GRAND PRIX CURIOSITIES

By Carlos de Paula

 

Japanese Masahiro Hasemi goes down in history as the single GP driver with a 100% fastest lap performance. It is true that he raced a single time, in the Japanese Grand Prix of 1976, driving the Kojima, and some have disputed the accuracy of this fastest lap. Notwithstanding, Kojima has a 50% fastest lap performance, as the manufacturer only raced twice, in the Japanese Grand Prix of 1976 and 1977.

 

Few GP drivers end their careers with fourth place, most closing the book with retirements. However, three very prominent drivers did so. Juan Manuel Fangio drove to fourth place after a very strong drive at the French Grand Prix of 1958. Forty-eight years later, the man who shattered Fagio’s 5-championship record that at once seemed impossible to surpass, Michael Schumacher, also ended his F-1 career driving to a superb fourth place in the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix. Curiously, the man Schumacher replaced as Benetton’s number 1 driver for 1992, Brazil’s Nelson Piquet, also ended his F-1 career with a fourth place in the 1991 Australian Grand Prix.

 

Eery coincidence  I- Americans Phil Hill and Mario Andretti won their single championships under similar circumstances, wrapping up the title in Monza. As an additional coincidence, both lost their teammates in their title winning race, Wolfgang Von Trips in Hill’s case, Ronnie Peterson in Andretti’s. Adding to the coincidence, neither Hill nor Andretti would ever win further Grand Prix after winning the title, and both Von Trips and Peterson ended up runners up to their champion teammates!

 

Hill and Andretti were not alone. Quite a few other drivers never won a race after their single championship years. Mike Hawthorn retired after 1958 and Jochen Rindt died before actually being crowned champion in 1970. Two other drivers did not have the benefit of such excuse: Jody Scheckter and Jacques Villeneuve would never win again after their successful campaigns in 1979 and 1997, respectively.

 

A few champions were born in different countries than their stated nationality: American Andretti was born in Italy, Austrian Rindt was born in Germany and Finn Keke Rosberg was born in Sweden.

 

The only two drivers who managed to win their official championship GP debuts were Giuseppe Farina, winner of the inaugural championship event in 1950 (Britain) and another Italian, Giancarlo Baghetti, who won in France in 1961. However, these were not both drivers’ Formula 1 debuts: Farina had been driving at the highest level since the late 30’s, while Baghetti had already driven in two non-official Grand prix (winning both). This was pretty much the end of Baghetti’s success in the Grand Prix circuit, in fact he turned out to be one of the most unsuccessful GP winners ever.

 

Eerie coincidence II: October 6 was a dark day for two years running at Watkins Glen. In 1973, Francois Cevert was killed in practice for the US Grand Prix, while Helmut Koinnig was killed during the race in 1974.

 

The race with the lowest number of starters was the ridiculous US Grand Prix of 2005: six. It was only one of two races with 100% of starters finishing the race, the other being the Dutch GP of 1961, where a more impressive 15 cars started and finished the Grande Epreuve.

 

There were two cars named ATS, with no relation whatsoever to each other: the unsuccessful Italian operation of 1963/64, among others funded by a Bolivian tin impresario(!!), and Gunther Schmidt’s operation, that lasted from 1978 through 1984. Schmidt also has the honor of taking another (unsuccessful) crack at GP racing, with Rial in 1988-1989! Both ATS and Rial are wheel brands owned by Schmidt.

 

Between Von Trips’ GP wins of 1961 and Schumacher’s initial GP win in 1992, German drivers had poor performances at the front. For a time they seemed to be getting closer, as three German drivers managed to lead races between 1975 and 1977, in two cases under very unusual circumstances. In the disaster prone Spanish GP of 1975, Rolf Stommelen had found himself leading the race on merit, when the wing support of his Lola collapsed, causing Rolf to crash, and kill five spectators. Rolf would never again lead a GP. His countryman Jochen Mass, who led a single lap of that race, the last one, ended up declared the winner of the half-race, winning half points for his trouble. In the German Grand Prix of 1976, though, Mass was poised to walk away with the race: he was the only driver to start on slicks, on a drying track, and by the end of the first lap he was 30 seconds in front of the second placed car. Unfortunately, Niki Lauda had his terrifying crash, the race was interrupted and Mass’ advantage evaporated in the second start. He would never get to prove that he was able to win a GP on merit. Finally, Hans Stuck led the US Grand Prix from the front row in 1977, only to crash with transmission trouble. Poor Stefan Bellof, who many considered future world champion material, died after a few starts for down on power (and luck) Tyrrel in 1984 and 1985.

 

Chris Amon was not only the unluckiest GP driver ever, but he also was the driver who drove the largest variety of makes, having raced or attempted to qualify a total of 13 marques: Lola, Lotus, Brabham, Cooper, Ferrari, March, Matra, Tecno, Tyrrel, Amon, BRM, Ensign and Williams.  He experienced a large number of engines as well: Climax 1.5, BRM 1.5, BRM 2.0 (V8), BRM 3.0 (V12), Maserati 3.0, Ferrari 3.0, Cosworth 3.0, Matra 3.0, Tecno 3.0.

 

Another prolific driver in terms of variety was Stirling Moss. He drove HWM, ERA, Connaught, Cooper, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Vanwall, BRM, Lotus. He also practiced a Porsche and a Scarab, and was disqualified  when he took over the Ferguson four wheel drive car from Jack Fairman in the British GP of 1961. Moss was by far the driver with most engine experience: Alta 4 (2.0), Bristol 6 (2.0), Lea Francis (2.0), Maserati 2.5, Mercedes Benz 2.5, Vanwall 2.5, Climax 4 (2.5), BRM 2.5, Climax 1.5.     

 

Moss was also the man who won races in the greatest number of makes: five. He won races driving for Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Vanwall, Cooper and Lotus. A few drivers won races in four different makes: Fangio (Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati), Prost (McLaren, Renault, Ferrari, Williams), Stewart (BRM, Matra, March, Tyrrel).

 

Eerie coincidence III: Lotus lost drivers in three of the six years in which it won the championship (Clark in 1968, Rindt in 1970 and Peterson in 1978). The last man to win in a Lotus, Ayrton Senna (Detroit GP, 1987), died in 1994, the same year in which the make itself disappeared from Grand Prix racing.

 

A large number of French drivers won their first (or only) race at Monaco: Maurice Trintignant, Jean Pierre Beltoise, Patrick Depailler, Olivier Panis. Curiously, the Frenchmen who won more often (Prost, Laffitte, Arnoux), won their first races elsewhere.

 

A few drivers scored pole position in their very first race: Farina (British GP 1950), Mario Andretti (US GP, 1968), Carlos Reutemann (Argentina , 1972), Jacques Villeneuve (Australia, 1997). But for one race, Andretti came close to scoring pole in his last race as well: he was on pole at Italy, 1982, but he also raced one final time at Las Vegas that same year.      

 

Eerie coincidence IV: Shadow lost two top drivers at Kyalamy, South Africa: Peter Revson in practice for the 1974 race, Tom Pryce in the actual race, in 1977.

 

John Watson won five races, but he made a statement when he did. He was the only man to win from lower than a 20th starting place, when he won at Long Beach in 1983, having started a lowly 22nd. He also won another U.S. street race, the Detroit GP, starting 17th.

 

The longest run of single championship winners was 1978 through 1980. Mario Andretti, Jody Scheckter and Alan Jones won single championships. It is curious to note that the 1976 and 1982 title winners were also single timers (James Hunt and Keke Rosberg) so this era was definitely the opposite of what we have today!    

 

Jim Clark was the only driver to win a GP in a 16 cylinder car in the modern era, driving the unloved BRM H16 engined Lotus to victory in the 1966 US Grand Prix.

 

A few GP drivers were born in rather exotic locations, although holding more common nationalities. Brit Mike Beuttler was born in Egypt, while Frenchman Jo Schlesser was born in Madagascar.

 

Many reputable Grand Prix resources report Brazilian Fritz D’Orey died in 1961. In fact, D’Orey had a severe crash at Le Mans the previous year, was reported dead by much of the specialized press, but he is alive and kicking to this day!

 

On the subject of Brazilian drivers, until the arrival of Emerson Fittipaldi in 1970, their appearances were far and few, but things seemed to be changing in the early 1956 season: Brazilian drivers scored points in two races back to back: Landi scored 1.5 points from fourth in Argentina, while Da Silva Ramos scored 2 points from 5th in Monaco. Then, there was a long drought until 1970! 

 

Long spans: Jan Lammers took a whopping ten years to go back to GP racing. He dropped out of the GP circuit for the first time in 1982, and after enjoying a successful career in sports cars, he tried GP racing again in 1992, without success. It also took Mario Andretti ten years to win his single 1978 Formula 1 title, having debuted in 1968.

 

Eerie coincidence V: Roger Penske lost his great friend and long time collaborator Mark Donohue in the Austrian Grand Prix of 1975, through a very freaky accident. In 1976, the Penske team was not only back at the Osterreichring, but it also won the race with John Watson, only to quit GP racing at the end of the year!

 

Bernie Ecclestone actually tried to qualify a 2.5 Connaught in two Grand Prix in 1958. He failed both times, becoming much more successful as team owner and Formula 1 supremo. Lotus’ Colin Chapman almost started a single GP in 1956, but surprisingly, it was not in a Lotus: he was slated to drive a Vanwall. He did not start the race and was supposed to start 5th!

 

The last GP driver to wear an open faced helmet in a GP event was Finn Leo Kinnunen, in 1974.

 

Arrows, known as the make which run more GP races without scoring a single win, almost won its second Grand Prix! Riccardo Patrese qualified 7th and had worked his way up to the front in the debuting team’s FA1 design.

 

Jean Pierre Jabouille apparently knew how to win GPs better than just plainly scoring points. He won two Grand Prix, including the first ever by a turbo-engined GP car, and scored only one additional time, a 4th place, out of 49 starts!

 

The Rob Walker team was by far the most successful privateer team, having won seven races with Stirling Moss, one race with Maurice Trintignant and one race with Jo Siffert. One of Ferrari’s 1961 wins (Baghetti) were achieved by a FISA entered car, but it was really a works entry. Additionally, Jackie Stewart won the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix driving a non-factory March. Nominally at least, Emerson Fittipaldi did not win the 1972 World Championship in Monza driving a factory Lotus: the car was entered under the name World Wide Racing. The Italian judiciary was still looking into Rindt’s 1970 death, and Colin Chapman was advised to enter the team under a different name, just in case, lest the judiciary impound his equipment. But it was still the Lotus works!

 

In 2006, the national level championship that by far boasts the largest number of former formula 1 drivers is the Brazilian Stock Cars championship, six. The following ex GP drivers are racing in the championship: Chico Serra, Ingo Hoffmann, Christian Fittipaldi, Tarso Marques, Raul Boesel and Luciano Burti.

 

Lola, the top racing car manufacturer, was involved in Formula 1 as a chassis suppliers, several times from the early 60s until the 90’s. When it did decide to enter the championship as a works team, in 1998, with plans for a proprietary engine, no less, the company almost folded, the effort lasting a single race. The entry was to be funded by a novel, yet rather naïve, sponsorship scheme through Mastercard. Lola initially provided chassis to teams such as Bowmaker and Reg Parnell, in the first years of the 1.5 liter formula. Next, it was involved  with Honda, in 1967/1968, and then the manufacturer quit F-1. In 1974 and 1975, Lola provided chassis for Graham Hill’s team. It would also provide chassis for the short lived Beatrice/Force team, in 1985/1986, settling the longest with the Larrousse team from 1987 to 1993. The marque won a single race, the 1967 Italian Grand Prix, mostly identified in the record books as a proprietary Honda chassis, and led in other occasions. 

So much for trying

Ok, I myself have a little trouble saying that a guy was unlucky in racing, having raced for many years, winning dozens upon dozens of races, championships, and even earning the accolade of "brilliant". However, I felt very sorry for Bob Wollek's earliest forays in the DRM, in the 70's.

I for one thought that Wollek deserved a chance in F1. Many a lesser men (and a few women) drove in the category in the mid-seventies, when Wollek was one of the main Formula 2 drivers. Yet, I suppose team managers either unfairly did not think much of him, or thought there were too many Frenchmen in the category.

Be that as it may, Wollek ended up driving GTs, and eventually, sports cars of all descriptions, having already proven to be good in the category, while driving for Matra-Simca at Le Mans, and Chevrons elsewhere.

Bob found a nice home at the Kremer brothers team, which was already one of the top Porsche teams.

There stood a stone in Wollek's foot, the GELO Team. The team owned by Georg Loos won the European GT Championship in 1976, with Toine Hezemans, the first fully contested by Wollek. The Frenchman had, however, shown an upper hand in the World Championship of Makes.

In 1977, GELO hired Rolf Stommellen, and I followed with much interest the closely fought battle between  Rolf and Bob all season. The German ended up winning, so the score was Gelo 2 x Kremer 0.



Rolf ended up lured back into Formula 1 for 1978, and also into a questionable Toyota Group 5 project by Schnitzer, so the road was clear for Wollek. It was not to be. Toine Hezemans was rehired by Loos, and he won the big banger division of the championship, while Harald Ertl carried overall honors. Gelo 3 x Kremer 0.

For 1979, Wollek did what any human being with a brain would do. If you cannot beat them join them, and that is what he did - he jumped to the Gelo camp, while Klaus Ludwig was hired by Kremer.

The rest is history. Kremer came up with the K3 revised Porsche 935 that year, and Ludwig won all but one race in the championship, his only defeat coming from Gelo's Wollek! 

Eventually, after so much trying, Wollek did win the DRM, but the Kremer/Loos thing of his early tries must have unsettled him a bit.

Carlos de Paula is a translator, writer and auto racing historian based in Miami

THE 3 LITER PROTOTYPE ERA

By Carlos De Paula

 

In hindsight it is always easy to criticize decisions that went wrong. On the surface, everything was fine with the World Championship of Makes in the configuration it had in 1971, yet, FISA decided to outlaw the 5-liter Group 5 monster machines, and run the championship exclusively with 3-liter prototypes, which would be essentially Grand Prix racers with prototype bodies. While it is true that only a couple of manufacturers, Porsche and Ferrari, had built new generation 5 liter Group 5s, and these would eventually become old, one gets the feeling that the decision was indeed hasty. Perhaps the 5 liters could contest the championship for a couple more years, ably backed up by 3-liter prototypes as had been the case hitherto. By 1971 the prototypes were no longer grid fillers. Alfa Romeo had won three races on merit, Ferrari was often the fastest car (even faster than the 917 and 512s), and even updated Porsche 908s sprang surprises here and there. However, there was nothing that indicated tons of manufacturers were ready to produce a new generation of 3 liter machines either. By very definition, the Group 5s had on their side volume: to qualify for this group, a minimum of 25 machines had to be built. Prototypes, on the other hand, could be singleton machines.

So, when the 1972 World Championship of Makes started, it appeared as if on the first year the contestants would be Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, with updated versions of their 1971 machines, Joakin Bonnier’s team with Cosworth Lolas, the announced Gulf Mirage and a host of Porsche 908s which were still raceworthy. Matra-Simca was inclined to do only Le Mans. So the grids lost a lot of the depth it had during the 5 liter ERA. 2 liter prototypes and GTs such as Porsche 911 and De Tomasos made up most of the grids, which often featured even Group 2 Touring Cars. Growing pains, it was hoped.

 

On the good side, both Ferrari and Alfa Romeo appeared in force, fielding mostly 3 cars per race, and driver strength was solid. In those days, Formula 1 drivers often raced in other categories, for one, to increase their earnings. Additionally, testing was not as frequent as it is today, neither were sponsor commitments, thus drivers were more available for racing. So a large number of the regular Grand Prix drivers contested at least a single race of the World Championship of Makes in 1972: Jacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Clay Regazzoni, Tim Schenken, Ronnie Peterson, Carlos Pace, Peter Revson, Andrea de Adamich, Nanni Galli, Helmut Marko, Brian Redman, Arturo Merzario, Howden Ganley, Reine Wissel, Francois Cevert, Jean Pierre Beltoise, Graham Hill, Chris Amon, Henri Pescarolo, Derek Bell, Rolf Stommelen, Wilson Fittipaldi Junior.

 

From the onset it became obvious that Ferrari was the class of the field. Alfa Romeo had shown pace and reliability in 1971, but in 1972 it had neither. Only Stommelen qualified close to the Ferraris, which ran away with the races. In some rounds, Wissel and Larrousse showed the Cosworth powered Lolas had promise, but any challenge would never last more than a few laps, plus at least one of the team drivers, Hughes De Fierlandt, was unable to match their professional teammates speed. The Mirages were not ready early in the season, and at any rate were insufficiently fast to make the Ferraris tremble. So the whole championship became a Ferrari festival. The leading pair was Ickx/Andretti, but Schenken/Peterson also won races, and so did Merzario, Munari, Redman, Reggazoni.

 

Alfa Romeo was optimistic at the start of the year, fielding four cars in Buenos Aires, but as the season went on, Chiti’s team became less sure of itself. After losing four straight races to Ferrari, Alfa Romeo did not appear in the home race at Monza and Spa as well, two very fast tracks that favored the Ferraris. The strategy was to return in the roads of Sicily, in the Targa Florio, where Autodelta fielded four cars. Ferrari, on the other hand, entered a single car in the race, with junior driver Merzario and rally driver Sandro Munari. To Alfa’s desperation, it also lost this race, in spite of Helmut Marko’s Herculean efforts. So Alfa ended up racing a couple more times, at the Nurburgring, and at Le Mans, a race which Ferrari was to miss.

 

In the latter race, Matra-Simca fielded four cars, with very strong driver pairings, Pescarolo/Hill, Cevert/Ganley, Beltoise/Amon and Jabouille/Hobbs. Alfa was unable to challenge Matra, which finished 1-2 in the race. Even the Joest Porsche 908 finished in front of the fastest Alfa of Adamich/Vacarella.

 

In Austria, Ferrari entered four cars, but surprisingly, the Cosworth powered Mirage and Lola posted the fastest qualifying times. In the race it was more of the same: Ferrari finished 1-2-3-4, with Carlos Pace and Helmut Marko on the driving strength.

 

So for 1973 it was expected that Ferrari would reproduce the same form, although Matra-Simca was to contest the whole season. The year turned out to be the absolute best of this era, with four manufacturers winning races on merit, and Matra and Ferrari fighting to the end. However, there was no growth in entries, numerically or qualitywise, quite the opposite. Alfa entered only a few races with a single car. Ferrari fielded two cars most of the time, occasionally a third, with Reutemann/Schenken. Whatever remained of Ecurie Bonnier contested a couple of races and soon the 3 liter Lola was gone as well. Mirage fielded 2 cars in certain races, and Matra-Simca fielded two, except at Le Mans, where it entered four cars. If FISA was expecting Grand Prix teams such as Lotus, McLaren, Brabham, et all to prepare prototype versions of their Cosworth racers, the intent failed miserably. The only hope laid in Porsche’s renewed interest, in the form of a Turbo engined Porsche Carrera, which obviously focused on the future, rather the present of sports car racing.

 

Porsche ended up winning twice, at Daytona, with Americans Gregg/Haywood, and at the Targa Florio, with Van Lennep/Muller. This would be the last Targa Florio valid for the World Championship, and the first World Championship victory by a turbo engined car. Matra-Simca won five times, always with the pair Pescarolo/Larrousse, even though Cevert was often the hare in the team. Ferrari won twice, with Ickx/Redman, and Mirage won a single time, in Spa, with Bell/Hailwood. Alfa Romeo was mostly uncompetitive, even though the new 12 cylinder car showed promise. Grand prix drivers still graced the fields, such as Cevert, Beltoise, Reutemann, Ickx, Reggazoni, de Adamich, Stommelen, Pace, Hailwood, Amon, but the depth problem was still there. Races rarely had even ten 3 liter cars, grids were still filled by myriad Porsche 911s and even smaller GTs and touring cars, and the Austrian round had less than 20 starters. The calendar, which had for years remained quite stable, had new, untraditional races replacing the traditional dates.

 

For 1974, Ferrari dropped out, but Alfa Romeo promised a more consistent challenge to Matra-Simca. Things looked good at Monza, when Alfa beat an uncharacteristic unreliable Matra team, finishing 1-2-3. From the second round on, things were back to normal. Matra won everything in sight, including Le Mans for a third time, and Alfa, like in 1972,  failed to enter a few races, when it became obvious that Monza was a flash in the pan. The year was difficult for racing in general, with the worldwide recession brought about by the oil crisis of 1973, and endurance racing was strongly affected. There was no challenger to replace Ferrari, although Mirage appeared to be a solid proposition, not on the same league as Matra. Matra’s leading pair continued to be Pescarolo/Larrousse, but Jarier/Beltoise also won many races, and even Jacky Ickx shared a win for Matra. Porsche continued to develop the Turbo Carrera, which finished second in Le Mans, but the car was not fast enough to beat the Matras overall. The end of the 3-liter formula was near, as Matra announced it was quitting the series at the end of 74. For 1976 the World Championship of Makes would be contested by a new breed of racers, the new Silhouettes, production based race cars such as the Porsche Carrera.   

 

Although Matra was leaving, another French team, Alpine Renault, which had contested the European 2 liter championship the year before, announced it would participate in the championship with a new turbo challenger. However, Autodelta also announced it would pull out, thus killing any opportunity of a relevant championship. Eventually, former Interserie entrant Willy Kauhsen put together a deal to field the Alfas on behalf of the factory, with engineering support from the works. The first race of the championship was a Porsche benefit, with no Group 6 cars fielded at Daytona. The first round of the championship proper took place at Mugello, and although Merzario scored the pole for Alfa, the race was won by rookie Alpine Renault, with Larrousse/Jabouille. However, the Alfas proved superior, in fact winning all seven other rounds, led by Arturo Merzario who won four races. The Mirage challenge vanished, the team having changed hands and lost Gulf sponsorship. In GELO colors, the cars did appear in Germany, and finished second driven by Schenken/Ganley. Reinhold Joest had some support from Porsche, fielding a Turbo engined Porsche 908. Even 2 liter sports cars were becoming rare in the top results, so Porsche Carreras featured strongly in the top 6 of most races. Even a Group 2 BMW finished third in one race, in Spa. So the formula was indeed a failure.

 

In 1976 there would be a World Sports Car Championship, in addition to the World Championship of Makes in which the 3 liter Group 6 cars could race. As it turned out, this championship would last a couple of years only, but at least it would feature the Porsche works team. Porsche had built a new Le Mans challenger, the 936, and the Championship was an ideal ground to develop the car. The opposition would come from Alpine Renault. Which had a strong team of drivers that featured Jabouille, Depailler, Jody Scheckter, Laffitte, Jarier. Alfa Romeo appeared sporadically and there were still odd Porsche 908’s, including Joest’s turbo powered example. This car ended up winning the Nurburgring round, when  the 936 and Alpines failed. From then on,. Porsche won everything. Although Alpine scored most poles, and even Alfa scored one with Brambilla in Salzburg,  at the end of the races the 936 carried race honors. The Mosport round of the championship was so poorly supported that Can Am cars were allowed in to make up the numbers, so the overall winner was Jackie Oliver, in the retired Shadow Chevrolet. A large number of 2 liter Osellas made up the numbers, so it was more o the same. For 1977, Porsche was gone again, having met its objective, which was to develop the 936. Alfa Romeo was back with a full Autodelta works team, but this was overkill. Alfa won everything, so the only interesting battle was between Merzario and Brambilla. Two of the rounds, Estoril and Salzburgring, had fewer than 10 cars on the gird, so FISA finally got the message and changed the status of the series to European level. Group 5, as it turned out, did not save endurance race, and in fact a few 3 liter, and many 2 liter Group 6 cars were contesting the World Championship of Makes until 1981, as we will see in another article.   

 

Amazingly enough, the powers that be in motor racing did not learn from the lesson, and attempted to make “Prototype/Grand Prix cars” again, with the formula the replaced Group C, the 3.5 liter Sports Cars of 1991/1992. Just like in the 70’s, the deal was a complete failure, resulting in the ultimate demise of the World Championship of Makes.

BRAZILIAN RACING IN THE 50’s – A SUMMARY

By Carlos Paula
During the 50’s, Interlagos continued to be Brazil’s single race track, so most racing activity did take place in São Paulo. There was racing in other areas of Brazil, most notably in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The southern racing was, however, more influenced by Argentinean style than the racing in the other areas of Brazil, by that meaning Carreteras – more on that below. Rio continued to host races, including the Gavea race, until 1954. By and large, however, international racing disappeared from Brazil, and the last high level races were held in 1957, in Sao Paulo and Rio, with Fangio winning both.

In the early part of the decade, most São Paulo racing was done with pure breed sports cars, mixed with Brazilian racing specials, and the Mecanica Nacional category, which was basically a mixture of old GP cars, left over from the 30’s, equipped with American engines, and Brazilian specials – basically chassis from old cars or built in Brazil, with American engines. There was some racing for touring cars, most notable, a 24 Hour race for Mercedes Benz cars, held in 1951, which was won by Pascoalino Buonacorsa/Godofredo Vianna Filho, followed by Chico Landi/Sebastiao Casini. The race was contested by gasoline and diesel engined cars. Emerson Fittipaldi’s father, Wilson, was 4th in the race. Most of the races in the early part of the decade were short, but the 24 Hours showed that such racing could indeed be successful. This was the first long distance race in a close circuit in South America. So in 1956, Wilson Fittipaldi and Eloy Gogliano created the 1000 Miles race. However, given that most race cars used in São Paulo were pure breeds and specials that could not last 16 hours, the organizers got the Rio Grande do Sul (gaucho) drivers and their carreteras involved. Given that carreteras mostly raced on dirt roads, with some long races, they had to be, by definition, sturdy cars. They were basically American sedans from the late 30s/early forties, equipped with current high power American engines, such as Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Dodge and Studebaker.

Indeed, the gauchos dominated the first editions of the 1000 Miles, winning all editions held during the 50’s. By the closing of the decade, however, the São Paulo drivers were creating carreteras of their own, and racing on even terms with the gauchos. A notable achievement in the first edition of the 1000 Miles was the second place earned by Christian Heins/Eugenio Martins, who drove a Porsche engined VW Bettle. Heins would race with great effect in Europe, winning a few races, but dying in Le Mans, in 1963.In 1957, another traditional race was created, the Interlagos 500 KM. Although this could be considered a long race as well, the 500 KM’s forte was speed. The race was run in Interlagos outside track, which was almost an oval, and it was contested by Mecanica Nacional, Sports Cars and Mecanica Continental cars. Celso Lara Barberis achieved much success in this race, winning the first edition, with Ruggero Peruzzo, in a Corvette engined Ferrari, followed by Luiz Valente, Rafael Gargiulo, with the Duchen Especial (an old Alfa Romeo chassis with a Ford engine), and by Godofredo Vianna Filho/Eugneio Martins, in another Corvette engined Ferrari. The second edition was held in 1958, and won by Fritz D’Orey, also in a Ferrari/Corvette, followed by Camilo Christofaro (Ferrari/Corvette) and Luis Margarido/Celso Lara Barberis, in a Talbot-Cadillac. This was a Talbot 26, brought to Brazil in the early part of the decade, then equipped with a Cadillac engine. This was D’Orey’s major victory in Brazil, and then he was off to Europe and the USA, in 1959, winning a Formula Junior race in Messina, trying to qualify a Centro Sud Maserati 250F in France, and racing the one-off Tec Mec in the USA. D’Orey would have a terrible accident in Le Mans, in 1960, and was reported dead. Indeed, some F-1 books list him as dead in 1961, but the fact is, he is still alive and kicking, driving his Audi in Rio de Janeiro. Information about championships in this era is at best spotty. While it seems there were official championships in most years, with different categories, these seemed anything but organized, so I dare not include such results, until I get some type of official confirmation.

Some small carreteras plus DKWs and Simca in a street race in Rio Grande do Sul

So while the São Paulo racing, Interlagos based, resembled more the racing practiced in Europe, the Rio Grande do Sul was more Argentine-like. Among other things, the style of racing ensured that races were held in multiple venues: some were held in roads, resembling the long distance Argentine carretera races, while others were held in closed, street circuits, in a variety of cities, all over the state, and others resembled long hill climbs. That meant that not only the capital Porto Alegre was seeing racing action, but also country-side cities. The gauchos would show the rest of the country how they practiced their racing, with the Prova Getulio Vargas, held in 1951. This was a road race, linking cities in three States, including the two major cities in the country, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The gauchos and their carreteras ran 1-2-3, (Julio Andreatta/Aristides Bertuol/Diogo Elwanger) showing they were the strongest in this category. In 1952, a Gaucho Championship was held for the first time, and for all intents and purposes, Rio Grande do Sul racing was very strong in the 50’s.

The face of Brazilian racing was changing towards the end of the decade. Several car manufacturers began making cars in Brazil, with high degree of nationalization, starting in 1955. Indeed, the first car was an Isetta, and there were some Isetta races held in São Paulo. By 1959, the companies manufacturing cars locally began to show interest in racing, starting with the Vemag team involvement in the 1000 Miles of 1959. Vemag built German DKW’s in Brazil, and would pioneer works involvement in Brazilian racing.

Carlos de Paula is a translator, writer and auto racing historian based in Miami

March private entries

March was present in F-1 in three distinct times, the first of which lasted from 1970-1977. During that initial period, March was the major provider of chassis to privateers. In fact, in its very first season, March provided chassis to several teams, in addition to running a 2-car works team. The most important privateer team that year was Tyrrell, which fielded cars for current champion Jackie Stewart, Servoz-Gavin and Cevert. And Tyrrell was indeed the last privateer team to have won a Grand Prix, the Spanish GP of 1970. In addition to Tyrrell, Andy Granatelli (STP) fielded a March 701 for Mario Andretti, who raced in a few events, finishing a best 3rd place. Colin Crabbe/Antique Automobiles also fielded a 701 for Ronnie Peterson, and Hubert Hahne also bought a 701. The latter became very flustered when he could not get the car up to competitive speed to qualify for the German GP, claiming March provided him a defective car. When Ronnie Peterson drove his car and immediately got it up to a relatively competitive pace, a despondent Hahne quit racing.

For 1971, the main March privateer was Frank Williams, who fielded a 711 for Henri Pescarolo. Henri scored a few points, but most importantly, posted the fastest lap at the Italian Grand Prix, which for many years stood as the fastest racing lap in a Grand Prix. Jean Max also drove a Williams March 711 in France. Francois Mazet drove a Jo Siffert entered March 701 in France, Skip Barber drove a Gene Mason entered March 711 in Holland and the North American races, and Mike Beutler was entered in a March 711 sponsored by his stockbroker friends Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie, in a few races. Shell Arnold entered a March 701 for Jean Pierre Jarier in Italy.
Frank Williams again fielded Marches in 1972, a 721 for Pescarolo and a 711 for Pace. The debuting Brazilian was the only one to score points in the team. Beuttler again drove a 721 in several races, while the Eifelland team entered a modified March 721 for Rolf Stommelen. The unusual bodywork car is sometimes referred as an Eifelland. Skip Barber again fielded his 711 in the USA and Canadian Grand Prix.

Mike Beuttler was again sponsored by his stockbroker friends (plus Durlacher), quitting F-1 at the end of the year. The most competitive March 731 privateer was unquestionably James Hunt, entered by Hesketh, in a car engineered by Harvey Posthlethwaite. While the works team scored no points, Hunt got a couple of podiums, coming very close to victory in the USA, scoring a fastest lap as well. Team Pierre Robert entered a 731 for Reine Wissel in Sweden, while LEC Refrigeration entered a 731 for David Purley in a few races.

Hesketh entered the March in the first two races of the year, eventually fielding the proprietary Hesketh in 1974. Mike Wilds failed to qualify a Dempster International 731 in England. Although the entry lists were overly subscribed for many 1974 races, there were fewer March privateer appearances than in previous years.



In 1975 it was much the same. In fact, the only privateer March to be fielded that year was a 751 entered by Penske for Mark Donohue. Penske was having problems with his own chassis, and the competitive March (at least in Brambilla’s hands) appeared a good benchmark to learn more about F-1. Donohue raced it only in England and Germany, scoring points in Silverstone, then was killed in Austria.

For 1976 March had two works teams with a total of four drivers for many races. Peterson was back in the team, but both he and Stuck were nominally entered by Theodore Racing in Long Beach. Basically, there were no private March entries in 1976, although Karl Oppitzhauser attempted to field one in the Austrian GP, but his entry was refused.

This was more than made up for in 1977, when a flood of 761’s appeared outside the works team. Arturo Merzario raced an example under the Team Merzario banner, managing to qualify it 14th out of 32 in Belgium, which was the highlight of the year. Brett Lunger was entered by Chesterfield Racing in a few races, eventually changing to a McLaren M23. After losing his team to Walter Wolf, Frank Williams entered a 761 for Patrick Neve from the Spanish GP on, managing a 7th in Italy, the closest a March came to scoring that year. RAM Racing entered 761s for Boy Hayje, Mikko Kozarowitsky Andy Sutcliffe and Michael Bleekemolen, without setting the world on fire. Brian Henton entered a 761 under British Formula 1 racing for himself and Bernard de Dryver.

At the end of the year, March discontinued its Formula 1 operations until 1982.

The Grand Prix that did not exist

A huge number of auto races fall in complete obscurity the moment the checkered flag is waved, despite the effort and expense of the participants, often with great sacrifice. Try for example to find the complete results of most races on the internet, or even magazines.

The omission of race reports is not uncommon. What is unusual is to find a story about a race that did not happen!

Only one pair could get away with such mischief, Motor Sport Magazine, and journalist Denis Jenkinson, both British. Motor Sport is the oldest motoring magazine in the world, published since 1924, and, indeed, still exists today. Jenkinson is one of the best known, and some would say, best and most talented journalist specializing in motorsports. Author of many books, Jenkinson was also known for being the co-driver for Stirling Moss, with Mercedes-Benz in the 1955 Mille Miglia, duly won by the duo.

One of the peculiarities of Jenkinson was that he was "old school". It is true that in his later years, Jenks, as he was known, had already surrendered to modernity. But in the mid 70s, Denis, who signed his reports DSJ, resisted some winds of change that swept through motorsport. There was a famous exchange of niceties between Jenkinson and Jackie Stewart, on the very pages of Motor Sport in 1972. Jackie, who had a column in an English newspaper, strove to increase the safety of tracks, cars and racing, while Jenkinson believed that there were overreactions in certain corners, which yielded a nasty response from Stewart, published in the journal.

It is therefore not surprising that Jenkinson did not swallow the change of venue of the German Grand Prix, from the Nurburgring (Norsdschleife) to Hockenheim from 1977 on, largely due to the terrible accident that befell Niki Lauda in the 1976 GP. For Jenkinson, Nurburgring was sacred.

This was reflected in the September 1977 issue of the magazine. In addition to reports on GPs from Germany and Austria, a report appeared on page 44 entitled "Der Grosser Preis von Deutschland", which means German GP in German. In the index, one notices something peculiar - a reference to "Hockenheim Formula 1 Race", instead of the German Grand Prix. The title in the story itself is "Der Kleine Preis von Deutschland" (Small Prix of Germany), which indicates DSJ's obvious displeasure with the new location of the German GP.

It happens that DSJ, who did not sign the article "Der Grosser Preis von Deutschland", but whose style is obvious, used three pages of the magazine to chronicle the events of an F1 race that was never run! He did so in such a realistic fashion that some might insist today that the race indeed took place.

In the fertile mind of Jenks, two F1 races were held in Germany that year, the official held in Hockenheim and the popular Nurburgring race that showed traditional motorsport's resilience, surviving unscathed through the changes of the era.

Thus was created the GP did not exist.

The narrative is delicious. Some clear Jenks preferences emerge. Among others, Chris Amon is called by Shadow to race one of their cars, but refuses, confirming retirement. Niki Lauda remains home, mowing the lawn. Max Mosley produces an overwhelming number of Marches for the race, as not all teams attended. Tyrrel, for example, did not field cars, although the long-retired Jackie Stewart offered to sort out the difficult six-wheel cars. And the six-wheeled March almost runs with Ian Scheckter, whose brother Jody decided to stay home, because the race did not count points towards the World Championship. Dieter Quester almost took part in a March. Emerson and Copersucar were testing, as always.

Here's the imaginary grid GP, with formation 3-2-3 (not used since 1973) and 22 cars:
1. Mass (McLaren)
2. Stuck (Brabham)
3. Hunt (McLaren)
4. Ickx (March)
5. Nilsson (Lotus)
6. Laffite (Ligier)
7. Stommelen (March)
8. Andretti (Lotus)
9. Derek Bell (March)
10. Regazzoni (Ensign)
11. Jones (Shadow)
12. Reutemann (Ferrari)
13. Jarier (Penske)
14. Tambay (Ensign)
15. Tim Schenken (March)
16. Ertl (Hesketh)
17. Merzario (March)
18. Schuppan (Surtess)
19. Lunger (McLaren)
20. Neve (March)
21. Edwards (BRM)
22. Henton (BRM)

In the sublime imagination of Jenks, Tim Schenken comes back to F1. Ickx, Stommelen and Bell, despite the March, are Top 10 on the grid. For Jenks, March was obviously the last chance to keep the independents in F1, and in his drama, the cars have a wonderful performance. In fact, Ickx, an expert on Nordschleife, starts fourth, and runs towards the front for much of the "event". Jenks also dreams about two BRM on the track, a nice idea but an obvious impossibility in 1977. With a dose of realism, the BRMs occupy the last row ...
Stuck took the lead with Brabham, but eventually loses his place to the two McLarens. Both BRM leave in the first lap, and Brian Henton almost drives away on his private March to continue in the race ...

In the end, Jochen Mass wins, delighting the German crowd, and Hunt beats the lap record of the Nordschleife.
The final result of the GP that never was:
1. Jochen Mass, McLaren M26
2. J. Laffite, Ligier
3. C. Reutemann, Ferrari
4. C. Regazzoni, Ensign
5. D. Bell, March
6. P. Tambay, Ensign
7. M. Andretti, Lotus
8. B. Lunger, McLaren
9. J. Hunt, McLaren
10. A. Jones, Shadow
11. V. Schuppan, Surtees.

The final comic note is the disappearance of Vittorio Brambilla, who left the track in the Surtees during testing. Big John was so busy with the new pupil Schuppan, that he did not notice the disappearance of the Italian. He had fallen down a ravine, and was trying to get the car out of there by himself, for two days.

For obvious reasons there are no photos of the event in the "report". The only three photos are from the 30's, illustrating Caracciola, a Mercedes and Auto-Union in the pits.
A brilliant piece of sarcasm, if you ask me.

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