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

Brazilian Racing in the 70's

By Carlos de Paula

By far, the most important development in Brazilian racing in the 70’s took place out of Brazil: namely, Emerson Fittipaldi’s achievements in Formula 1. Due to this very fact, the face of Brazilian racing changed fast, and racing was transformed from a niche sport, to a mass sport. All of sudden, great media attention was devoted to racing, not only international racing, but local racing as well. Such attention translated into commercial sponsorship, factory involvement, more organized championships, completion/construction of new race tracks, which basically set the scenario for racing in years to come.

The opening of new permanent tracks was a major feature of the new decade. Not only was Interlagos reopened in early 1970, with the finale for the International Formula Ford tournament, another important race tracks was inaugurated that year Tarumã, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Cascavel’s paved track was open for business in 1973, Brasilia and Goiania were inaugurated in 1974, Guaporé’s paved track opened in 1976, and the new, international level Rio de Janeiro track began operations in 1978. As a result, the last of Brazil’s “street” races, took place around the Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte (where Brazil eventually lost to Germany, 7 x 1, in the 2014 World Cup), and Salvador’s streets, in 1972. After that, the only racing events on open roads were rallies, until safer, modern street racing resurfaced in the 90’s, in the streets of Florianopolis and Vitoria.

Commercial sponsorship had been present in Brazilian racing since the 30’s, but given the niche status of the sport, it was never taken seriously by sponsors. It was more a case of driver friends who happened to be business owners giving a few bucks to race drivers, who in exchange painted a company’s name on a car. In some cases, the driver owned a business, and used the race cars as a moving billboard for the few people around the race track to see (sometimes quite a few thousand). In other words, sponsorship lacked the branding aspect, sports marketing of modern sponsorship, which really began in Formula 1 in 1968. By 1969, some Brazilian race cars featured well painted logos, and by 1971, two major companies, Hollywood cigarettes and Brahma beverages, had initiated a new phase in commercial sponsorship. Hollywood would sponsor a team in local racing until 1976, and it won many championships, in several categories. In spite of the long lasting economic crisis that began in 1974, by the closing of the decade, hundreds of companies, had at one point or another sponsored race teams, at various levels of commitment. More important, companies began investing in the international careers of racing drivers as well.

The decade began with Brazil’s opening up to international racing, for the first time since the 50’s. The driving factor for this was Emerson Fittipaldi’s success in Formula Ford and Formula 3, in 1969, and the resolution of the ACB and CBA dispute. As a result, a number of international tournaments were held, for different categories, with the ultimate goal of achieving a steady Formula 1 Grand Prix date for the country. In 1970, a Formula Ford tournament was held in the early part of the year, a Sports Car tournament called Copa Brasil held in the latter. A couple of Italian teams also took part in the 1000 Mile Race, with current sports cars, an Alfa T33 and a Ferrari 512. In 1971, a Formula 3 tournament was held in the early part of the year, and a Formula 2 series at the end. In 1972, the goal was almost reached: the first Formula 1 Grand Prix proper was held in Brazil, although without championship status. During the rest of the year, another, last F-2 tournament was held, a second Copa Brasil for sports cars, and, for the first time, an international Interlagos 500 KM race was held in September, won by Reinhold Joest. By 1973, Brazil got its first official F-1 GP, which has been on the calendar ever since. The Brasilia race track was inaugurated by a one-off non-championship F-1 event, in 1974, won by Emerson Fittipaldi.

Group 1 racing very successful with drivers and the public...for a while.

As for local racing, 1970 was a buffer year. Long distance races still seemed to prevail in that year, but there was a change of mentality in race promoters. The lesson learned in Europe, mainly England, was that a number of short events for different categories, held in heats, provided more bang for the buck for spectators. A successful experience in Interlagos, in early 1970, paved the way for the future. By 1971, three national championships had been organized: one for Sports Cars, mostly comprising long distance events contested by a number of Porsches (908, 910), Lola T210, Ford GT40, Royales, Alfa GTAs, mixed with locally built prototypes, and assorted Pumas (a Brazilian VW engined GT), touring cars, and an odd 50’s vintage Maserati for good measure, etc; a Touring car championship, which in its first edition also comprised of long distance events, but would shift to a sprint format in coming years, and a Formula Ford championship, with locally built cars, called Bino. These were in fact, a continuation of Willys’ Luis Greco’s idea from the 60’s, and the power plant was the Corcel engine, which began life as a Renault. So this was more of a Formula Renault, then Ford, I suppose. At any rate, Ford decided to invest in the category, something that VW did not do in Formula Vee’s case. The 1971 Touring car championship had many scheduled rounds, in Curitiba, Fortaleza, Salvador and Belo Horizonte, that were cancelled, so it was a troubled first year.

By 1972, another championship was added, for locally built sports cars, called Division 4. These took over sports car racing in 1973, by which time the Sports Car with foreign cars had been canned. In 1973, Division 1 (Group 1) events were run for the first time, in long distance events that caught the fancy of the public, basically due to the fight between Ford x Chevrolet. By 1974, a Group 1 championship was organized, and Formula Super Vee was implemented in Brazil. The local scene seemed healthy enough, until the Government stepped in 1976, initially deciding to prohibit racing as of 1977, and then declaring the prohibition effective immediately . The reason was that racing was supposedly a waste of precious fuel, that cost Brazil so many billions of dollars a year. The racing authorities proved to the dictators, however, that the entire fuel spent in the Brazilian racing calendar corresponded to only 15 minutes of fuel use in the City of São Paulo, hardly putting a dent on the country’s recalcitrant balance of trade! The government reversed its decision, however, long distance races were banned from 1977 on.

In Rio Grande do Sul, with the opening of the Tarumã race track, street/road racing was no more to be. The carreteras were by the beginning of the decade gone, in fact the last driver to race a carretera in Brazil was Camilo Christofaro, with his famous number 18, in 1971. However, regional racing in Rio Grande do Sul remained healthy. Among other things, most of the 25 Bino Formula Fords were bought by gauchos, enough cars to justify holding a regional Formula Ford championship that was run for many years. There was also a healthy regional championship for Touring cars, run during the course of the decade. São Paulo had some regional racing as well, most notably Super Vee and Formula Vee regional championships in 1975, which were contested by dozens of cars. Also noteworthy was the Division 3 championship of 1974, which was won by a retiring Ciro Cayres, one of the mainstays of Brazilian racing since the 50’s. The decade would also witness the retirements of Camilo Christofaro, in 1979, and Chico Landi, in 1973. Division 1 (Group 1) was also hotly contested in São Paulo in the mid 70’s.

As we saw in previous articles, race cars had been built in Brazil since the 30’s, but basically they made use of existing racing/street car chassis/components, and were mainly equipped with American V8s. Chico Landi attempted to launch Formula Junior in the early 60’s, building about 10 purpose made chassis without great effect, and Formula Vee was equally unsuccessful, in spite of several chassis being built by Fitti and Aranae, and other constructors to be announcing programs. Starting around 1967, several one-off prototypes sprung here and there, including the Fitti-Porsche and the Bino, among others, and most were VW powered. Anisio Campos first attempted to actually manufacture race cars a a business with the AC in 1969. By 1970, the fever caught on. First with the Furia, which built only 3 cars, then with Avallone, Heve, Manta, Polar, Kaimann (under license from the Austrian manufacturer) in addition to 25 Bino Formula Fords. Many of these racing car manufacturers built cars for several categories, until about 1975. That was the last year of the prototype series, and race car building in the 70’s simply did not prove to be good business. Chassis would be used for many years, so there was no market for new cars, or money for development of updated models. So most race car building during the 70’s stopped after 1975, and the cars used were simply revamped chassis.

The Super-Vee series was the major series for the rest of the decade, and two of drivers that took part in it actually reached F-1: Ingo Hoffmann and Nelson Piquet. The new Group 1 championship with short sprints began in 1977, by which time Chevrolet’s Opala had surpassed the Ford Mavericks in performance. In that same year, Fiat began its racing activities in Brazil. There was a strong migration towards single make championships, and in fact, Division 3 (highly prepared touring cars) pretty much collapsed before the end of the decade - first the top category, in which Mavericks and Opalas raced, then the up to 2 liters category. By 1979, the top Group 1 class had been transformed into the Brazilian Stock Car championship, which has been well organized from the beginning, and still exists today, in a highly prepared form. Formula Ford and Super Vee still continued, the latter suffering from dwindling grids. There was a series for VW Passat Group 1, and one for Fiat Group 1 cars, in addition to the dying Group 3.

Brazil also joined the exclusive club of Formula 1 manufacturers in 1975, when Wilson Fittipaldi Jr. started the Argentine Grand Prix in his own Fittipaldi FD-01. However ambitious the venture, there was an element of naiveté about it, namely insisting on building the whole car in Brazil in the first years, and using a designer with no top level experience, Brazilian Richard Divila. Such naiveté reached the pinnacle with the signing of brother Emerson as number 1 driver for 1976. In spite of a fair 1978 season, with the Caliri revised Fittipaldi F-5, the Fittipaldi Formula 1 experience was by and large a disappointment, and pretty much ended Emerson Fittipaldi’s F-1 career on a sad note. Starting in 1977, the number of Brazilian drivers trying their luck in Europe grew considerably, starting the trend that continues to this day. By the closing of the decade, Nelson Piquet looked like a future world champion, and so did Chico Serra, to a lesser extent.

A major technological development took place in 1979, when the government again prohibited racing, due to fuel considerations. In little less than 1 month, racing car teams converted their cars to run on alcohol, a fact that was actually quite welcomed by the government, which faced some opposition to its alcohol fuel program.

The 70’s In Names

MAIN DRIVERS

Local Scene – Paulo Gomes, Antonio Castro Prado, Francisco Lameirão, Luiz Pereira Bueno, Lian Duarte, Camilo Christofaro, Ciro Cayres, Abilio Diniz, Alcides Diniz, Mauricio Chulam, Marcos Troncon, Clovis de Moraes, Francisco Feoli, Amedeo Ferri, Pedro Carneiro Pereira, Marivaldo Fernandes, Jan Balder, Antonio Carlos Avallone, Pedro Muffato, Francisco Artigas, Amedeo Campos, Ingo Hoffmann, Alex Ribeiro, Leonel Friedrich, Arthur Bragantini, Milton Amaral, Edson Yoshikuma, Alfredo Guarana Menezes, Luis Moura Brito, Toninho da Matta, Ronaldo Ely, Alencar Junior, Raul Boesel, Affonso Giaffone, Jose Giaffone, Bird Clemente, Nilson Clemente, Celso Frare, Edson Graczyk, Mario Pati Jr., José Pedro Chateaubriand, Pedro Victor de Lamare, Lino Reginatto, Claudio Mueller, Enio Sandler, Fernando Jorge, Eduardo Celidonio, Alfredo Guaraná Menezes, Bob Sharp, Edgard Mello Filho, Reinaldo Campello, Vital Macahdo, Adu Celso, Julio Caio, Clovis Ferreira, Ricardo Oliveira, Julio Tedesco, Jose Carlos Palhares,Atilla Sippos, Jose Travaglini, Antonio Freire, Luis Schaffer, Fernando Dias Ribeiro, Walter Soldan, Luis Paternostro, Alexandre Negrão, Mario Olivetti, Angi Munhoz, Luiggi Giobbi, Emilio Zambello, Piero Gancia, Luis Landi, Roberto Fiuza, Camilo Christofaro Filho, Aloisio Andrade Filho, Jose Rubens Romano, Arialdo Pinho, Jose Moraes

International Scene – Emerson Fittipaldi, José Carlos Pace, Nelson Piquet, Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., Ingo Hoffmann, Alex Ribeiro, José Maria Ferreira, Norman Casari, Francisco Lameirão, Luis Pereira Bueno, Tite Catapani, Ronald Rossi, Fritz Jordan, Leonel Friedrich, Jan Balder, Marivaldo Fernandes, Marcos Moraes, José Pedro Chateaubriand, Pedro Victor de Lamare, Mario Pati Jr., Lian Duarte, Rafaele Rosito, Chico Serra, Mario Ferraris Neto, Aryon Cornelsen, Paulo Gomes, Mario Amaral, Placido Iglesias, Luis Siqueira Veiga, Fernando Jorge, Julio Caio, Luis Carlos Moraes

MAIN CARS

Singleseaters: Bino, Fitti-V, Polar, Avallone, Heve, Kaimann, Mueller, Newcar, Rio-V, BRV, Pati, Govesa, Cianciaruso, Aranae, Pateco, Squalus, Manta, Feca

Touring cars: Chevrolet Opala 2500, 3800 and 4100, Maverick 4 and 8 cylinders, Dodge Charger, Dodge Dart, Chrysler GTX, Alfa Romeo 2300, FNM 2150, Simca V8, Dodge 1800, VW 1300, VW 1600, VW 1600 4 doors, Chevette, Ford Corcel, Fiat 147, VW Passat, Alfa Romeo GTA, Alfa Romeo GTAM, BMW 1600, DKW 1000

Sports/Prototypes/GTs: Porsche 908/2, Porsche 910, Porsche 907, Lola T70, Ford GT 40, Lola T210, Alfa Romeo T33, Avallone (Chrysler, Chevrolet and Ford), Berta-Hollywood Ford, Polar (VW and Ford Turbo), Heve (VW), Manta (VW, FNM, Chrysler and Chervolet), Fúria (FNM, Chevrolet, BMW, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Chrysler), AC-VW, Fitti-VW, Casari-Ford, REPE-Ford, Snob’s Corvair, Prot. Pato Feio, Prot. Camber VW, Prot. Bi-Motor VW/DKW, Newcar-VW, Sabre-VW, Puma-VW, Lorena-VW, Meta-20(Chevrolet Turbo), Royale (Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Ford), Carretera Chevrolet, Interlagos

CATEGORIES: Touring Car (Division 3 (highly prepared), HotCars (replaced Division 3) Division 1(basically showroom stock), Stockcar, single make championships for VW Passat, Fiat 147 and Ford Corcel, Formula Super Vee, Formula Vee, Formula Ford, Division 4(Prototypes), Division 6 

(Foreign prototypes)

INTERNATIONAL RACES/TOURNAMENTS: F-1, F-2, F-3, F-Ford, Prototypes/Sports

Brazilian Racing in the 60's

By Carlos de Paula

The 60’s would be a decisive decade in terms of evolution of racing in Brazil. The decade began pretty much as the 50’s ended. Interlagos still ruled supreme as a race track, the gauchos were still on top of their game with their carreteras, and racing specials/pure breed cars would duke it out every once in a while.

The major change was the high volume of participation of Brazilian made cars in racing, which eventually would mean that the public, who was accustomed to watch races featuring large 4.5 liter, 200 HP V8 engined race cars, would have to get used to watching myriad DKWs and Renault Gordini saloons on the race tracks. The historic victory by a Brazilian made FNM JK in the 1000 Mile race of 1960, with Chico Landi and Christian Heins, would show that Brazilian made cars could indeed beat the American horses. The FNM would win many other long distance races in 1960 and 1962, and all of a sudden, long distance races became more common than sprints.

FNM’s success meant further commitment from Vemag, and two other works teams: one from Simca, and the other from Willys. FNM was a government owned factory, always on the urge of bankruptcy, so although it had the most powerful and modern car around, licensed by Alfa Romeo, the “works” team would soon disappear from the tracks (some privateers would continue using the car until 1974). The latecomer Willys team, created under the influence of Bino Heins, would soon bring to the tracks a car called Interlagos, which really, was an Alpine design, built in Brazil. It would soon win everything in sight, until Simca got tired of being beaten, and brought 3 Simca Abarth 2 liters to Brazil. These basically dominated the 1964/1965 seasons, and were returned before the end of the latter season. By then, Vemag had built the Malzoni GT, which although down on power, had the advantage of great torque and front wheel drive, which came in handy in street circuits. However, the days of factory teams were counted, as the three factories that had works teams would be taken over in 1966/1967, and the racing programmes either cut down or downright abolished. Ford took over Willys, which showed some interest in racing, fielding Bino prototypes in the 67 and 68 seasons, while Chrysler took over Simca, and VW, took over Vemag, both teams being closed.
The Interlagos 500 KM continued to feature Mecanica Continental cars in the early part of the decade, some of which dated back to the 30’s. They began to show their age, and by 1965, had been abolished from this race, having been considered unsafe. Racing had changed in Europe as well, and the current breed of racing car in the old continent was not suitable for large American engines, there was no renewal in terms of chassis. It is noteworthy that Formula 1 cars had 1.5 liter capacity in those days. In 1962, there was an attempt by Chico Landi to implement Formula Junior racing in Brazil, and while the ten or so cars were not enough to fill out a grid, eventually the cars were used in Mecanica Continental races. Above all, they were more modern, rear engined designs, and being nimble, even DKW and Gordini engined cars were able to face off Corvette engined dinosaurs. It was in one of Landi’s Juniors, albeit FNM engined, that Celso Lara Barberis died in the early part of the 1963 500 km race. In 64, there were no continentals in the race, only GTs, prototypes and touring cars, so it looked as though the old GP cars would be once and for all retired. The last Mecanica Continental races took place in Interlagos in 1966.

As for the carreteras, they continued to appear in large numbers, especially in the 1000 Mile Race, and in Rio Grande do Sul and Parana. Carreteras would win the 61, 65 and 66 1000 Mile Races, but by 1967, were pretty much outclassed. The only carretera to see off the decade competitively was Camilo Christofaro’s 18 numbered Chevrolet Corvette. Even in Rio Grande do Sul, the carreteras started to give way to Simcas and JKs, and street racing was being considered dangerous and a nuisance, as Brazil’s fleet grew, and road usage became essential.

Rio de Janeiro opened its first proper track in 1966, Curitiba also had its own autodrome, and Brasilia held races around its streets; Guaporé and Cascavel got dirt tracks. Races were held in a number of cities during the decade: Salvador, Recife, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Campo Mourão, Lages, Cascavel, Piracicaba, Araraquara, Petropolis, Passo Fundo, Santa Maria, Goiania, Pelotas, Vitoria, Fortaleza, etc. The use of locally built cars popularized auto racing, as never before, although it was still considered a rich man’s game.

There was an attempt to implement Formula Vee racing, in 1966, which basically was unsuccessful. Two championships were run, the first in 1967 won by Emerson Fittipaldi, but VW was not too bullish about supporting the series. In addition to that, Interlagos was closed for major repairs in 1968 and 1969, so, without any racing in Brazil’s major race track, it appeared a little dangerous to race the fragile Vees in street circuits.

A late 60's grid in Brazil - on the front row, an Alfa GTA, the Bino-Ford and Fittipaldi-Porsche protoypes

Street racing would also take a major blow, with the Petropolis debacle in 1968, and it seemed that if racing were to survive in Brazil, race tracks would need to be built – period. Local authorities were becoming ever more reluctant to open their streets to race cars. Another major consideration was that several very powerful race cars were being brought into Brazil, by the late 60’s: an Alfa P33 and a Lola T70 were two major additions in 1969, and more was to come. Gone were the days of humble DKWs and Gordinis.

Starting in 1968, Brazilian race drivers were trying their hand in European racing, and it became clear, with Interlagos closed, that unless other race tracks appeared around Brazil, racing might die. The Brazilian drivers achieved quite a bit of success in those two first years, Ricardo Achcar winning a F-Ford race in 1968, and Emerson Fittipaldi winning several Formula Ford and F-3 races (and a championship) in 1969, and Luis Pereira Bueno winning in F-Ford as well.

During the works cars years, the factories did attempt to go racing internationally. Willys would every once in a while cross the border to Uruguay, and race in Rivera (a stone’s throw from the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento) and Piriapolis, with a high level of success. Privateer Gaucho drivers would also visit Rivera often. A major undertaking was the building of an Alpine based Willys F-3 car, which was called Gavea. Luis Greco, Willys’s boss, had the vision of creating a Brazilian Formula 3 category, which came to nil. It would actually be a Formula Renault of sorts, which turned out to be Formula Ford in the 70s – that is another story. The Gavea ended up running in the Formula Libre Interlagos 500 of 1965, finishing second to the all conquering Simca Abarth of Jaime Silva, and was fielded in the International F-3 Temporada in Argentina, in 1966. Driven by Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., one could not say the outing was successful, although it was a first time try. This was the last action the car saw. Simca attempted to crack the Grand Prix Standard in Argentina, with EmiSul powered sedans, but all 5 cars broke down.

The 60’s were also the last attempts to hold hill climbs as major events in Brazil, in fact, a Brazilian Hill Climb championship was created in 1967. Not surprisingly, this was the last edition of this championship. Races on roads were also about to fade: the Rodovia do Café race in Parana, in 1968, was basically the last major race on a highway in Brazil, won by Ubaldo Cesar Lolli in an Alfa GTA, a car that won many races in Brazil between 1967 to 1971.
Long distance racing reigned supreme during the 60’s, although São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro championship races were always sprints. The latter carretera and mecanica continental races were all sprints, given the machinery was obviously unable to withstand several hours of racing. 2 hour races, such as the IV Centenario race in Rio de Janeiro, were not uncommon.

This race was won by a Ferrari engined Ferrari!

The Chevrolet Opala, which would be widely used in racing in the 70’s and 80’s, was used for the first time in racing in 1969, winning right from the bat. VW Beetles, which in the early 60’s were very slow and shamefully beaten by cars with smaller engines, had began to feature strongly in results, some of them equipped with 2 liter engines. Another new generation car to be used in racing was the Ford Corcel, which basically was a Renault design left over by Willys. Alfa Romeos features strongly during the 60’s, and BMWs reached the scene in 1968.

Another important fact of racing in those years, which had a negative impact on international racing in Brazil, was the fight between the Brazilian Automobile Club (Automovel Clube do Brasil) and the Brazilian Auto Racing Confederation (CBA). The heart of the question was, who had the authority to sanction races in Brazil. The Brazilian Automobile Club would often threaten drivers of suspension, when they ran in its nemesis-sanctioned races. To make matters more complicated, a number of racing clubs got involved in the mess, which threw Brazil way out of the international racing calendar during the 60s. Apparently, peace had been achieved by 1969, but the whole decade had been lost, as far as international racing was concerned.

THE 60’s in names

DRIVERS
Local Scene
Camilo Christofaro, Ciro Cayres, Jaime Silva, Chico Landi, Christian Heins, Emerson Fittipaldi, Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., Emilio Zambello, Piero Gancia, José Carlos Pace, Luis Pereira Bueno, Bird Clemente, Mario Cesar de Camargo Filho, Marivaldo Fernandes, Anisio Campos, Francisco Lameirão, Rodolfo Olival Costa, Jan Balder, Antonio Carlos Aguiar, Luis Valente, Celso Lara Barberis, Catharino Andreatta, José Asmuz, Vitorio Andreatta, Aldo Costa, Eduardo Celidonio, Jose Fernando Martins, Altair Barranco, Angelo Cunha, Norman Casari, Bob Sharp, Pedro Victor de Lamare, Roberto Galucci, Luiz Greco, Justino de Maio, Eduardo Scurrachio, Ubaldo Cesar Lolli, Anotnio Carlos Porto, Ricardo Achcar, Caetano Damiani, Nelson Marcilio, Jose Ramos, Mario Olivetti, Antonio Mendes de Barros, Ismael Chaves Barcellos, Orlando Menegaz, Ítalo Bertão, Nactivo Camozzato, Ailton Varanda, Alvaro Varanda, Carol Figueiredo, Ludovino Perez, Luis Fernando Terra Smith, Jose Maria Giu Ferreira, Ettore Beppe, Walter Hahn, Nathaniel Townsend, Alex Dias Ribeiro, Marcelo de Paoli, Roberto Dal Pont

International
Emerson Fittipaldi, Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., Christian Heins, Celso Lara Barberis, Fernando Barreto, Antonio Carlos Avallone, Luis Pereira Bueno, Ricardo Achcar, Bird Clemente, Fritz D’Orey

CARS
Touring: FNM JK, Simca, DKW, Gordini/1093, VW Sedan, Opala, Corcel, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Alfa Romeo Zagato, Alfa Romeo GTA, Fiat-Abarth, Renault R8, Mini Cooper, Chrysler Regente, Ford Escort, Saab
Singleseaters: Fitti-Ve, Aranae-Ve, BRV, Sprint, Tubolare, AC, Amato, Landi Jr (JK, Simca, DKW and Gordini), Ferrari-Corvette, Alfa-Corvette, Maserati-Corvette, Willys Gavea Formula 3
Prototype/GT/Sports: Willys Interlagos, Simca Abarth, Simca Tempestade, DKW Malzoni, Brasinca Chevrolet 4200, Carretera Chevrolet, Carretera Ford, Alpine, Prot. Bino, Fitti-Porsche, AC-VW, Alfa Romeo P33, Lola T70, Prot.Elgar VW, Lorena Porsche, Puma-VW, VW Bi Motor, Porsche 356, Karmann Ghia Porsche, Ferrari GTO, Maserati 3000, Maserati 4500, VW-Porsche, Porsche 911, Lotus Europa, Karmann Ghia Corvair
CATEGORIES: Touring Cars, GT, Protoypes, Mecanica Continental, Carreteras, Formula Junior, Formula Vee

An interesting article I wrote in 2007

WHAT MAKES A FORMULA 1 DRIVER A CHAMPION?

Carlos de Paula

 

With Michael Schumacher’s retirement, I am almost positive that we will have a new Formula 1 champion in 2007. Although I do like Fernando Alonso, and believe he is the most complete Formula 1 driver of the current era, after MS’ departure, I was not at all impressed with McLaren’s 2006 performance, so I am betting on a red car winning the title. See my preview on the site’s home page.

 

Michael’s retirement also brought about the search for the “new Michael”, just like there was a search for a “new Fangio”, “new Clark” and “new Senna”, in the past. You know, that driver you just knew was going to win the championship one day, sooner or later.

 

After 57 editions of the Formula 1 championship, one reaches the conclusion that there is no such a thing as a sure bet. The current crop of serious candidate for “certain champions” includes Robert Kubica, Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen, Sebastien Vettel and Nelson Piquet Jr. Certainly drivers like Fangio, Senna, Michael and Clark were obviously meant to be champions, however, the list of failed “certain champions” is much longer than the sure bets.

 

Take, for instance, Stirling Moss. Widely known as the champion by merit, Moss managed to amass four runner up and three third places in the world championship, with no less than sixteen victories. But he is not alone. The list of “sure champions” who never won the title is indeed very long: Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Juan Pablo Montoya, Heinz Harald Frentzen, Jean Alesi, Jarno Trulli, Carlos Reutemann, Jacky Ickx, Dan Gurney, Stefan Bellof, Francois Cevert, Peter Collins, Clay Regazzoni,  Chris Amon, Didier Pironi, Ricardo Rodriguez, Tony Brise, Tom Pryce, Jean Pierre Jarier. Johnny Servoz Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Ivan Capelli, Tim Schenken, Michele Alboreto, Eugenio Castelloti…

 

On the other hand, there are some drivers who seemed destined for anything but grandeur in their Formula 1 career, who ended up achieving much instead. A clear example is Niki Lauda. His early career was not successful. His forays in F-3 were not indicative of a future champion, he was just an average Formula 2 driver, and most of his early wins came in poorly supported sports car races. His first Formula 1 starts, with a self financed March, did not indicate anything special. In fact, it was only late in 1973, when he had been around Formula 1 for two years already, that Lauda appeared to have special skills, after great drives in Germany and Canada in a down on power BRM. When he was hired by Ferrari at the end of the season, many thought the association would not be successful, and the rest is history.

 

Britain has produced at least three world champions that seemed destined for failure in their early careers as well: James Hunt, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill. Hunt was so accident prone that he was nicknamed “James Shunt”. His patron believed him enough to buy James Formula 1 cars before he proved his real worth in Formula 2. And aboard the March 731, in 1973, James transformed himself into a veritable Formula 1 powerhouse, posting fast laps and podiums in what was essentially an average car. In fact, he finished mighty close to Ronnie Peterson in the last championship race of the year, a little over one second. Lord Hesketh dug deeper into his pocket, building Hunt a proprietary challenger, with which he won the Dutch Grand Prix in 1975. Eventually Hunt made his way into the McLaren team, winning the 1976 handsomely, after Emerson Fittipaldi took the foolhardy step of joining his brother’s Formula 1 team. The fire was gone after a couple of seasons, and Hunt quit mid way through the 1979 season. 

 

Nigel Mansell’s Formula 2 and Formula 3 performances did not indicate a future star in the making. In fact, his first Formula 1 drives were not that impressive, although he did manage a podium in his seventh race, at Belgium, 1981. He stayed at Lotus from 1980 to 1984, and during this period he was always overshadowed by Elio di Angelis, himself not a stellar driver. By 1984, Mansell was qualifying better, but the best he could do was third places. Mansell seemed at best a solid number 2 driver, who might win a couple of races before the closing of his career. He did catch the eye of Frank Williams, though, who needed to replace Jacques Laffite for 1985, and thereafter appeared a new Mansell, who won the 1992 title in commanding style, posting 31 career wins.

 

Damon Hill began his race car career late, and in spite of a fair performance in Formula 3, by 1992 he seemed destined to join a long list of Formula 3000 drivers who never made it beyond that level. Being hired by the Brabham Formula 1 team for 1992 was anything but a promising move. The team was in its last legs, and Damon managed to qualify a couple of times. However, Damon was also the Williams testing driver, and was surprisingly hired by the team for the 1993 season as a race driver. The Williams car was the class of the field, and soon Damon was posting regular podium finishes, culminating with a run of 3 straight wins late in the season. Frank had obviously found the perfect number 2 driver, who would partner Ayrton Senna well for 1994. It was not to be. Senna died after three races, and Damon was left to carry the Williams fight against the might of Michael Schumacher. He did admirably well, winning the 1996 championship, and a whopping 20 races. Not bad for a driver that appeared heading for the sports’ footnotes.

 

Alan Jones’ first few years in Europe were not good. He seemed stuck in Formula 3 for many seasons, with poor results and no apparent progress. By 1973 his F-3 performance had improved, and in 1974 he was the class of the field in Formula Atlantic, still far from view of F-1 team managers, though. He did find a good backer in former driver Harry Stiller, who bought him a Hesketh for 1975, and Jones impressed enough to be hired by Graham Hill for a few races, scoring 5th in Germany. Luckily Alan was not in the plane that killed Hill and “future champion” Tony Brise in 1975, so in 1976 Jonesy was back in F-1, driving for Surtees. He impressed in the race of Champions, where Surtees cars always seemed to do well, and scored a few championship points. He was not back in F-1 for the beginning of the 1977 season, having been replaced by Brambilla at Surtees, until he was called to substitute the deceased Tom Pryce at Shadow. Jones got the big break he needed scoring Shadow’s single F-1 victory, beginning a very successful partnership with Frank Williams in 1978. This was Williams second attempt at building a F-1 team, having lost his original équipe to Walter Wolf in 1976. Backed by plentiful Saudi money, the Williams was moderately successful in 1978, but an improved Lotus 79 copy, in 1979, transformed Williams into the class of the field. Jones ended up winning the title in 1980, an unlikely proposition back in 1971.

 

This shows that success in the lower formulae is not a recipe for guaranteed success in Formula 1. In fact, a lot of drivers who had very good careers in the lower formula, failed to achieve ultimate success in Formula 1. Among others, Brian Henton, Jonathan Palmer, Bruno Giacomelli, Rene Arnoux, Jacques Laffite, David Walker. Some, like Sebastien Bourdais, will likely not even make it to Formula 1 at all.

 

On the other hand, there are those “sure champions” who ended up winning the championship, but did so unconvincingly. One such case is Jody Scheckter. Very fast and successful from his arrival in Europe, in 1971, Scheckter was winning in Formula 2, by 1972, and by the end of that year he got a chance to drive for McLaren in Formula 1. He impressed greatly, and was back on the team, driving the occasional third car with great speed and gusto. The general opinion was that if only he could survive his over indulgent driving, he would surely be a world champion. After the crash prone 1973 season, Jody was lucky to be hired as Tyrrel’s number 1 driver for 1974, as Jackie Stewart’s heir, François Cevert, another “sure future champion”, had been killed in the last race of 1973. Jody became a more sedate driver from the word go, but was a constant points scorer and occasional winner. He got some of his verve back, when he was hired by Walter Wolf for 1977, but by the time he was placed in a Ferrari, for 1979, Jody had become a somewhat bureaucratic, results driven driver. It did not help the fact that his team mate was Gilles Villeneuve, but not only did his teammate drive better that year, so did Alan Jones. One year after winning the championship, Jody quit Formula 1, after a very poor year at Ferrari.     

 

Keke Rosberg’s championship year, 1982, was also anti-climatic at best. Having become the first champion to win the championship in an year after he went scoreless (1981), it seems plausible to presume that Keke would not be champion if Didier Pironi did not have his terrible accident in Germany. Additionally “anti-climatic” about Keke’s championship year was that, although known as a very fast driver, the title was won on the strength of regularity, hardly Keke’s main trait, and that he almost won the title without a single victory. Too bad Keke would not last much longer in Formula 1, to show what he could do with a top car, such as the Williams-Honda he left in 1985.

 

There are no formulas. For instance, a “driver has to win the championship within “x” years after entering Formula 1”. A clear example of that is Mario Andretti. Having debuted in 1968, Mario won the championship ten years after his debut, in 1978! Just to show there are no formulas, after winning the championship Mario was never again competitive in Formula 1, except for his participation in the 1982 Italian Grand Prix.  Mika Hakkinen also took a while to become champion, having debuted in 1991, and winning his first title in 1998, thus seven years later. Denis Hulme won his championship in his third year in Formula 1, 1967, then he stayed on for an additional eight seasons, never again being a real factor, but winning odd races until his final season, 1974.  

 

Then there are those drivers who won the championship very early on their careers, only to fall on a pattern of failures later on. The most outstanding example of this is Jacques Villeneuve. He came to Formula 1 the best possible way, driving for the best team of the time, Williams. He scored pole on his first race, almost winning it. He went on to win four races on his maiden year, finishing runner-up, then winning the championship the second time out. He spent another year at Williams, then changing to the newly formed BAR team for the 1999 season. After a scoreless initial season in the new team, Jacques would never obtain success at BAR.  Making matters worse, the team instantly became competitive once he left. The ever outspoken JV was hired by Sauber in 2005, leaving midseason 2006 when facing the prospect of fighting for his drive with rookie Robert Kubica.

 

Emerson Fittipaldi came to Formula 1 in the middle of the 1970 Formula 1 season, driving for Lotus. He won in his fourth start, and after an indifferent 1971 season, things worked out in 1972, and he became the youngest world champion. He would still win an additional title, in 1974, and after spending one more year at McLaren, he went to race in his brother’s Copersucar sponsored team. From top driver to also ran, Emerson spent an additional five years in Formula 1, without even a glimpse of the success achieved in the first five seasons.  

 

Jack Brabham is one driver with a curious career. The Australian won three titles, and the bulk of his 14 wins (11 of them, in fact) were scored in championship years, although he was in Formula 1 for a long time, from 1955 to 1970. Brabham had scored only three points from a 4th at the 1958 Monaco G.P., before he began his successful 1959 campaign with a win at Monaco. Brabham began his last season, 1970, with a win in South Africa, and lost two Grand Prix on the last lap, to Jochen Rindt, due to running out of fuel. He was the first driver to win a Grand Prix with a car built by himself and also the first World Championship winner equipped with a rear engined car. You could say he was a win or bust type of guy. Although he raced in 126 Grand Prix, he managed to win five straight in his 1960 championship year, and four straight in 1966. In between the last of those wins, in 1960, and the first in 1966, he won nothing! 

 

So, whoever wins the 2007 will definitely add more confusion to this story. I see only three real possibilities: Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, the last, an outside chance. 

INTERSERIE EARLY YEARS 1970-1975

By Carlos de Paula


Several European championships emerged during the early seventies, many of which did not survive many years, including the European GT Championship and European 2 liter championship. The Interseries was not a FIA championship, and maybe because of that reason, survived until the early 2000s, although in the latter guise it was but a shadow of its former self.

Read more about if here https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732674426

Leo Kinnunen