Tony Kanaan joins Arrow McLaren as IndyCar special advisor motorsport.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from motorsport.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Updated: 8:16 PM EDT May 23, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS Andre Ribeiro, a one-time Indianapolis 500 starter who gave Honda its first IndyCar victory, has died from cancer at the age of 55.
Ribeiro was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was a key member of a Brazilian revolution of drivers in the top level of North American open-wheel racing. He, Gil de Ferran and Christian Fittipaldi helped set the stage for Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Bruno Junqueira and Cristiano da Matta, among others, to race in North America.
Ribeiro’s four seasons in CART were highlighted by a 1995 victory from the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which was Honda’s first win in the sport. That was the first of his three victories for with Tasman Motorsports, the team that brought him to the United States through Indy Lights.
For 1994, Ribeiro moved to the U.S. and entered Indy Lights with Tasman Motorsports alongside Steve Robertson. Robertson beat Ribeiro to the Lights crown, but the Brazilian still impressed with four wins and four poles and runner-up in the championship.
That earned Ribeiro a ride with Tasman in CART Indy cars in 1995 and although the early Honda unit struggled for reliability in the back of Tasman’s singleton Reynard, a fourth place at Road America was encouraging and then at the one-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ribeiro took pole and drove Honda to its first Indy car win.
The racing world is paying tribute to Ribeiro on Sunday.