Carlos Pace

José Carlos Pace (; 6 October 1944 – 18 March 1977) was a Brazilian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Pace won the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix with Brabham.

Born and raised in São Paulo, Pace competed in Formula One for Williams, Surtees and Brabham. He finished sixth in the World Drivers' Championship in with the latter.

In March 1977, Pace was killed in a light aircraft accident in Mairiporã. The Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo was renamed the ''Autódromo José Carlos Pace'' upon his death, home of the Brazilian Grand Prix since 1972 and the location of his sole victory in Formula One.

Early life

José Carlos Pace was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil to Angelo Raphael Pace, a textiles businessman, and Amélia Pace. His father was of Italian descent as was his mother, who hailed from Brazil. The family moved back to Italy for a part of Pace's childhood and upon returning to Brazil he was given the nickname 'Moco' because he could only speak Italian. He was encouraged by friends Wilson and Emerson Fittipaldi to start karting. Pace studied accounting while his elder brothers helped their father. He first raced in a kart in 1960 and moved to cars in 1963.

Career

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 with Frank Williams, but did not score any points from six races. Nevertheless, he moved up to Formula One in , competing with a Williams-entered 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 team and improved to eleventh place in the championship after scoring a fourth place in Germany and his first championship podium finish with third in Austria. 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, in which he drove for the works Ferrari team. Sharing a 312PB with Arturo Merzario, 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, but parted company with the outfit mid-season after falling out with the founder, John Surtees. He drove a privately entered Brabham for Goldie Hexagon Racing at the French Grand Prix but failed to qualify, before moving to the works team alongside namesake Carlos Reutemann 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.

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, and also finished on the podium at Monaco 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-Cosworth to Alfa Romeo. 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, 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.

Personal life

Pace married Elda d'Andrea in 1968, his girlfriend of ten years. His father committed suicide in 1972 due to business related issues. Pace was not told until after he had achieved his maiden points at the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing sixth. His friend, Carlo Gancia, claimed Pace "loved his father more than anything". Pace returned to Brazil after the 1977 South African Grand Prix, heartbroken at the death of Tom Pryce. His wife Elda recalls "he was very upset. Most drivers were cool, they needed to be cool, but I saw him crying after accidents four or five times". Gancia added that "he was touched and moved by these things because everybody liked him and he made friends around the pitlane". After Pace passed away in 1977, long-time friend Bernie Ecclestone helped Elda to sort out finances and ensure they were well taken care of.

In popular culture

In the 1977 motorsport film '' Bobby Deerfield'', the eponymous title character is represented by Pace in the racing scenes.

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 and marshal Frederik 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 in his honour. He was buried in the Araçá cemetery in São Paulo.

In August 2024, Pace's body was transferred from his vandalized mausoleum to the race circuit to be laid to rest in the race track named after him. The idea for this was organized by the president of the Confederação Brasileira de Automobilismo (Brazilian Automobile Confederation) (CBA), Paulo “Loco” Figueiredo, the president of the Comissão Nacional de Carros Clássicos (National Classic Car Commission) and journalist Ricardo Caruso, as soon as they were informed of the vandalism of Pace's mausoleum, in the Araçá cemetery, in São Paulo. Figueiredo and Caruso began a long battle against bureaucracy, which included meetings with municipal authorities, at least 15 trips to the cemetery, as well as searches in registry offices, collecting documents and various authorizations, just to give the departed racer his deserved respect, and all with the support and help of Pace's family, who were unaware of the situation of his grave in the cemetery and immediately authorized them to do whatever was necessary.

Finally, on August 23, Pace's body arrived in Interlagos, where he was buried next to the bust that stands there in his honor. The emotional ceremony was attended by Pace's family (his widow Elda, his children Patrícia and Rodrigo, and his grandchildren), friends, other drivers, journalists and admirers of “Moco”. Then, José Carlos Pace took one last lap around the track, where Rodrigo, “Moco's” son, drove a 1967 Karmann-Ghia racing car that was used by his father, from the old Dacon team, where José Carlos Pace formed a trio with none other than the Fittipaldi brothers of Emerson and Wilson Jr. at the time. Alongside Rodrigo was Maurício Marx, collector and current owner of the Karmann-Ghia, who took the urn with Pace’s remains to his “final chequered flag”. This makes Pace the first departed driver ever to be buried in a race circuit.

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

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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