Brazilians in British Formula Ford
Ayrton Senna
Senna’s first stepping stone after his successful go-kart career was in British motor sports, in Formula Ford 1600, a breeding ground for F1 talents. Senna’s first race took place at Brands Hatch, on March 1st 1981. The following Sunday, Senna was third at Thruxton, and climbed on the podium for the first time in his young international career. Only 15 days after his debut, in an incredible race at Brands Hatch, where the Formula Ford Festival is held, Senna took his first victory. Senna kept up his good run of form, finishing the nine following races in the top-three, including another five victories! In the last seven races he scored nothing less than six victories and one second place, which earned him both the Formula Ford 1600 Britain RAC and the Formula Ford 1600 Townsend-Thoresen Championships. In his first year, he competed in 20 races in three competitions (Towsend Thoresen, EFDA Euroseries and RAC British), winning 12 of them.
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Ayrton Senna continued on to Formula Ford 2000 in 1982. He came onto the scene like a cyclone in both the British and the European championships. Ayrton won both titles, taking 22 victories, 18 pole positions and 22 fastest laps in only 28 races.
Senna decided to stay on the path travelled by most of the sports’ greatest names: he signed on to race in the British F3. After an incredible fight to the last round he deservedly won the title after he won 12 of the championship’s 20 races. In November that year, Senna also triumphed at the inaugural Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix. 1984 saw Ayrton Senna competing in Formula 1 for the Toleman team. He achieved his first point in the second Grand Prix and marveled the world with his fearless driving in Monaco, where he achieved his first podium finish and set the race’s fastest lap. In 1985 Senna moved to Lotus and over the next three years he won six Grands Prix. In 1988, he joined McLaren and Senna claimed his first World Championship. Senna took his second and third championships in 1990 and 1991. During his Formula 1 career Senna took 41 wins, 65 Pole Positions, 80 Podiums and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time, and by some as the greatest ever. |
A young Ayrton Senna ©Alan Cox
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Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi racing at Snetterton ©Mike Nixon
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Fittipaldi won the Brazilian Formula Vee title at age 21. He left for Europe in 1969 and raced in Formula Ford in the UK. He raced a Merlyn Mk11A and instantly impressed taking a number of podiums and victories in Formula Ford. His performances led to moving up into F3 in the same year, where he won nine F3 races in the MCD Lombard Championship to become the 1969 Formula 3 Champion of Britain. For 1970, Fittipaldi moved up to F2 taking six finishes in the points and four podiums to finish 3rd in the Championship. However in 1970 Emerson also made his Formula 1 Debut
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Fittipaldi got his opportunity to start racing in Formula 1 with Lotus in the 1970 British GP in July, Fittipaldi scored a brilliant fourth place in his first race. Team Lotus plans for the season drastically changed when Jochen Rindt was killed at Monza in September and Fittipaldi was promoted to be the Lotus No. 1 driver on his fifth F1 race. Fittipaldi proved up to the task and won this first post-Rindt race for Lotus.
In his first full year as Lotus's lead driver in 1971, Fittipaldi finished sixth in the Drivers' Championship as the team further developed the previous season's Lotus 72. Fittipaldi proved dominant in 1972 as he won five of 11 races and claimed his first F1 Drivers' Championship. At 25 years old he was then the youngest champion in F1 history. It appeared he might do it again in 1973. But after three wins in four attempts with the 72D, he began to struggle in the new 72E that was unveiled mid-year, Fittipaldi still finished a brilliant 2nd place in the World Drivers' Championship. Fittipaldi left Lotus to sign with the promising McLaren team. Driving the highly efficient McLaren M23, he had three victories in 1974, reached the podium four other times, and beat out Clay Regazzoni in a close battle for his second championship. The following season, he notched two more victories and four other podiums, but was second to a dominant Niki Lauda. For 1976 Fittipaldi left Mclaren for older brother Wilson Fittipaldi's Copersucar-sponsored Fittipaldi Automotive team. He remained with the team for five seasons and took a best finish of second. Fittipaldi decided to retire from racing at the end of 1980. He finished his Formula 1 career with 14 wins, 35 Podiums and 2 World Championships. |
Photo taken by Gerald Swan 1974
Emerson Fittipaldi British Grand Prix McLaren M23 |
Emerson Fittipaldi racing in the Indianapolis 500 in 1994 Photo by Rick Dikeman
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After leaving F1 in 1980, Fittipaldi took time out from major racing for four years, returning in 1984 in CART. The 38-year-old spent his first season acclimatising to IndyCars, driving for two teams before joining Patrick Racing as an injury replacement. He stayed five years with the team, recording six victories and solid finishes in the overall standings. In 1989 he had five wins and finished in the top five in every race he completed, giving him a CART championship. Among his wins was a dominant performance in the 1989 Indianapolis 500 where he led 158 of 200 laps and won by two laps, but only after a dramatic duel with Al Unser, Jr. in the closing laps of the race. Unser ran down Fittipaldi after a late-race restart and passed him for the lead on lap 196. Three laps later, Fittipaldi used lapped traffic to his advantage to pull alongside Unser on the backstretch. Neither driver would give way, and the two cars touched wheels as they went through turn three side by side. Unser's car spun out of control to hit the outside wall, while Fittipaldi was able to maintain sufficient control to keep his car moving straight. In spite of the altercation, Unser saluted Fittipaldi from the infield as Fittipaldi passed by on the final lap. Roger Penske hired Fittipaldi for his racing team in 1990 and he continued to be among the top drivers in CART, winning at least one race with Penske for six straight years. But for bad luck he might have won three consecutive Indianapolis 500s, suffering blistered tires in 1990 and a gearbox failure in 1991, both while leading. In 1993 he added a second Indianapolis 500 victory by taking the lead from defending Formula One World Champion Nigel Mansell on lap 185 and holding it for the remainder. Approaching 50, he was still with CART in 1996 when an injury at the Michigan International Speedway ended his career. Fittipaldi did not return to the series as a driver after the injury and Fittipaldi finished his CART career with 22 wins..
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Roberto Pupo Moreno
Roberto Moreno in a Van Diemen RF80 ©Alan Cox
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After winning the 1976 Brazilian 125cc Karting championship, Moreno set his sights on getting to Europe. He arrived in England in 1979, to race in his first season in Formula Ford. With a very limited budget Moreno was both the driver and the mechanic, racing in an unfavoured car. He put in some mighty impressive drives and managed to win a race which convinced Ralph Firman Sr, the head of Van Diemen, to sign Moreno as a works driver for the 1980 season.
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With more competitive equipment Moreno was able to showcase his talent and went on to win the Townsend Thoresen British Formula Ford title, winning eight races in the process. He had more success in Europe and drove the same car to three more victories finishing in second place in the EFDA Townsend Thoresen Euroseries Formula Ford 1600 Championship. He rounded out the season by taking part in the Formula Ford Festival with nearly 200 cars entered. Moreno drove incredibly well to beat many future Formula 1 drivers and win the illustrious Formula Ford Festival!
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Roberto Moreno leading at Brands Hatch
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Over the next few years Roberto struggled to find the budget for a competitive drive, but still managed to put in some incredible drives taking victories in British and European Formula 3, winning the 1982 Aurora AFX New Zealand International Formula Pacific Series and the 1982 Macau Grand Prix. Roberto competed in a number of different Championships including, Formula 2, Formula 3000, World Touring Cars, World Endurance Championship and IndyCar. He finally got an opportunity to race in Formula 1 in the final 2 races of the 1987 season, however it was in the uncompetitive AGS. Incredibly Roberto scored a point in only his second Formula 1 Race. 1988 saw Roberto return to Formula 3000, where he convincingly won the championship, opening the door for a full season in Formula 1. Sadly it was not in a competitive car, he did however consistently outperform his teammate. Roberto was finally given an opportunity to drive a competitive car in 1990 when he substituted for the Benetton team. He grabbed this opportunity with both hands and was able to finish on the podium. Roberto completed in a total of 75 Formula One Grands Prix, achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 15 championship points. After Formula 1 Roberto had successful career in America, where he took more wins and podiums and finished 3rd in the 2000 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series.
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Chico Serra
Chico Serra in a Van Diemen RF77 ©Alan Cox
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Chico was the Brazilian Fórmula N Champion in 1976. Chico moved to England in 1977 as one of the first pioneers of the Brazilian influx into British racing, Chico Serra took victory in the 1977 Townsend Thoresen British Formula Ford Championship and became the first Brazilian to win the Formula Ford Festival! Serra progressed into British Formula 3 in 1978 and was in contention for the championship and had won 3 races until an testing accident forced him to rest miss several races. The weeks on the sideline meant that Chico was unable to challenge for the British F3 titles. But before the end of the season Chico won the final race of the BP F3 championship round at Thruxton. Chico finished third overall in the championship. The following year Chico continued on his championship quest, and he took five wins in 1979 which was enough to bring him the British F3 title.
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Chico graduated to Formula 2 for the 1980 season before making his Formula 1 debut in 1981. Chico signed for Fittipaldi and had a promising start. He was close to getting a point in his GP debut at Long Beach in 1981, but ultimately finished seventh. He spent two seasons in the Fittipaldi team and was able to show flashes of his undoubtful talent. Fittipaldi was in difficulty and Chico was retained to drive a single entry for 1982. Chico scored his only championship point at Zolder that year. At the end of 1982 the team was disbanded and Chico looked elsewhere for a drive, completing a deal with Arrows. He debuted for them at his home GP at Rio and An eighth place was his reward. The unlucky Chico was replaced and the Brazilian was forced away from Formula 1. He participated in 33 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix for Fittipaldi and Arrows, scoring 1 championship point.
Chico was lured back into racing in the late 90's to race in the Brazilian Stock Car Championship. He returned to his winning ways, taking the Championship 3 years in a row in 1999, 2000 and 2001. |
Maurício Gugelmin
Maurício Gugelmin at Mallory Park ©Gary Thomas
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Gugelmin started racing go-karts as a kid in Brazil in 1971. He had an impressive record winning his local championship nine years in a row from 1971 to 1979. He progressed to the Brazilian national championship in 1980, which he also won. He progressed to single-seater racing cars in 1981, when he won the Brazilian Formula Fiat Championship.
In 1982 Gugelmin moved to the United Kingdom to further his racing career by racing in Formula Ford. During his first year Gugelmin took 13 race wins and was crowned the Formula Ford 1600 Britain RAC champion. He was battling for the victory in the 1982 Formula Ford Festival, but a clash with eventual winner and future F1 driver Julian Bailey resulted in spectactular crash that ended his Festival hopes. Gugelmin moved into Formula Ford 2000 in 1983 and finished as runner-up in the British Formula Ford 2000 series. In 1984 he moved to the European Formula Ford 2000 series in and won the title at his first attempt! |
A progression to Formula Three followed in 1985, where he took 3 wins and 12 podiums on the way to winning the British championship. This was followed with the season-ending Macau Grand Prix. Gugelmin subsequently spent two years in Formula 3000 before Gugelmin entered Formula One with the March team in 1988. He took a best finish of fourth place in the British Grand Prix and finished the season as the highest-scoring newcomer in the Formula One World Championship, ending the year in 13th position overall.
The 1989 championship was barren for the March team, and Gugelmin took their only points scoring finish of the year at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Where he finished on the podium in an excellent third position. Made even more impressive given that March were financially troubled. In 1990 the March team was sold, and became known as Leyton House. Gugelmin was retained by the team, but the team's chassis proved troublesome. Modifications were made to the car ahead of the French Grand Prix, which improved the performance and allowed the cars to run the whole race without changing their tyres. Gugelmin retired from fourth position mid-race with engine problems, but he went on to score a single point for finishing in sixth later in the season. He participated in 80 Formula One Grands Prix took 1 podium and scored a total of 10 championship points in the series. After Formula One Gugelmin moved to America to compete in CART between 1993 and 2001. He started 147 races took 1 race victory and 8 podiums, finishing a best of fourth in the 1997 championship. Gugelmin had a best result of 6th in the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 where he lead more laps than any other driver. |
Gil de Ferran
Gil De Ferran started racing Formula Ford in Brazil in 1985 and won the Campeonato Brasileiro de F-Ford Championship in 1987. Gil progressed to racing Formula Ford in the UK in 1988 and 1989. He had a very successful year taking 12 victories and finishing 3rd in the Formula Ford 1600 BRDC, the LUK RAC British FF1600 and the Formula Ford 1600 Britain Esso Championships. He progresssed into Formula 3, finishing 3rd in 1991 behind Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard. He returned to the Championship the following year in 1992 taking 7 wins and 14 podiums on his way taking the title and becoming the British Formula 3 Champion. In 1994 & 1995 Gil raced in Formula 3000 and took 3 wins, 7 podiums and finished 3rd in the 1994 Championship.
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In 1995 De Ferran was offered a drive in Champ Car. De Ferran impressed in his first year and won the rookie of the year award in 1995 by finishing 14th and he scored his first CART win in the last race of the year at Laguna Seca Raceway.
In 1996, de Ferran was a consistent challenger taking another vitcory and finishing 6th in the 1996 Championship. De Ferran finished 1997 as runner-up taking 7 podiums. The following 2 years De Ferran took 6 more podiums and another victory, before signing for Penske for the 2000 season. Gil had a brilliant season taking 2 wins and 7 podiums on his way to his first CART Title! On October 28, 2000, during CART qualifying at California Speedway, de Ferran set the track record for fastest lap at 241.428 mph (388.541 km/h). (As of December 2020, this stands as the fastest qualifying lap speed ever recorded at an official race meeting.) 2001 saw Gil take his second CART Title, 2 more wins and another 8 podiums. In 2002 Gil switched to the Indy Racing League and finished the Championship in 3rd, taking 2 wins and 7 podiums. 2003 Gil challenged for the title again, taking 3 wins, 8 podiums including victory in the Indy 500! He finished the season in 2nd place and decided to retire at the end of 2003. winning his final race. |
Vitor Meira
Vitor on Pole Position for his heat in the 1997 Formula Ford Festival
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Vitor came to the UK in 1995 where he competed in the Formula Ford Winter Series. He got his career in the UK off to a brilliant start, taking 3 wins and the Winter Series title. He spent 2 years racing in the British Formula Ford Championship, taking a best finish of 4th in the 1996 season. He qualified on pole position for his heat of the 1997 Formula Ford Festival and was battling for 3rd in the Grand Final when he had a coming together with Dan Wheldon that ended his Festival challenge.
In 1998 Vitor moved into Formula Renault, where he took a victory and finished 5th in his first year of the Championship. He returned to South America for 1999 and 2000 by competing in the Formula Three Sudamericana series. Over the two years he took 10 wins and 20 Podiums and won the 2000 Championship. For 2001 Vitor returned to Europe to race in the Euro 3000 Championship, where he finished 7th in the Championship, taking 3 podiums. |
After participating in an open test for Panther Racing at Texas Motor Speedway in 2002, Meira made his IndyCar debut on August 11, 2002 at Kentucky Speedway. A little over a month later, Vitor took his first career pole at Texas Motor Speedway after just four starts and finished in third place. 2003 & 2004 were difficult years after Meira was injured but he was able to take his second career pole in 2004. In 2005 he took a fantastic 2nd place finish in the Indy 500. During the 2006 season Meira took 6 podiums, and 12 top 10 finishes. Meira finished an incredible 5th in the Indycar Championship. Meira finished second in the 2008 running of the Indianapolis 500 and continured to race in Indycar until 2011. During his IndyCar Career Vitor made 131 starts, took 15 podiums and 2 Pole Positions. Taking a best finish of 5th in the Championship in the 2006 season.
After Indycar Vitor has raced in Brazilian Stock Car and also the Copa Petrobras de Marcas where he was the champion in 2015. |
Meira testing at Barber Motorsports Park during the 2007-2008 off-season
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Raul Boesel
Raul Boesel in 1980 ©Alan Cox
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Raul was the 1975 Brazilian 125cc Karting Champion and In 1979 Raul entered into the first ever season of the Brazilian Stock Car championship, he took 3 wins on his way to finishing a very respectable 4th place in the Championship. He moved to Britain in 1980 to race in Formula Ford 1600 and finished 2nd in both the Townsend Thoresen British Formula Ford Championship and the Formula Ford 1600 Britain RAC Championship. In 1981 Raul progressed into British Formula 3, took 3 wins and 11 podiums and finished third in the championship. In November 1981 he had his first tast of Formula 1 and tested for McLaren. He entered the 1982 F1 Season with the March team and the 1983 season with Ligier. Raul made 23 starts in Formula 1, finishing in the top 10 six times.
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Raul spent a few years racing CART in America and in 1987 switched to World Sportscar Championship with Jaguar., where he won the title with five victories. In 1988 he won the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Jaguar XJR-9. In 1988 he also returned to the CART Series and finished third at the Indy 500 in 1989. In 1991 he finished second in Le Mans 24 Hours with Jaguar and returned to CART, finishing fifth in the 1993 series. He raced in CART until 1999 racing in 173 races, taking 8 podiums and 3 fastest laps. His last race in CART was at the 1999 Marlboro 500 at Fontana.Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba, a racing circuit in Curitiba, that is officially nicknamed "Circuito Raul Boesel" (Raul Boesel circuit) in honour of his success.
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Luiz Pereira Bueno
Luiz Pereira Bueno racing in the Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team
Source: http://www.nobresdogrid.com.br |
Before coming to England, Luiz Bueno had experiencing driving a variation of different cars and in 1965 he took victory in the 1966 500 Kilometers of Interlagos and the 1967 Mil Milhas Brasileiras. Stirling Moss visited the Brazil for the Brazilian Formula Ford festival. Ricardo Achcar introduced Stirling to Brazil and Achcar persuaded Moss to test Brazilians in a Formula Ford in England. Thus, Ricardo Ashcar, Luiz Pereira Bueno, Marinho Camargo and Norman Casari, embarked for England. Arriving there, they took a few laps, all together, in a passenger car to get to learn the track. Moss was thrilled with Bueno, and asked him to pick a second driver to return to England and race. Bueno picked Achcar, because he was the person who created the opportunity for Bueno. Bueno and Achcar returned to Europe in May 69, with guaranteed sponsorship from Renner, Tergal and Shell, but with the English Formula Ford season already underway. Moss was reluctant to give a car for both drivers and Achcar gave up driving for his friend. In his first race, Bueno had a serious accident and destroyed the car. The car was rebuilt, but he struggled in the next two races. A mechanic from the Merlyn chassis factory realised that the car was out of alignment. After making adjustments Luiz put in some brilliant performances, taking six victories and ending the year as runner-up in the 1969 Formula Ford 1600 BRSCC Championship.
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Unable to find sponsorship to continue racing in England, Bueno returned to Brazil. He raced in Formula 3 in 1971 and also took took his 2nd and 3rd victories in the 500 Kilometers of Interlagos in 1970 and 1971. In 1972, Bueno became champion of the 'Campeonato Brasileiro de Viaturas Esporte' driving a Porsche 908/2. 1972 also saw Luiz have his first taste of a Formula 1 Car, taking part in the first Formula 1 race in Brazil, on 30th March in a Non-Championship race. Bueno raced a March 711 car, he qualified in 10th place and finished the race in 6th place. In 1973 Bueno got his one and unfortunately only chance of racing in an Official formula 1 race, taking part in the Brazilian Grand Prix in a John Surtees car. Sadly it was found out during assembly of the car the mechanics had made a mistake and the car had a different measurement on each side of the wheelbase. This made the car extremely uncompetitive and Bueno was unable to showcase his talent. Bueno finished his one and only Formula 1 race in 12th position.
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In 1973 competing in his one and only Formula 1 Race at the wheel of a John Surtees team car.
Source: http://www.nobresdogrid.com.br |
Mario Haberfeld
Mario Haberfeld racing a Swift SC94 ©Rich Craner
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Mario raced Formula Ford in Brazil in 1994, before coming to England to compete in the Formula Ford Festival. He took a very respectable 9th place, which led to an opportunity to take part in the British Formula Ford Championship in 1995. He had a great year first year in the UK finishing 4th in the British Championship and rounding out the year by finishing a fantastic 3rd in the Formula Ford Festival.
In 1996 Mario raced in European Formula Renault, where he took 1 win and more podiums, before he returned to the UK to race in British Formula 3. He spent 2 years racing in Formula 3, taking 8 wins and 14 podiums and with it the British Formula 3 Championship in 1998. He followed this up with a 3rd place finish in the 1998 Masters of Formula 3. Mario also had the incredible opportunity for test for both Mclaren and Stewart Formula 1 teams. Mario progressed into the Formula 3000 International Championship in 1999, staying in the Championship until 2002. He took 2 podiums and finished 7th in 2002 Championship. In 2003 he moved to the Champ Car World Series, where he spent two years racing. He took a best finish of 4th, finishing the 2003 Championship in 12th place. In 2006 he moved into the GrandAm Rolex Series, where he took 2 wins and 3 podiums. Mario then moved into the ALMS series for 2007 and 2008 where he took a best finish of 2nd place. In 2019 Haberfeld made a return to race in a couple of races in the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, for Jaguar Brazil Racing. |
Ricardo Sperafico
Ricardo Sperafico at the Formula Ford Festival in 1997
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Ricardo came to the UK in 1996 and took part in the Formula Ford Winter Series. He got his career off to a brilliant start by taking victory in the Championship. In 1997 Ricardo raced in the 1997 British Formula Ford Championship. Ricardo had a great season and finished the Championship as runner up. He took part in the Formula Ford Festival and was battling for the lead in his heat when he had an incident that dropped him down the order. He made it into the Grand Final, but had to start in 17th place. An amazing drive ensued and he was able to work his up into an incredible 3rd place!
He returned to South America for 1998 & 1999 and competed in the Formula Three Sudamericana series. Ricardo finished 4th in the 1999 Championship, taking 4 wins and 10 podiums. He returned to Europe in 2000 to race in the Italian Formula 3000 series. He took 4 wins and won the Championship! In 2001 and he progressed into the International Formula 3000 Championship. Ricardo spent 3 years in the Championship and in those 3 years he took 3 wins and 12 podiums and finishing as Runner up in the 2003 Championship. In 2005 Ricardo made his debut in the Champ Car Series. He competed in all 13 races and took a few top 10 finishes. Sperafico returned to Brazil and raced in Stock Car from 2007 to 2013 and took 5 podiums and 3 Pole Positions. In 2015 Ricardo won the 29th Edition of the Cascavel de Ouro and also competed in 2 races in the 2015 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. In 2020 Ricardo won the 2020 GT Sprint Race Brasil - Pro series. |
Niko Palhares
Niko spent a few years racing formula ford in the United Kingdom, but 1989 was the year everything came together and he was able to showcase his talent. He took victory in both the Formula Ford 1600 (BRDC) and the Formula Ford 1600 Britain Esso Championships. He topped off an incredible year by winning the 1989 Formula Ford Festival. He did a couple of races in Formula 3 in 1990 before returning to the Formula Ford Festival to try and be the first driver to win back to back festivals. He was on course to do so leading the final before a mechanical failure took him out of the race. In 1992 Niko finished 2nd in the Italian Formula 3 Championship. He competed in the American Indy Lights series in 1995 for the first four races of the season with a best finish of 8th.
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Paulo Carcasci
Paulo Carcasci at Oulton Park ©Alan Cox
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Carcasci started his car racing career in 1985 in Formula Ford 1600. Driving a works entered Van Diemen RF85 the Brazilian won races at Cadwell Park, Castle Combe, and Brands Hatch. Carcasci won the EFDA Formula Ford Euroseries final race at Circuit Zolder and beat future Formula 1 drivers Bertrand Gachot, Roland Ratzenberger and Damon Hill. At the 1985 Formula Ford Festival Carcasci won his Quarter Final and was on pole position for the semi-final race but his hopes were ruined after he was involved in an incident and did not finish.
For 1986 Carcasci remained at the works Van Diemen team graduating into the British Formula Ford 2000 championship he won races at Thruxton, Snetterton and Castle Combe. In 1988 Carcasci had his first taste in Formula 3, taking part in five races of the British Formula 3 Championship. In 1989 Carcasci raced in a variety of different championships, he raced in the European Formula Opel Lotus championship taking 3 podiums and also competed in 3 races in the British Formula 3000 championship Carcasci competed three races and Carcasci won the Gold Cup at Oulton Park beating Gary Brabham. At the end of the 1989 season Carcasci was approached by Formula 1 team Life Racing Engines to drive their Life F190. Carcasci declined the invitation as the car proved to be uncompetitive. In 1990 Carcasci moved into the British Formula Renault Championship where Carcasci was runner up in the championship. For 1991 Carcasci moved to Japan to race in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship for the factory Toyota team. He took 4 wins and 6 podiums on his way to winning the Championship. In 1992 Paulo Carcasci moved into the Formula 3000 Japan Championship and he won the second race of the season at Fuji Speedway. He remained in Formula 3000 for 1993 and took another podium. In 1996 Carcasci had a single Indy Lights outing at Long Beach supporting the Grand Prix of Long Beach. After starting an impressive twelfth on his debut, the cars clutch broke down preventing Carcasci from finishing. |
Maurizio Sandro Sala
Sandro Sala leading his heat at the Formula Ford Festival
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Maurizio raced in Formula Ford in 1983 and was the Formula Ford 1600 (BRDC) Champion. He started on the front row of the grid for the 1983 Formula Ford Festival Final and was running in a podium position before a crash ended his race. In 1984 Sala stepped up to Formula Ford 2000 taking 6 wins on his way to becoming the champion of Great Britain. Sala stepped up to Formula 3 in 1985, before battling for the Championship a year later in 1986. Sala took 5 wins and 11 podiums on his way to finishing 2nd in the 1986 British Formula 3 Championship. Over the next few years Sala tried his hand in a number of different racing series, where he he won races in both the Japanese Touring Car Championship and the All Japan Sports Prototype Car Endurance Championship, while also finishing 3rd in the 1988 Japan Formula 3 Championship. Sala had a few opportunities to test a Formula 1 car, but was never able to put together a deal to race. Sala went on to race in the Sportscar World Championship and also finished an amazing 3rd in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGT1 class.
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José Cordova
José Cordova leading Vincenzo Sospiri ©Julian Roberts
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José raced Formula Ford in 1988, racing at the front and winning races in both the Formula Ford 1600 (BRDC) Championship and the Formula Ford 1600 Britain Esso Championship. He qualified on pole position for the Formula Ford Festival and finished a brilliant 2nd place. José progressed to race in a few races in Formula 3 and also competed in a couple of races in the American Indy Lights series in 1996. He returned to Brazil to race in the Copa Renault Clio Brasil taking championships in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
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Oswaldo Negri JNR
Oswaldo racing a Swift FB88 in the Formula Ford Festival ©Julian Roberts
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Oswaldo took part in the 1988 Formula Ford Festival, racing a Swift FB88 and made it through into the grand final. He raced in Formula 3 for a number of years, winning the Brazilian Championship in 1990 and finishing 4th in British F3 in 1992. In 1998 he won the Mexican version of Indy Lights, Indy Lights Panamericana. Negri moved to sports car racing in 2003 racing in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. He captured his first victory in 2006 and finished second in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2012 for Michael Shank Racing with teammates A. J. Allmendinger, John Pew, and Justin Wilson.
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Victor Correa
Victor Correa leading the Semi-Final of the Formula Ford Festival, just before getting hit into a spin.
©Joshua Barrett |
Victor came to the UK after winning the 2007 Formula Sao Paulo Champonship. He raced in the 2008 British Formula Ford Championship and finished 4th in the Championship, taking 2 wins and 8 Podiums. Victor won his heat in the 2008 Formula Ford Festival and was leading his Semi-Final was he was hit into a spin. He managed to fight back to finish 10th in the Final.
Victor moved into British Formula 3 in 2009 and finished 3rd in the National Class. He then moved into the European F3 Open Championship, where he spent 2 years racing. Over the two years he took 3 wins and 4 podiums and finished 6th in the 2011 Championship. Victor then moved into racing Radicals and in 2013 he won the Radical European Master Series |
Adriano Medeiros
Adriano first raced Formula Ford in 2006 when he took part in the UK South Midland Championship. He took part in 6 races and was the and had a great first taste of Formula Ford, being the Championship runner up. In 2007 Adriano stepped up into the BritCar Championship and finished 4th in Class. In 2008 Adriano moved into the Radical Championship where he took a number of podiums, including an incredible drive at Brands Hatch coming through from last to 2nd place. In 2010 & 2011 Adriano raced in the GT Trophy and took 3 wins and 3 fastest laps Over the two years. He also raced in 6 rounds of the Speed Series, taking a best result of 4th. In 2012 Adriano stepped up into the Euro Nascar, he took part in 4 races and took a brilliant victory at Brands Hatch on his debut.
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In 2013 Adriano made a return to Formula Ford, racing in the Classic Formula Ford Championship. He took 5 wins on his way to being crowned the 2013 Classic Formula Ford Champion! In 2016 Adriano took part in a variety of series, he raced in the Dubai 24hrs, the Lotus UK Cup where he took 1 fastest lap, the BritCar Championship, where he took a win and also made another return to Formula Ford, racing in the Classic Formula Ford Championship. He took 7 wins and 10 podiums on his way to being crowned champion for the 2nd time! He stayed with the Championship again for the 2017 Season and once again was the man to beat, he took another 7 victories and 11 podiums to take an incredible third Championship title in the Classic Formula Ford series. Adriano only competed in a couple of races in 2018, but one of them was one of his best drives. Again racing in Classic Formula Ford, he had an exhaust problem in qualifying, which meant he had to start the race from 32nd on the grid. He put in an incredible drive, passing some top Formula Ford Drivers to work his way into the lead and take a fantastic victory.
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Aluizio Coelho
Aluizio at Silverstone ©Claire Stanton
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Aluizio came to England in 1996 and raced in the British Formula Ford Championship. He spent two years racing in British Formula Ford and finished 7th in the 1997 season. Aluizio also raced in the 1997 Formula Ford Festival, he was running in 2nd place in his heat before an incident took him out of contention.
In 1998 Aluizio moved into the British Formula Renault Championship. He took 7 wins and 12 podiums on his way to taking the Championship title. In 1999 Aluizio moved into the British Formula 3 Championship and finished the season in 9th place. Aluizio returned to Brazil and raced in the Pick Up Racing Brazil Championship and the GT3 Brazil Championship takin podiums in both series. |
Rodrigo Sperafico
Rodrigo at the 1997 Formula Ford Festival
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Rodrigo raced in British Formula Ford during the 1997 Season, finishing 9th in the Championship. He raced in the Formula Ford Festival, where he finished 3rd in his heat and was in the battle for 3rd in the Grand Final before an incident took him out of contention.
He returned to South America for 1998 & 1999 by competing in the Formula Three Sudamericana series, where Rodrigo finished a brilliant 3rd in the 1999 Championship. He returned to Europe in 2000 to race in the Italian Formula 3000 series and finished fourth in the championship with one pole position and three podium finishes to his name. Rodrigo then moved into the International Formula 3000 championship for 2001 & 2002. He started the 2002 Season extremely well taking a victory and went on to finish a very respectable 6th in the Championship. Sperafico also had a short spell in World Series by Nissan. Sperafico moved back to Brazil in 2004 to race in the Stock Car Brasil championship, He spent 8 years racing in the Championship taking 2 winsand 7 podiums and finishing an incredible 2nd in the 2007 Championship, More recently Rodrigo has been racing in GT racing and in 2020 he finished 3rd in the GT Sprint Race Brasil - Pro series. |
Ricardo Achcar
Source: http://www.nobresdogrid.com.br
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Ricardo was the Champion of the Champion of the 1967 Campeonato Carioca Formula Vee Championship and the 1968 Torneio Nacional Formula Vee Champion. Ricardo was pivotal in bringing Brazilian Drivers to England and with help from Stirling Moss arranged a test for Brazilian drivers. Himself and Luiz Bueno were picked to race and Ricardo took part in the 1969 British Formula Ford Championship. Ricardo took a number of podiums and an incredible win at Mallory Park.
Ricardo moved into the engineering side of racing and created the Super Vee Polar. Nelson Piquet himself, at the beginning of his career, became a name in motorsport, becoming the Brazilian champion riding a Polar Super Vee and dozens of well known drivers were consecrated in these single-seaters and Ricardo Achcar was seven times Brazilian constructors' champion. |
Fernando Dias Ribeiro
Fernando Dias Ribeiro in a Van Diemen RF79 ©Alan Cox
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Fernando came to England to race in Formula Ford in the 1979 and 1980 seasons. During those two years, Fernando scored several race wins taking 2nd place in the RAC Championship and third in the EFDA Townsend Thoresen Euroseries.
In 2004 Fernando made a return to racing and raced in the SCCA/Formula Russell Championship where he finished an incredible 2nd, behind future Indycar driver J.R. Hildebrand. |
Adriano Buzaid
Adriano racing a Ray GR06 ©Joshua Barrett
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Adriano came to England in 2006 and raced in the British Formula Ford Championship. He took 1 victory on the way to finishing 11th in the Championship. Adriano moved on to race in Formula Renault in 2007 and 2008. He took 5 wins and 9 podiums during his two seasons and finished 3rd in the 2008 Championship. He moved into British Formula 3 in 2009 and 2010, he took 3 wins and 15 podiums across the two years and finished 4th in the 2010 Championship.
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Duda Rosa
Duda Rosa came to England and raced Formula Ford in 1989 and 1990 winning a race in the 1990 Motorcraft Formula Ford 1600 Championship and making the final of the Formula Ford Festival. 1991 saw a move to the Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries. More recently he returned to racing in Brazil and in 2012 won the GT3 Brasil Championship.
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Alvaro Buzaid
Alvaro raced in Formula Ford in 1984 and was the Formula Ford 1600 (BRDC) Champion. Alvaro had a great run in the 1984 Formula Ford Festival and started on the 2nd row of the Grand Final, ahead of Future Formula 1 Drivers Bertrand Gachot, Damon Hill and Eddie Irvine. He was running in 3rd place in the final when a mechanical failure ended his race.
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Luiz Schaffer
Luiz Schaffer leading the way ©Alan Cox
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Luiz was the 1979 Brazil Formula Vee Champion and came to England to race in 1980. He finished 5th in the Formula Ford 1600 Britain RAC and 3rd in the P&O Normandy Ferries Formula Ford 1600 Championship. He progressed into Formula 3 and took a podium on the way to 8th in the 1982 Marlboro British Formula 3 Championship.
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