Carlos Pace
Nation: | Brazil | ||||||||
Automobile world championship | |||||||||
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First start: | 1972 South African Grand Prix | ||||||||
Last start: | 1977 South African Grand Prix | ||||||||
Constructors | |||||||||
1972 Williams · 1973–1974 Surtees · 1974–1977 Brabham | |||||||||
statistics | |||||||||
World Cup balance: | World Cup sixth ( 1975 ) | ||||||||
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World Cup points : | 58 | ||||||||
Podiums : | 6th | ||||||||
Leadership laps : | 49 over 290 km |
José Carlos Pace (born October 6, 1944 in São Paulo , Brazil ; † March 18, 1977 in Mairiporã , São Paulo ) drove in Formula 1 from 1972 to 1977 .
José Carlos Pace's parents were of Italian descent and moved back to Italy for a short time after his birth. A few years later they moved back to Brazil. Pace didn't have an easy situation at the time because he only spoke Italian and no Portuguese. He got his nickname "Moco" (the hearing impaired) not only because of his calm manner, but also because of his language difficulties.
First motorsport experience
Pace began karting at a young age, during which time he met the two Fittipaldis, Wilson and Emerson . In 1963 he started with a Renault Gordini in motor racing and switched to formula racing in 1966. He was very successful and was Brazilian racing champion from 1967 to 1969. Pace's search for a greater challenge began. He found what he was looking for in England's Formula 3 scene , where Emerson Fittipaldi had already made a good impression, making it easier for Pace and Wilson Fittipaldi to get started. In his first year, Pace became British Formula 3 champion.
Formula racing
For the time being, however, he was denied access to the higher classes. Pace needed sponsorship money, which he had to “beg” in 1971 in Brazil. With his financial cushion in his back, he also got a cockpit in Formula 2 , he joined Frank Williams' team as a driver. Impressed by the Brazilian’s successes, Williams secured him a place in Formula 1 the following year. He contested the first two races on a hopelessly inferior March of the previous year and still scored points. In his next race he received a current March and was promptly fifth. During the season he drove regularly in the front midfield.
formula 1
Parallel to his Formula 1 outings, Pace started together with Arturo Merzario in a Ferrari in the endurance world championship. In 1973 he moved to Surtees , which turned out to be a mistake. The construction of the Surtees cars could not keep up with the rapid development of Formula 1.
Pace fought with blunt weapons and grew increasingly dissatisfied. In the middle of the 1974 season he accepted an offer, he switched to Brabham rather surprisingly . Bernie Ecclestone had already contacted Pace in the run-up to the season. When the change came about, the places in the works team were already occupied by Carlos Reutemann and Rikky from Opel . So Pace drove in the private Hexagon Brabham. But things didn't go any better here than at Surtees before. Luck came to the rescue of Pace: Rikky from Opel stepped down as a driver, and Pace was in the works car in his second race for Brabham. Right away he drove to the front seats.
The year 1975 was to begin even more successfully. In the home Grand Prix he started from the third row and in the race he was in second position behind the surprisingly leading Jean-Pierre Jarier . When Jarier had to end the race with a defect, Pace took the lead and never gave it up until the finish. In the further season he established himself in the ranks of the top drivers. In the middle of the season, the tide turned in favor of the Ferraris from Lauda and Regazzoni . From this point on, the two Ferraris dominated the races at will, so that at the end of the season only a disappointing 24 championship points remained for Pace.
Failures with Brabham
In the next season, the Brabham team relied on a new engine manufacturer. Alfa Romeo had developed a 12-cylinder that was expected to keep up with the Ferraris. However, reality taught Ecclestone and his team better, the Alfa engines were not stable enough and Brabham regularly followed the lead in the races. Reutemann switched to Ferrari that season, disappointed, but Pace got it into his head to make the Brabham competitive. In the winter of 1976/77 he worked with the engineers like a man possessed. The 77 Brabham built on the success of the 75 model, so that Brabham and Pace were back at the front.
The accident
On March 18, 1977, Pace flew his wife and daughters to his ranch near São Paulo . He didn't fly back himself, but in a friend's plane. In a severe thunderstorm, the pilot must have lost their orientation and the plane crashed. None of the occupants survived the accident. The Brazilian President declared three days of mourning , and later the Interlagos circuit , where Pace celebrated his only Grand Prix victory, was renamed the “Autodromo José Carlos Pace”.
statistics
Statistics in the automobile world championship
Grand Prix victories
- 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix ( Interlagos )
general overview
season | team | chassis | engine | run | Victories | Second | Third | Poles | nice Race laps |
Points | WM-Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | STP March Racing Team | March 711 | Ford Cosworth 3.0 V8 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 18th |
1973 | Team Surtees | Surtees TS14A | Ford Cosworth 3.0 V8 | 15th | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 7th | 11. |
1974 | Team Surtees | Surtees TS16 | Ford Cosworth 3.0 V8 | 7th | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 12. |
Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT44 | Ford Cosworth 3.0 V8 | 6th | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | 8th | ||
1975 | Martini Racing | Brabham BT44B | Ford Cosworth 3.0 V8 | 14th | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 6th |
1976 | Martini Racing | Brabham BT45 | Alfa Romeo 3.0 B12 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | 7th | 14th |
1977 | Martini Racing | Brabham BT45 / BT45B | Alfa Romeo 3.0 B12 | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 6th | 15th |
total | 72 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 58 |
Single results
season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | |||||||||||||||||
17th | 6th | 17th | 5 | DNF | DNF | NC | NC | DNF | 9 | DNF | |||||||
1973 | |||||||||||||||||
DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | 8th | DNF | 10 | 13 | DNF | 7th | 4th | 3 | DNF | 18 * | DNF | |||
1974 | |||||||||||||||||
DNF | 4th | 11 | 13 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNQ | 9 | 12 | DNF | 5 | 8th | 2 | ||||
1975 | |||||||||||||||||
DNF | 1 | 4th | DNF | 3 | 8th | DNF | 5 | DNF | 2 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | ||||
1976 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | DNF | 9 | 6th | DNF | 9 | 8th | 4th | 8th | 4th | DNF | DNF | DNF | 7th | DNF | DNF | ||
1977 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | DNF | 13 |
Legend | ||
---|---|---|
colour | abbreviation | meaning |
gold | - | victory |
silver | - | 2nd place |
bronze | - | 3rd place |
green | - | Placement in the points |
blue | - | Classified outside the point ranks |
violet | DNF | Race not finished (did not finish) |
NC | not classified | |
red | DNQ | did not qualify |
DNPQ | failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify) | |
black | DSQ | disqualified |
White | DNS | not at the start (did not start) |
WD | withdrawn | |
Light Blue | PO | only participated in the training (practiced only) |
TD | Friday test driver | |
without | DNP | did not participate in the training (did not practice) |
INJ | injured or sick | |
EX | excluded | |
DNA | did not arrive | |
C. | Race canceled | |
no participation in the World Cup | ||
other | P / bold | Pole position |
SR / italic | Fastest race lap | |
* | not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered |
|
() | Streak results | |
underlined | Leader in the overall standings |
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1973 | Ferrari SEFAC Spa | Ferrari 312PB | Arturo Merzario | Rank 2 |
Web links
- A man named Moco - The Carlos Pace Story
- Carlos Pace at motorsportmemorial.org (English)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Pace, Carlos |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pace, José Carlos (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Brazilian Formula 1 racing driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 6, 1944 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | São Paulo |
DATE OF DEATH | March 18, 1977 |
Place of death | near Mairiporã , São Paulo , Brazil |