GAY FORMULA 1 DRIVERS

They say that the two things that interest people the most is sex and money, in general, but as well as on the internet. I can attest to that. I have literally thousands of posts published in dozens of websites, in several languages, and the one racing post that got the most attention was one about the wealthiest formula 1 driver in the world!  

As for sex, I ran an experiment in a blog. I published a post saying “Nude pictures of [a certain young Hollywood actress girl-next-door looking who shall remain unnamed]”. There was no picture of the young actress on the blog, undressed or dressed, just a black box. The reader was instructed to Pass the mouse on top of the picture, and right hand click three times, because the pictures were so ”hot”. You cannot imagine how many people clicked on the thing! In fact, in less than a month, there were over 100,000 hits on the post, over 10,000 in one day! Eventually people caught on that it was a joke, and the number of visitors dropped considerably. I got no bombs in the mail.

As for sex and formula 1 drivers, well, there were a few that liked to brag about their success with the ladies, such as James Hunt and Nelson Piquet father. Personally I find that in poor taste. At least Formula 1 drivers did not go as far as American basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, who claimed to have had over 20,000 partners in his sporting career, and a Brazilian soccer player, now coach, the humbler Renato Gaucho, claimed to have bedded 5,000 women. That was in pre-Viagra days. Where exactly these folks found the time to have sex with these many women, during short career spans, I do not know…

As for the subject of homosexuality and Formula 1, I am reminded of a famous driver (who shall remain nameless as well) who was asked in an interview if there were any gay formula 1 drivers, responding that if there were, he would “do him”. I suppose that is a confession of sorts, or sheer ignorance that both the active and passive partner in a homosexual relation are considered homosexual! I suppose the joke turned against him…  

Sports car great Hurley Haywood recently “came out” declaring himself to be homosexual. Hurley provided that information in his autobiography and even his Wikipedia entry contains that information. To my knowledge, no other major race driver has found it necessary to expose that area of his(her) life, and certainly no formula 1 driver.

In forums and private conversations, one hears all types of stories, claiming that “x” or “y” is or was gay. One such driver apparently was not at all uncomfortable with his sexuality, but was a fearsome fighter and would still beat the crap of anybody who insinuated anything…As evidence people refer to weird and early deaths, including from AIDS, living in San Francisco, and the fact that so and so driver was rarely seen with women in public. This, to me, is an invasion of privacy. As far as race drivers go, what really interests me is how they do on the track, their results, their careers; and their sex lives do not really interest me.

So, I am sorry if I disappoint you. This post will not elucidate any curiosity you might have about gay Formula 1 drivers. Are (were) there any? Sure. Do I care? No. Just remember that one of the first men to undergo a sex change operation was a British race car driver and former RAF pilot, Robert Cowell, back in the 40s. So anything is possible. Do not worry, I will not post any black box and instruct you to pass over and right-hand click three times to reveal any names…Don't click on the white helmeted guy either...

AN UNUSUAL FORMULA 1 BROADCASTER

As far as Formula 1 broadcasters go, Brazil’s RGT is among the longest-running in the game - probably number 1 - for it has been showing Formula 1 races year year since 1972. It played a key role bringing international motor racing back to Brazil in 1970, providing promotional support to several tournaments held in the country until Brazil was firmly placed in the official GP calendar. It was a good bet for RGT, for Emerson Fittipaldi not only became a 2-time World Champion, something it could only dream back in early 1970, but the country has also produced two other world champions, including a driver widely reckoned the best ever, Ayrton Senna.

Notwithstanding this enviable track record, RGT's race announcer, Galvao Bueno, is widely criticized by many in Brazil, accused of a style that mixes annoying and overly enthusiastic cheerleading (for Brazilian drivers, often seeing marvelous performances where there are none), soccer game coverage techniques, poor focus on what is really going on in the track, recalcitrant knowledge of the sport’s history, racing dynamics and mechanics, and questionable analytical skills. Despite these shortcomings, Galvao, who incidentally also announces Brazilian national team soccer games and dabbles in other sports coverage, remains the mainstay of RGT Formula 1 cover for decades.

Brazil has been non-stop on the calendar since 1973, a status that few countries can match at present – I can only think of Britain, Italy and Monaco. Yet, not all is rosy for the Brazilian race. In the medium term, there is talk of privatizing the Interlagos circuit, which might result in its ultimate destruction. In the short term, for the first time since 1970 there is no Brazilian driver in Formula 1, and the pipeline looks grim. This of course does not sit well with Galvao’s unusual and spirited race coverage, for there is nothing to cheer about. So he rants on and on about Ayrton’s past achievements…

That is enough to make RGT a most unusual Formula 1 broadcaster, but there is more.

RGT is by far the top TV broadcaster in Brazil, and a true media empire, encompassing radio stations, newspapers, magazine and internet publishing. Among other things, it is one of the top producers of soap operas in the world, which are sold in several markets. In these, RGT unashamedly makes merchandising for a variety of products, including cosmetics, clothing, cell phones, cars and even Uber. It even managed to do merchandising in a soap opera staged in the Middle Ages… 

However, RGT is known to have a pet peeve – it does not like giving free promotion to anybody.

In that connection,  RGT is unique in that it refuses to call the formula 1 team Red Bull, what it is, Red Bull. It is consistently called RBR during race coverage, newscasts, and other company media (in fairness, in the traditional car magazine Auto Esporte, also published by the conglomerate, every once in a while the name Red Bull appears). There must be some bad blood, somewhere, or a more plausible explanation.

To Brazilian broadcaster RGT, there is no Red Bull Formula 1 team...

Yet, RGT sees no problems calling Ferraris, Renaults and Mercedes what they are. For the first two, there is a clear explanation. Recently Jeep (FIAT group, therefore, Ferrari) and Nissan (Renault group) were involved in merchandising actions in Brazilian soap operas. As for Mercedes, there are at best some tens of thousands of people able to even think of buying a Mercedes car in Brazil, and many probably do not even watch the channel. However, there are millions that can buy a can of Red Bull everyday, millions that do watch the channel. So Mercedes is properly identified, Red Bull becomes RBR.

I suppose that Red Bull has never advertised in any of RGT’s media, and understandably refuses do so in Formula 1, for owning two teams is expensive enough. As Dieter Mateschitz has a reputation for standing his ground, RGT remains the only broadcaster in the world to call Red Bull RBR.

If you are wondering what RGT stands for, well, as long as they refuse to properly identify Red Bull, I refuse to identity them properly.  

Much more information about racing in the 70's can be found in my book MOTOR RACING IN THE 70'S - PIVOTING FROM ROMANTIC TO ORGANIZED. It is a 472-page book about racing in the period,  with 242 photos, covering Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 5000, other lower formulae, Formula Indy, NASCAR, Touring Cars, Sports Cars, Can Am, Trans Am, IMSA, DRM, local racing scenes, main driver profiles, plus long lists of makes that raced in the period, main drivers and racing venues from 85 countries, year highlights, performance and financial analysis of the sport. It can be bought at Amazon shops in the USA, UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia, Japan, 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732674426

A different take on Wilson Fittipaldi Junior

I suppose it is a bit hard to be a 2-time world champion’s brother, specially if you are a race car driver yourself. In addition to being a champion, Emerson was also a pioneer, but in that respect, Wilson pulls a lot of weight himself – he was the first Brazilian to race in quite a few categories.  It is easy to dismiss Wilson’s achievements in motor sport, specially not paying attention to a lot he did in Brazil. So this article will not stress so much Wilson’s short official formula 1 career, but rather, his achievements elsewhere. If even the excellent book Grand Prix Driver’s Who’s Who, by Steve Small, makes several blunders concerning Wilson’s career, what can be expected of other lesser sources?

Emerson’s older brother began racing in 1962, and was quickly hired by the Willys works team. Willys produced Renault cars under license in Brazil, which included the Dauphine (called Gordini there) and the Interlagos, which was a version of the French Alpine sports car. Wilson won many races in both, and also drove a Fiat-Abarth on occasion. By 1965, Luis Greco, Willy’s boss, had dreamed of a Brazilian single seater series powered by Renault engines, and thus was born the Gavea. 

Modeled on the French Alpine Formula 3 car, the Gavea’s competition debut was on the fast Interlagos 500 km race, which was run on the shorter and faster external circuit. Against Corvette powered Maserati 250Fs and Simca-Abarths, Wilson did well to finish 2nd. However, there was no category for the car in Brazil, the Brazilian single seater series never took off, so the Gavea only raced again in the 1966 Formula 3 Temporada in Argentina. The enterprising Brazilian team raced against some of the best Formula 3 drivers of the day, and in one occasion, Wilson actually qualified better than Clay Regazzoni. His best finish was 9th in the 2nd round of the four-race series. But the dreams of taking the Gavea to Europe never took off. For one thing, the Brazilian economy was in dire straits, recessive policies were implemented to reduce the high inflations, and the weaker carmakers, including Willys-Overland, all hit trouble. Willys was sold to Ford, and although the team continued in the new guise, a lot of the drivers left.

Jean Redele, Alpine’s boss, had “invited” talented and ambitious Wilson to drive in Europe, and off he went in 1966, as the local racing scene looked doomed. Unfortunately, the invitation was either overstated at a spur of the moment,  or Mr Redele had second thoughts, so once he arrived in Europe Wilson did not find the support he expected. Eventually he attempted to qualify at Coupe de Vitesse in Reims, in one of Marius dal Bo’s Pygmee team and got a huge lesson. But there you go, Emerson was not the first Brazilian to drive in Formula 3 in Europe, Wilson was.

Upon returning to Brazil, Wilson and brother Emerson created three important race cars: the Fitti-Vê, a Formula Vee car (the category was being introduced in 1967) which took Emerson to the Brazilian title that year. Several units of the car were built and sold, some sources claiming an exaggerated 50 units (!!). Hyperbole aside, he Fitti was a commercial success. Then they also built a prototype called Fitti-Porsche, a Porsche engine car that was very fast, but also tended to be fragile. There was also a 2-engined VW Beetle designed by Richard Divila, which was fast, a novelty, but not a race winner. 

The more humble Fittipaldi prepared VW Beetle 1600 won the 12 Hours of Porto Alegre, with the brothers driving. This is a milestone, for it was the VW Beetle’s first major overall win in Brazil.

Wilson also drove other cars before travelling to Europe, including Jolly’s Alfa GTA and the VW powered AC prototype, winning occasionally. He took part in the BUA Formula Ford tournament before flying to Europe, and then had a full season of Formula 3, driving a Lotus like his brother. Although he did not win a championship, he won as many races as Carlos Pace, the other Brazilian hot shoe, including a race in the continent, the Coupe du Salon in Monthlery, against the likes of Jarier, Salvati, Jaussaud, Birrel and Migault.

Brazil also held a Sports Car series called Copa Brazil at the end of 1970, and Wilson drove a Lola T70 to great effect, winning a race in Interlagos. Among the participants in this series were brother Emerson in a Lola T210, Jorge de Bragation, Alex Soler Roig and Gianpiero Moretti. Then, there was a Formula 3 tournament. Wilson  won the first two rounds, against strong international competition, including Pace, Salvati, Walker, Trimmer, Migault, Palm and even future World Champion Alan Jones.

It is easy to downplay Wilson’s achievements in Formula 2, for his brother Emerson won six races between 1971 and 72, but because Emerson was a graded driver, Wilson ended up the highest scoring Brazilian in the European Formula 2 championship in 1971  (16 points, 6th), 1972 (10 points, 12th) and 1973 (6 points, 12th). He also won a non-championship Formula 2 race at Misano in 1973, in the highly unused but pretty Brabham BT 40. In the Brazilian year-end tournaments of 1971 and 1972 Wilson got a couple of 3rds and a 4th in 1971, and a 3rd, a 4th and a 6th in 1972.

Wilson actually raced in Formula 1 before going to Formula 2, another detail about his career that is mostly overlooked. He raced a Lotus 49 in the Non-Championship Argentine Grand Prix of 1971, retiring. Another achievement was the fact that the first driver to lead a lap in a Brazilian Grand Prix was not Emerson, but rather Wilson, who jumped in front in the  1972 trial race from the second row. His car was an older BT33, not sufficiently strong to hold Emerson, Reutemann (the eventual winner in a newer Brabham) and Peterson, but a point had been made and he was the best placed Brazilian in 3rd.

I suppose that Wilson, more so than Emerson, was interested in projects, designing, making things, not so much driving for other people. The fact that he was fast in F1 car was proven in Monaco, 1973, of all places, where he was 3rd before retiring (some sources claim he was second, but I remember him being 3rd). It is interesting to note that he went that far up against the most competitive drivers of the season, not because people dropped out. After all, the top 6 finishers in the race were the top 6 in the championship, in the right order (Stewart-Emerson-Peterson-Cevert-Revson-Hulme). And in his final race for Brabham, the 1974 non-championship Brasilia race he did better in the second car than all other drivers used by the team in the early season (Robarts, Larrousse, Von Opel). But the will to make a Brazilian f1 car was stronger than trying to win races in other people’s cars, like his brother.

Wilson did a little sports car racing between 1971 and 1973. He raced in the 1971 European 2 Liter Championship round at Hockenheim, driving an Abarth (retired). Later in the year, he also raced a Ford GT40 in local Brazilian races. The Greco team’s Lola T210 shared with Tite Catapani retired in the early stages of the 1000 km of Buenos Aires of 1972. Later in the year, Wilson drove a Porsche 917 in the second Copa Brazil, against the likes of Andrea de Adamich, Willy Kauhsen and Georg Loos, and won a race and the title. Then in 1973, Wilson drove a Kauhsen 917-30 in the Interseries race at, scoring pole position but failing to finish in the Hockenheim closing round.

After the demise of the Fittipaldi Formula 1 team, Wilson drove in the Brazilian Stockcar championship, winning a few rounds. And he also managed to score a great victory with son Christian Fittipaldi driving a Porsche 993 in the traditional Brazilian 1000 mile race’s 1995 edition, well into his 50s.

So there is a quite a bit you might not know about Wilson’s racing activities, besides his two seasons at Brabham and one season driving his own car in F1. Although not quantitatively as successful as his brother Emerson, Wilson’s contribution to racing in and out of Brazil was quite impressive.

If you are really interested on 70s racing, you cannot miss my book Motor Racing in the 70s. It has 472 pages, 242 photos, and over 180,000 words. It covers racing in 85 countries during the decade, including year-by-year highlights, comprehensive lists of champions, venues, main drivers by country, race car manufacturers, and production cars that raced in the decade. A lot of the information is rare and published in English for the first time. You can have it for as little as US$ 9.99 (Kindle), while the paperback version costs only US$ 32,99. Buy at amazon.com/dp/1732674426

You can also buy it in local amazon shops in Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Spain, Netherlands, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India, Australia. 

The Non-Championship F1 races of the 70s and 80s

Until the 70’s, non-championship Formula 1 races were an important part of the racing calendar. In the 50’s, in fact, sometimes there were more non-championship races than those valid for the championship. These were different times, of course. In the 50’s the official calendar comprised about 8 races, rather than the 20+ of our days.

While in the 50’s most non-championship races were still held in Italy and France, by the 70’s, the vast majority was held in England, at Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Oulton Park. Such non-championship races were also held as trial for future official events, such as the Argentine Grand Prix of 1971 and the Brazilian Grand Prix of 1972.  

After 1983, Non-Championship F1 races, including the traditional Race of Champions were gone. Not only was the calendar full, but TV money and sponsorship ensured teams and drivers did not need to boost their coffers with prize and start money paid in such races, which was not much, at any rate.

Such races also allowed drivers and teams which generally did not shine in the World Championship to do well. Surtees was the best example. An avid participant of such races, Big John won two editions of the Gold Cup in Oulton Park, in 1970 and 1971. Stommelen led the Argentine GP of 1971. In 1972 Surtees cars did really well in non-championship races: Hailwood (2nd in the Race of Champions), de Adamich (2nd in Valellunga and 3rd in the Race of Victory), Pace (2nd in the race of Victory), Surtees (3rd in the International Trophy) and Schenken (3rd in the Gold Cup) all got podium positions in such races, a feat that only Hailwood managed in a single race of the F1 Championship (in Monza, 2nd place). In 1974, Jochen Mass was second in the International Trophy, in 1975 John Watson was second in the Race of Champions and in 1976 Alan Jones was second in the Race of Champions. If only Surtees did so well on the World Championship…

Another feature of such races was the inclusion of Formula 5000 cars in some of the races until 1975. Starting in 1976, only Formula 1 cars took part in these races. If on one hand, the fields got smaller, there was less drama on the track, for F1 drivers often complained of some of the slower F5000 cars. 

In the 1973 Race of Champions Peter Gethin managed to win the race driving a F5000 Chevron-Chevrolet, because the best F1 cars all had mechanical issues.

These races allowed some drivers (and some cars) who did not have the best of luck earning points in Championship races to finish in the top 6: Tony Trimmer (6th in the 1971 Spring Trophy, 3rd in the 1978 international Trophy, 4th in the 1973 Race of Champions), Luiz Bueno (6th in the 1972 Brazilian Grand Prix), Raul Boesel (5th in the 1983 Race of Champions), Brian Henton (4th in the 1977 and 1983 Race of Champions) Patrick Gaillard (6th in the Spanish GP of 1980), David Purley (6th in the 1977 Race of Champions, driving the LEC), Bob Evans (6th in the 1975 race of Champions), Ray Allen (6th in the 1971 Race of Champions), Allan Rollinson (5th in the Spring Trophy), Nanni Galli (5th in the Jochen Rindt Memorial race of 1971 and 3rd in the Valellunga race of 1972), Vern Schuppan (4th in the Race of Victory, and 5th in the Gold Cup, 1972), François Migault (5th in the 1974 International Trophy), Jean Louis Schlesser (6th in the 1983 Race of Champions), Skip Barber (6th in the 1971 Jochen Rindt Memorial) and John Nicholson (6th in the 1974 International Trophy, in the Lyncar). Some of these drivers never even started a F-1 race.

A car that raced only in non-championship races was the Safir (which was really a Token in disguise) in the International Trophy and Race of Champions of 1975.  The unloved De Tomaso was driven to third place by Piers Courage in the 1970 International Trophy.

These were not the only Non Championship F1 races of the period. South Africa had its local championship that featured a few F-1 cars until 1975, and the European Formula 5000 championship morphed into an almost Formula Libre championship in 1976, which allowed F-1 cars. Eventually the F5000’s were dropped, and the championship run by older F-1 and F-2 cars. Any time these cars attempted to race in the F1 championship proper, they did very poorly.

Keke Rosberg in the unlikely winner, a Theodore

Some other interesting events in Non-Championship F1 races during the period were:

* The Brasilia race track was inaugurated in a non-championship F1 race held soon after the Brazilian Grand Prix of 1974. The winner, as in the GP, was also Emerson Fittipaldi, and Arturo Merzario had his only podium in F1 in this race, 3rd.

*The first Japanese driver to race in F1 was Noritake Takahara, driving a March in the International Trophy of 1974.

* Jacky Ickx’s last F1 win was the Race of Champions in 1974. Under the rain, of course.

* In the Questor GP of 1971, A.J.Foyt, Al Unser and Swede Savage, all prominent Indycar drivers, ran against F1 machinery for the first and last time, driving F5000s.

* The last time a BRM finished in the top 6 of a F1 race was Bob Evans’ 6th place in the 1975 Race of Champions. The last time a BRM won a race was Beltoise’s win in the Race of Victory, driving the unpopular BRM P180.

* During this period, non-championship F1 races were run in England, Argentina, United States, Brazil, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain and France. The latter was the venue of the Swiss Grand Prix of 1975.  

* Run in deluge, the 1978 International trophy had an unlikely podium: Keke Rosberg won it in a Theodore, followed by Emerson Fittipaldi in a Fittipaldi and Tony Trimmer on a McLaren. The top drivers Andretti, Peterson, Lauda and Hunt all  fell victim of accidents.

* A very rare sight in modern Formula 1 was a private Ferrari, run by Scuderia Everest for Giancarlo Martini in 1976. He was 10th in the International Trophy.   

* Tom Pryce won the 1975 Race of Champions in the Shadow DN5, a very good car which failed to score wins in the Championship. This was also Pryce's only win in F1.

* Chris Amon, widely reckoned to be the best F1 driver never to win a race, actually won two Non-Championship races: the 1970 International Trophy, in a March, and the Argentine GP of 1971, in a Matra-Simca. Curiously, both races were 2-heat races. 

Much more information about racing in the 70's can be found in my book MOTOR RACING IN THE 70'S - PIVOTING FROM ROMANTIC TO ORGANIZED. It is a 472-page book about racing in the period,  with 242 photos, covering Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 5000, other lower formulae, Formula Indy, NASCAR, Touring Cars, Sports Cars, Can Am, Trans Am, IMSA, DRM, local racing scenes, main driver profiles, plus long lists of makes that raced in the period, main drivers and racing venues from 85 countries, year highlights, performance and financial analysis of the sport. It can be bought at Amazon shops in the USA, UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia, Japan, 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732674426

Carlos de Paula is one of the top Brazilian Portuguese translators in the USA since 1982. And now a top Portuguese AI Translation editor as well. 

Luiz Pereira Bueno, Brazilian F-1 driver

For most Formula 1 fans, Luiz Pereira Bueno, often referred as Luiz Bueno, was just another unknown, wealthy driver from a far away land who managed to buy his way into a single ride in Formula 1 and fulfill a dream. It is true that Bueno had a single Formula 1 start, the Brazilian Grand Prix of 1973, driving an outdated Surtees model and finishing a lowly 12th after starting dead last. However, Bueno was not wealthy and he was definitely not a nobody. He was one of the main drivers of the pre-Fittipaldi generation, for Luiz had been racing since 1957 and rose to prominence as a Willys (Renault) factory driver in the early 60’s. There he raced Gordinis, Interlagos (a Brazilian version of the Alpine), Alpine, Formula Junior and the Bino prototypes. He won many races in the yellow cars, and even after the demise of Willys as a manufacturer, Bueno raced the Bino prototypes for a few more seasons.

One of the best things that happened to Brazilian racing was the closing of the Interlagos race track for renovations during 1968 and 1969! That meant no racing in Sao Paulo, where most of the best drivers and teams were located. It also meant that drivers began looking abroad to continue racing, and Luiz was one of them. He raced for Stirling Moss’ Formula Ford team in 1969, and just like Emerson Fittipaldi, won a few races, in fact six. However, Luiz reckoned he was too old for adventures, being 32, and decided to return to Brazil for good for the 1970 season. He did take part in the International Formula Ford (winning in Rio), Formula Three and Formula Two tournaments held in 1970 and 1971, and soldiered on with the Bino prototype during the 1970 season, winning a few more races.

In 1971, Luiz and Anisio Campos bought two Porsches, a 910 and a 908/2, set up a team called Equipe Z, which eventually got Hollywood cigarette sponsorship. Driving this car Luiz was basically unbeatable in local racing and even won an international race in Argentina. He also raced the car in the 1000 km of Austria of 1972, starting seventh with Tite Catapani (they failed to finish) and ended second in the 500 km of Interlagos of 1972, behind Reinhold Joest (Porsche 908-3).

By then Bueno had his first try in Formula 1, driving an older March 711 in the non-championship Brazilian GP of 1972. He did well to finish 6th, 2 laps behind the winner, Reutemann. 

As for his single World Championship outing, there isn’t much to say. Bueno’s car was a Surtees 

TS9B, and he was obviously forewarned by Big John to avoid crashing or over revving the engine. 

He ran a very conservative race, with the aim to finish, and that he did (this was a big deal at the time, you must remember). Dreaming of a 6th place that time would be impossible, for while the 1972 race was poorly supported, and the 1973 race had a full entry.

Luiz spent his last three seasons driving other Hollywood sponsored cars in Brazil. The Porsche 908-2 had been outlawed for 1973, so Luiz drove Chevrolet Opala and Ford Maverick saloons in sprints and long distance races, sat out 1974, and had a powerful Berta prepared Maverick and a Berta-Hollywood prototype for the 1975 season, winning six races.  He officially retired, but raced a few more times, once in a touring car race in 1978, unsuccessfully racing in the Brazilian Stockcar championship in 1982 and in the 1984 1000 km of Brasilia, retiring for good.  

Bueno was actually the only local Brazilian driver do manage getting a one-off ride for the Brazilian Grand Prix. At the time it was usual for local drivers to hire extra GP cars and participate in their local race. There were rumors that Antonio Castro Prado, Francisco Lameirão and Eduardo Celidoneo were getting rides for the local race, but these came to naught and maybe highly speculative. Part of the reason is that privateers usually did not take cars to the South American rounds, and most of these one-off happened in more humble teams. Works teams usually took as little equipment as possible.

Much more information about racing in the 70's can be found in my book MOTOR RACING IN THE 70'S - PIVOTING FROM ROMANTIC TO ORGANIZED. It is a 472-page book about racing in the period,  with 242 photos, covering Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 5000, other lower formulae, Formula Indy, NASCAR, Touring Cars, Sports Cars, Can Am, Trans Am, IMSA, DRM, local racing scenes, main driver profiles, plus long lists of makes that raced in the period, main drivers and racing venues from 85 countries, year highlights, performance and financial analysis of the sport. It can be bought at Amazon shops in the USA, UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia, Japan, 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732674426

The Winkelhock dynasty

Formula 1 dynasties are not that unusual. Just recently, Nico Rosberg, son of Keke, emulated his father’s 1982 feat and became world champion. Before that, Damon, son of Graham Hill, also managed to repeat his dad’s feat and became a world champion. There have been less successful dynasties: Michael Schumacher,  the F1 records  destroyer until second notice, was a seven-time world champion, however his brother Ralf only managed to win a few races, not bad for some families. Some children did better than their dads: Max Verstappen is this generation`s hot shoe and may yet be a world champion, while his father Jos only managed a couple of podiums.  Jacques Villeneuve, the son, won a championship, yet most, including this writer, consider his father much better. At any rate, the son was better than the uncle, the eponymous Jacques. Emerson Fittipaldi raced against his brother for a short while, and there is very little comparison between their F1 results. Later on, Wilson’s son Christian also raced in F1, with little success, and there may still be a Fittipaldi driving in F1. There were also the Scheckters: Jody a champion, Ian never scored a point. Plus the Magnussens: another case in which the son has been better than the father. The Rodriguez brothers, the Stewarts, the Piquets, the Andrettis, Senna and his nephew, etc.

You get the picture.

Then, there were the Winkelhocks.

Manfred first came to notice in 1977, when he was chosen as one of the BMW Junior Team Drivers. In a very competitive DRM small engined class, Manfred beat the likes of Hans Stuck, Eddie Cheever, Marc Surer, all BMW drivers and Ford’s Hans Heyer and Toine Hezemans.  The impressive Manfred was soon added to the BMW F2 team for 1978, as a third driver. Although March-BMW won both the 1978 and 1979 championships, Manfred did not fare well. He was fast, but his team mates got all the glory.

Eventually, Manfred reached Formula 1, while racing Porsches, BMWs and Fords in sports cars. His first try was in an Arrows, in the 1980 Italian GP that ended in a DNQ. In 1982, 83 and 84, Manfred suffered driving Cosworth and BMW engined ATS, under the recalcitrant leadership of Mr. Schmidt. In spite of the barely tolerable ride, Manfred managed to qualify the car better than most would expect, starting with a fifth place start in Detroit in 1982, and several Top 10 in 83 and 84. However, his only points were scored in his third entry, the Brazilian GP of 1982, and basically because the first and second on the road were disqualified.

In the last race of 1984 Manfred finally had a chance to drive a competitive car, a Brabham-BMW. He did not do well, and ended in 10th place.

For 1985 Manfred was signed up by RAM, and his performance dropped. He retired from most races, but the worse was yet to come. After winning in a Kremer Porsche at Monza, in the World Sportscar Championship, Manfred had an accident in Mosport and died from his injuries.

His brother Joachim had a much shorter F1 career, with an even worst car than Manfred’s rides, the AGS Cosworth in 1989. This was the age of over subscribed entry lists, and Joachim did not prequalify in the seven races he was entered. After the French GP, Joachim who was a promising German F3 Champion, was dropped from the team, never being considered for a F1 ride again.

Joachim did find a very successful career in Touring Cars and Sports Cars, managing to win the extremely competitive BTCC for BMW in 1993, and then the Le Mans 24 Hours of 1999, quite possible the most competitive ever in terms of field depth, aided by Yannick Dalmas and Pierluigi Martini, also driving a BMW. He drove a few more years after that, and then retired.

The third Winkelhock was perhaps the least rated of the three, and certainly had his detractors! Markus was Manfred’s son, and admittedly, did not really have a very brilliant career in the lower formulae.  Not withstanding, he was listed as Midland’s test driver for the 2006 season.  Then, he had a chance in 2007, and was entered as one of the drivers for Spyker, which was the renamed Midland team, in the European GP. Manfred got the drive because the team’s driver, Christjan Albers,  had left the team after the British GP. Markus got a deal for a single race in his native Germany.

The race looked bleak. Markus would start dead last, but there were weather related issues. As the driver with the least to lose in the lot, Spyker deciced that Markus should go to the pits, and his tires were changed to intermediates, while everybody else was on slicks. Winkelhock then started from the pits, and suddenly, a downpour came, and Markus was the only driver in the field who had tires to withstand the tempest. All hell broke lose, and as unlikely as it sounds, Markus Winkelhock passed many cars, and the German ended up in the lead of his first GP, driving a Spyker!   By the end of the second lap he was 19 seconds ahead of second place, and 33 seconds by the third lap! In total, Winkelhock led 6 laps, but his luck ran out. The race was red flagged, and restarted with Markus on pole (he started last and first in the same race, also very unusual), but the team rolled the dice once more and placed rain tires on the car, but the rain never came back.

A most unusual F1 career, for this was his first and last race in the category! As he retired after 15 laps, he led almost half of his laps in Formula 1.  And Winkelhock actually managed to lead more laps than GP winners Peter Gethin and Jochen Mass.  The nasty Spyker was taken over by Sakon Yamamoto in the next race and by the end of the year the team was sold to Viljay Mallya, who created the Force-India team.  Markus continued racing GTs and Touring Cars,   having won a few races and the 2012 FIA GT1 Championship.

As for the Winkelhocks, at least one their lot led a Grand Prix.  The last one in which a family member was entered. Such an unusual dynasty.

A dream come true at last

Fernando Alonso`s victory at SPA, driving a Toyota in an endurance race was a dream of mine. I appreciate Alonso, but am not necessarily a die-hard fan of his. The dream has to do with something else.

I began following racing at first timidly as an 8-year old in 1969, and my first full season of "serious" racing was 1972. By then I had become aware of the different categories, venues, and styles. I loved Formula 1, but I also loved the World Championship of Makes.

That season, a large number of Formula 1 drivers still raced in the Endurance championship. Off the top of my head, I came up with this list of drivers that raced in both F-1 and the Prototype championship that year: Ickx, Regazzoni, Marko, Galli, De Adamich, Bell, Redman, Peterson, Schenken, Ganley, Cevert, Hill, Migault, Beltoise, Amon, Pescarolo, Pace, Soler-Roig, Revson, Merzario, Andretti, W. Fittipaldi Jr., Wisell and Stommelen.

Out of many drivers used by Ferrari in its prototype campaign in 1972, only Sandro Munari did not race in F1 the same year.

While it is true that 72's  top 3 in F-1 did not touch endurance racing, the number 4, Ickx, won and was extremely competitive in both categories.

Times were different, of course. For one, the F-1 championship had only 12 races in 1972. Second, even GP drivers did not make much money back in those days, and to make a few more Dollars, Francs of Deutsche Marks,  they raced not only in the Makes Championship, but also Formula 2, Touring Cars, Formula 5000, Can-Am, Interserie, 2 Liters, hill climbs, and even local racing. With time, and TV, the F-1 schedule expanded to the current 20 plus races and so did salaries - in a nutshell, there is no more NEED for a driver to risk his neck in other categories, for any Joe can make US$ 500,000 a year driving F-1.

Every once in a while a current F1 driver might risk driving at Le Mans, like Hulkenberg a couple of years, back, but by and large, drivers stay in their own categories. I actually never thought I would witness a top F1 driver (Alonso is still highly rated, after all) ever again drive in an Endurance championship race.

Of course, I do not expect this to be a trend. For one, Alonso only accepted the ride because it was Toyota, which is the absolute class of the field. Back in 72 there were at least five competitive teams around, some with as many as 4 cars in certain races. Current GP drivers might be lured into Endurance if, and only if, there are a few top manufacturer teams - driving in a privateer LMP1 team is unlikely to draw top F1 contenders back into the long-distance game.

So let us enjoy while Alonso and Toyota are still around. Both are not likely to linger on much longer.