Lars Eje Elgh (born 15 June 1953) is a Swedish

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and television reporter. He currently works as an expert commentator for

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

in Sweden together with Janne Blomqvist. The two have worked together as Formula One commentators for a long time, first for TV4 and then for Viasat Motor when they took over the Formula One broadcasting in Sweden. When he could get no further in Europe, Elgh tried his luck as a driver in Japan, racing both in Japanese Formula 2 / Formula 3000 and the Japanese Sports-Prototype Championship during its heyday in 1984–1988 and focusing on the latter from 1989, first with Team Schuppan Porsche 962, then with Tom's Toyota's 91CV/92CV.

Career

In the 1970s, Elgh tried the classical way through the single-seater formulas from the

Formula Super Vee Formula Super Vee was an open-wheel racing series that took place in Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1990. The formula was created as an extension of Formula Vee, a racing class that was introduced in 1959. Formula Super Vee in Europe w ...

towards

. In the late 1970s he was regarded in Sweden as a great talent and was seen by Swedish motorsport journalists as a successor to the recently deceased

Gunnar Nilsson Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nilsson won the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix with Lotus. Born and raised in Helsingborg, Nilsson initially studie ...

and

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Superswede", Peterson twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in an ...

. He was managed in the 1970s and 1980s by former racing driver

Torsten Palm Torsten Palm (born 23 July 1947) is a former racing driver from Sweden. Racing career The younger brother of famous rally co-driver Gunnar Palm, Torsten competed as a co-driver as well. In 1967 he came second in the Swedish Rally with Simo Lampin ...

. After the Formula Super Vee Elgh came to England to race in the 1977 British Formula 3 Championships. Because most Formula 1 teams had their factories in England and because of the large concentration of talented drivers the British championship was regarded a stepping stone to Formula 1. During the 1977 season the Swede raced for the Chevron Racing Team. He finished joint second in the BP Super Visco British F3 series and joint 5th in the Vandervell British F3 series. By 1978, Elgh had stepped up to

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2) 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 to 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name returned aga ...

and went to Fred Opert Racing team at the start. The first season was quite successful for a rookie. In Pau he was within second to

Bruno Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli (; born 10 September 1952) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . Giacomelli won one of the two 1976 British Formula 3 Championships and the Formula Two championship. From to , Giacome ...

and finished the races at Rouen-les-Essarts and Hockenheim in sixth. In the final standings of the championship he was 11th. In 1979, he moved to

Tiga Race Cars Tiga Race Cars Ltd. was a British auto racing constructor and team. The company was founded in 1974 by two former Formula 1 drivers, Australian Tim Schenken and New Zealander Howden Ganley. The company's name was formed by the first two letters ...

, winning his first F2 race at Enna-Pergusa. However, his best year in the Formula 2 Championship was the 1981 season. The year before he went to MM Mampe Team and had a disastrous first season, finishing only one race, in 9th. In 1981 he won in Vallelunga and finished second at Thruxton (behind team-mate

Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Wit ...

) and at the Nordschleife of Nürburgring (behind

Thierry Boutsen Thierry Marc Alain Boutsen (; born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver, businessman and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Boutsen won three Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons. Boutsen competed in ...

) and third at Spa. He took 3rd in the championship that year. Despite these successes and a test drive for McLaren he was not able to advance to the Formula 1 World Championship, so he sought new challenges in Asia. In the early 1980s many European racers changed the Japanese motorsport scene. Elgh successfully drove there in the Japanese Formula 2 and Formula 3000 Championships and in the Japanese Endurance and Sports-Prototype Championships. In mid 80s Elgh began touring and sports car career. He was works driver with Dome Motorsport and drove 1984 European Touring Car Championship races for the Volvo team of his compatriot Robert Kvist. Together with Ulf Granberg he was second in the 500 km race at Mugello. By the end of his career in 1995 he was closely associated with Domes and the sports car team of Toyota for which he was engaged almost continuously. Elgh was regarded as a strong development driver and a loyal team player who was at Toyota also at times when success eluded the team. He won his first long-distance race in 1985 with partner Geoff Lees at the 500-km race at Suzuka, a round of All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in a Dome 84C. His last of four successes in the Japanese Sports Car Championship was the overall win in the 500-km race from Sugo in 1991, again with Lees as a partner, this time in the Toyota 91C-V. In 2006 he shared a Motortecnica MAN 4x4 truck with

Paolo Barilla Paolo Barilla (born 20 April 1961) is a businessman and a former Formula One driver who raced for the Minardi team. He is now the Deputy Chairman of the Barilla Group and, as of January 2017, had a net worth of US$1.39 billion. Racing career Bar ...

and Matteo Marzotto in the Dakar rally. He also participated in the

2009 Dakar Rally The 2009 Dakar Rally was the 31st running of the Dakar Rally. The race began on 3 January 2009, and took place across Argentina and Chile. The rally was for the first time to take place outside of Europe and Africa as the location was changed by ...

where he was involved in a frightening crash. His Nissan Patrol GR Y61 fell down a 100-meter cliff and was completely destroyed, but Elgh and partner Paolo Barilla survived without any serious injuries.''Eje Elgh kraschade i rallyt''
Dagens Nyheter, 17 January 2009 (Retrieved 28 May 2010) In recent years he has competed in the Monaco Historique GP, in 2012 in a 1977 F3 Chevron B38-Toyota, the same car as he drove in British F3 in 1977. He was back in 2016 behind the wheel of a 1971 March 711-Cosworth Formula 1 car.

Racing record

Career highlights

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Daytona 24 Hours results

References