José Carlos Pace (October 6, 1944 – March 18, 1977) was a
racing driver from
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. He participated in 73
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at the
1972 South African Grand Prix
The 1972 South African Grand Prix, formally the Sixth AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans: ''Sesde AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix''), was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 4 March 1972. It was race 2 of 12 in both the 1972 World C ...
. He won one race, achieved six podiums, and scored a total of 58 championship points. He also secured one
pole position.
Career
![1973-05-27 35 Carlos Pace, Ferrari, Hatzenbach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/1973-05-27_35_Carlos_Pace%2C_Ferrari%2C_Hatzenbach.jpg)
Pace was a contemporary of the Fittipaldi brothers,
Wilson and
Emerson, and began racing in Brazil in the late 1960s. He travelled to Europe in 1970 and competed in
British Formula 3, winning the Forward Trust championship in a
Lotus car. In he moved up to
Formula Two
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...
with
Frank Williams, but did not score any points from six races. Nevertheless, he moved up to
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
in , competing with a Williams-entered
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
. He scored points on two occasions and finished eighteenth in the Drivers' Championship. His best result came at the non-championship
Victory Race, in which he finished in second position. He also competed in some further F2 and
Can-Am races.
For , Pace moved to the
Surtees
The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons (1970 to 1978) as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.
History
The team was formed by John Surtees, a four-time 500cc motorcycle champion and the ...
team and improved to eleventh place in the championship after scoring a fourth place in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and his first championship podium finish with third in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. He also set the fastest lap in both of these events. He also competed in three F2 races for Surtees, but his main racing activities outside F1 were in the
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and ...
, in which he drove for the works
Ferrari team. Sharing a
312PB with
Arturo Merzario
Arturo Francesco "Art" Merzario (born 11 March 1943 in Civenna, Como) (erroneously registered as Arturio on his birth certificate) is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 85 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at the ...
, the duo finished second at the
Nürburgring and at
Le Mans (after starting in
pole position for the latter event), and third at
Watkins Glen.
He remained with Surtees for and scored a fourth-place finish in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, but parted company with the outfit mid-season after falling out with the founder,
John Surtees
John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...
. He drove a privately entered
Brabham for
Goldie Hexagon Racing at the
French Grand Prix
The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...
but failed to qualify, before moving to the works team alongside namesake
Carlos Reutemann
Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor o ...
for the next race. After initially struggling with the new machinery, he finished fifth and set the fastest lap at
Monza, and repeated the feat on his way to second, behind Reutemann, at
Watkins Glen, securing a one-two finish for Brabham.
![Carlos Pace 1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Carlos_Pace_1973.jpg)
The Brabham team's
BT44B chassis were competitive throughout the season, allowing Pace and Reutemann to feature at the front of the grid. Pace duly took his first and only Formula One victory in front of his home crowd at the
Brazilian Grand Prix, took his first pole position at the following race in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, and also finished on the podium at
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
and
Silverstone, ending the season sixth overall in the Drivers' Championship and helping Brabham to second in the Constructors' Championship, behind Ferrari.
He remained with Brabham for , but the car was much less competitive due to a change of engine, from
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
-
Cosworth to
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...
. The Italian
flat 12 units were larger, heavier, less reliable and less economical than their
V8 predecessors, restricting Pace to fourteenth place in the championship, whilst Reutemann left the team before the end of the season.
By the start of the season, the competitiveness and durability of the Alfa engines had been much improved for Pace and his new teammate,
John Watson. He demonstrated this fact by taking second position at the season opener in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, and running strongly in the next two Grands Prix before suffering from mechanical trouble, but he was unable to capitalise on the improved performance for the rest of the season due to his sudden death.
Death and honours
Pace was killed in a private light aircraft accident near São Paulo, Brazil on 18 March 1977, 13 days after fellow F1 driver
Tom Pryce
Thomas Maldwyn Pryce (11 June 1949 – 5 March 1977) was a British racing driver from Wales known for winning the Brands Hatch Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race, in 1975 and for the circumstances surrounding his death ...
and marshal Jansen Van Vuuren lost their lives during the
1977 South African Grand Prix.
[Henry (1985) pp. 164, 167] The Interlagos track, the scene of his only F1 win in 1975, was renamed
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
The Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos, is a motorsport circuit located in the city of São Paulo, in the neighborhood of Interlagos. It was inaugurated on 12 May 1940, by the federal intervener Adhemar de Barros. The t ...
in his honour. Pace is buried in Cemitério do Araçá, São Paulo.
In the 1977 motorsport film ''
Bobby Deerfield
''Bobby Deerfield'' is a 1977 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Al Pacino and Marthe Keller. Based on Erich Maria Remarque's 1961 novel '' Heaven Has No Favorites'', it is about a famous American race car driver ...
'', the eponymous title character is represented by Pace in the racing scenes.
Racing record
Career summary
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position / Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One Non-Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position / Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
Books
*
External links
Pace's profile at Motorsportmemorial.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pace, Jose Carlos
1944 births
1977 deaths
Brazilian racing drivers
Brazilian Formula One drivers
Formula One race winners
European Formula Two Championship drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
Racing drivers from São Paulo
Brazilian people of Italian descent
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Brazil
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1977
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Williams Formula One drivers
Surtees Formula One drivers
Goldie Hexagon Racing Formula One drivers
Brabham Formula One drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers