Sylvio de Barros, an entrepreneur who has competed and received on each pavement and off-road, died Monday on the age of 57 after slipping and hitting his head on a rock whereas at a waterfall in Jardinópolis.
Barros was the founding father of the Brazilian on-line automobile marketplaces WebMotors and iCarros. The previous was the primary of its form within the nation, launching in 1995 shortly after he departed Normal Motors; as WebMotors took off, it attracted traders like JP Morgan earlier than being acquired by Santander, and is now underneath majority management by Carsales after being bought in 2023. iCarros was created in 2007 with the assistance of the financial institution Banco Itaú Unibanco, who at the moment runs it. His most up-to-date undertaking was electrical automobile platform zMatch, based in 2021.
In 1995, he received the Rally dos Sertões within the Manufacturing bike class earlier than switching to four-wheeled competitors, ending second in 2018. Barros and a gaggle of traders acquired the rally’s organiser Dunas Race the yr after. His final Sertões Rally in 2023 was minimize quick when water obtained into his Toyota Hilux T1+’s engine in the course of the penultimate stage.
His cross-country rally successes prompted him to enter the Dakar Rally in 2007 on a KTM bike, however retired. He hoped to attempt once more the next yr till the race was cancelled, and he must wait 9 extra years earlier than getting one other shot. Piloting a Mini All4 Racing for X-raid Group, he and fellow Brazilian Rafael Capoani completed eighteenth within the 2017 version.
In February, Barros and Ramon Sacilotti received the South American Rally Race general in his Hilux.
Barros’ racing achievements additionally prolonged to one-make pavement racing, profitable the Porsche Cup Brasil‘s GT3 Cup Problem in 2011 and 2012 adopted by the GT3 4.0 class title in 2018. His Porsche and Hilux sometimes sported a livery modelled after the Mach 5 from Pace Racer.
“This can be a nice loss for the Sertões household; for all associates, household and motorsport,” stated Sertões CEO Leonora Guedes. “Wherever he was, Sylvio was synonymous with pleasure. He by no means went unnoticed wherever, at all times crammed with good vitality. He taught us to stay flippantly and intensely, with a smile on our faces, and that is his principal legacy. He left us too quickly and can be tremendously missed in all of the circles he was part of.”
He’s survived by his spouse Vanessa and kids André and Stella.
