on the Israeli Stock Market, by attempting to raise NIS 44 million (at a pre-money valuation of NIS 381 million) through crowdfunding website Fundit.
EPM's offering to sell securities had been accompanied by an aggressive television campaign in Israel.
It was published that the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) formed the impression that the television campaign advertisements were not formulated with due care and were misleading investors. On June 1, 2022, it was announced that the board of directors of EPM decided to positively consider accepting alternative offers and to cancel the IPO, noting that all funds transferred by potential IPO investors, totaling NIS 26 million, were to be refunded without interest.
Racing record
Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 1995 Formula 3 Mexico Acero Solar ? ? ? ? ? 0 ? 1998 Indy Lights Panamericana N/A100001016th2001 Formula Chrysler EuroseriesAlpie Motorsport 7 2 1 0 6 106 2nd2002World Series by NissanGD Racing 17 0 0 0 0 7 22nd2003 Champ Car World Series Dale Coyne Racing 1 0 0 0 0 3 24th Herdez Competition 1 0 0 0 02004 Champ Car World Series PKV Racing 14 0 0 0 0 136 15th2012 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Greaves Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC† American Le Mans Series - LMPC RSR Racing 3 0 0 0 1 38 13th2016 FIA World Endurance Championship Manor 2 0 0 0 0 6 45th2017 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 CEFC Manor TRS Racing 9 0 0 0 0 46 18th 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship - DPi AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports 2 0 0 0 0 39 43rd 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 DragonSpeed 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 DragonSpeed 8 1 1 0 3 117 3rd201924 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2DragonSpeed10000N/ADNFIMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP211001358th2019–20FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2Jota Sport81005152 3rd202024 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2Jota Sport10001N/A 2ndEuropean Le Mans Series - LMP2100000NC†2021FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2Jota Sport6100479 3rd24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP210000N/A8th2022 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Jota Sport 6 1 0 0 5 137 1st24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP211001N/A 1st † As González was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.
Complete American Open-Wheel Racing results (key)
CART/Champ Car World Series Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points Ref2003 Dale Coyne Racing 11 Lola B02/00 Ford XFE V8tSTP17MTYLBHBRHLAUMILLSPORCLETORVANROAMDOMTLDENMIA 24th 3 Herdez Competition 4MXC10SRFFON 2004 PKV Racing 21 Lola B02/00 Ford XFE V8tLBH14MTY9MIL12POR10CLE7TOR13VAN13ROA16DEN12MTL10LS14LVS10SRF11MXC12 15th 136^
^ New points system implemented in 2004
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points 2016 Manor LMP2 Oreca 05 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA LMS NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 45th 6 2017 CEFC Manor TRS Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL SPA LMS NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 18th 46 2018–19 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA LMS SIL FUJ SHA SEB SPA LMS 3rd 117 2019–20 Jota Sport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL FUJ SHA BHR COA SPA LMS BHR 3rd 152 2021 Jota Sport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA ALG MNZ LMS BHR BHR 3rd 123 2022 Jota Sport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 1st 137 * Season still in progress.
24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2017 CEFC Manor TRS Racing Vitaly Petrov Simon Trummer Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 152 DNF DNF 2018 DragonSpeed Pastor Maldonado Nathanaël Berthon Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 360 9th 5th 2019 DragonSpeed Pastor Maldonado Anthony Davidson Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 245 DNF DNF 2020 Jota Sport António Félix da Costa Anthony Davidson Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 370 6th 2nd 2021 Jota Sport António Félix da Costa Anthony Davidson Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 358 13th 8th 2022 Jota Sport António Félix da Costa Will Stevens Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 369 5th 1st
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points 2018 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports P Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB LBH MDO DET WGL MOS ELK LGA PET 43rd 39
References
External links Roberto Gonzalez Driver Bio from the Champ Car World Series official website