Skip to main content

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 It is true that Bueno had a single Formula 1 start, the Brazilian Grand Prix of 1973, driving an outdated Surtees model and finishing a lowly 12th after starting dead last.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

Labels:

Comments

  1. Elias Jorge Calil NetoJanuary 5, 2021 at 4:37 PM

    After his death, his Ashes were trown next to the old Curve 1 of Interlagos by his friends.
    The Senna S Curve cut the old Curve 1.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elias Jorge Calil NetoJanuary 5, 2021 at 4:37 PM

    After his death, his Ashes were trown next to the old Curve 1 of Interlagos by his friends.
    The Senna S Curve cut the old Curve 1.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

INTERNATIONAL RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS OF THE 70S

Many international championships were added to the International calendar during the 70s, which spike interest on the sport globally. These, plus the existing championships were: Formula 1 – World Championship, South Africa (also included F5000 and F2), Aurora Championship + British Group 8 (which also included Formula 5000, Formula 2, even Atlantic early on) Formula 2 – European and Japanese Championships Formula 3 – British, European, German, French, Italian, Swedish championships Formula 5000 – American, European, Australian, New Zealand Sports cars: World Championship of Makes, World Sports Car Championship, DRM (also ran Touring Cars), European GT Championship, European 2 Liter Championship, IMSA, Trans-Am, Can Am, Interserie, PROCAR, Le Mans Touring cars: NASCAR, European Touring Car championship, Avenir Cup, USAC Stockcars Formula Atlantic: Canada, South Africa, Britain Formula Indy: USAC Championship Trail   + CART Formula S...
3 comments
Read more

CASERTA'S HELL

  Racing history enthusiasts will readily remember some of the darkest days of the sport, when multiple drivers and spectators died on a same race. Le Mans 1955, Monza 1933, Rouen 1970, Indy 1973, Imola 1994, are just some of those sad days that remind us how thousands of people lost their lives   at race tracks or places where races were held since the late 19 th century, in spite of today’s false sense of security.   The earliest races took place on open roads, generally from one city to another. With increasing number of vehicles and the inconvenience of closing roads for racing events, soon closed circuits emerged, while the “stradale” Targa Florio insisted in remaining open for business until the 70s. Now such racing is restricted to rallies and hill climbs.   It is not surprising that it was in Italy, in spite of the veteran Monza circuit, that there was some resistance to building of purpose made tracks with a semblances of safety. Very dangerous race...
1 comment
Read more

Who invented one make championships?

I know some people who would certainly kick the butt of the inventor of one make championships, truly believing they destroyed car racing.  I dare not say what was the first international one make race or tournament ever held. For sure, there were races in the 20s or 30s, in which only Bugattis competed, albeit unintentionally.   However, the race discussed in this post was probably one of the first intentional attempts to hold a one make championship and race in the world.   The location and timing could not be more exquisite. Nowadays we are used to racing events in Indonesia, Malaysia, China, even Saudi Arabia. However, in the aftermath of World War II,  international races in places other that Western Europe or the USA could rate as madness. How about Africa? There was racing in the continent in the Pre-War period, I know. One of the most famous GP of the 30s was the Tripoli event, in Lybia, and even South Africa was visited by the Auto Union team in th...
3 comments
Read more