Photo: Roberto Moreno (left), alongside Nelson Piquet and Aguri Suzuki on the podium. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
All reminiscent of the japanese Grand Prix of 1990 by the image of Ayrton Senna taking ahead of Alain Prost in the first corner. An incident, clear revenge of what happened a year ago on the same stage, which gave the brazilian the second of his three world titles. But that vendetta opened the door for a fellow countryman, much less well-known to achieve that the dessert would be his best result in Formula 1.
Roberto Moreno, born in 1959, came to Europe in 1979 and began his career in single-seaters in the various championships for Formula Ford, winning the title, british and being runner-up in the european, in addition to winning the prestigious Formula Ford Festival Brands Hatch. In 1982, he was chosen by Lotus to replace the injured Nigel Mansell in the Netherlands, but failed to qualify for the race. A disappointment that made up for it with his victory months later in the prestigious Grand Prix of Macau.It took five years for its debut in the maximum category, with the modest equipment AGS, who played the last two races, Japan and Australia. In this last, a flurry of retirements allowed him to score his first point at the end of the sixth thanks to the disqualification of -interestingly enough – Senna.
Moreno, with the Lotus at Zandvoort (1982). Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Roberto won the Formula 3000 in 1988 (had been third the year before) and he came to Formula 1 with scuderia Coloni. His first season was a succession of (very few) dropouts, and (many), not classifications. Story that was repeated in 1990 with the team-Eurobrun. But, on the eve of the Grand Prix of Japan, the pilot of Benetton Alessandro Nannini suffered serious injuries in a helicopter accident, and Brown was chosen to take his place.
Moreno is ranked at ninth square, three positions behind his team mate and friend Nelson Piquet. After the incident between Senna and Prost and the subsequent abandonment of their respective mates, Gerhard Berger and Nigel Mansell, Piquet and Moreno inherited the top two positions, which retained it until the end. When you get to the closed park, Moreno got out of his multicolor B190 and, on the verge of tears, fused in an embrace with Piquet. It was not the only milestone that day in Suzuka. Aguri Suzuki, the third, became the first japanese on the podium.
That result allowed Moreno to retain the post at Benetton in 1991, . But lost it when the team was done with the services of such a Michael Schumacher before the Grand Prix of Italy. For Roberto, it was a return to the principles. Ran with Jordan in Italy and Portugal, and with Minardi in Australia, then compete in the 1992 season, with the disastrous team Andrea Moda (miraculous their classification in Monaco) and the 1993 with the slightly less unfortunate Forti.
Moreno then directed his steps to the united States, where his biggest success was the victory in the Grand Prix of Cleveland Champ Car, in the year 2000, and the third position in the championship.
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