Jose Carlos Pace

Josè Carlos Pace was born on 6 October 1944 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. At just 19 years old he began his sporting career driving touring cars. In 1970 he moved to England and raced in the Formula 3 championship. The following year he advanced to Formula 2 with the Frank Williams Team, and was also kept under observation by Ferrari, who for a couple of years entrusted him with the testing of some racing prototypes.

His debut in the major category dates back to 1972, driving a March 711 of the Williams team, picking up points in Spain, with a sixth place, and in Belgium, with a fifth place, and very often he was faster and more concrete than much expert teammate Henri Pescarolo. It should be noted that in the same year he took part in Formula 2 races and Can-Am races.

His good results attracted the attention of John Surtees, who decided to offer him the chance to drive one of his cars. But the season didn't start as expected. Only in August in Germany did the Brazilian manage to score points, taking fourth place and the fastest lap. Two weeks later he took third place at the Austrian GP, ​​gaining other precious points. The same year he again participated in three races of the Formula 2 championship and the Sportscar World Series championship with Ferrari, achieving some podiums.

In 1974 he switched from Surtees to Brabham mid-season, obtaining a fifth and second place with this car in the final part of the season. His performances with Brabham were excellent, but the Brazilian very often made mistakes due to his excessive aggressiveness, ruining the final result.

1975 is the year of his best results, both in the world rankings and in terms of victories. The year started immediately with a bang, with Carlos winning the Brazilian Grand Prix. On that occasion he started sixth, but at the end of the first two laps he was already third. On lap fourteen the Brazilian overtook his teammate Carlos Reutemann, moving into second position. Thanks to the retirement of the leading driver, "Moco", as he was nicknamed, had a clear path to success. Thus, in Garham Hill's 175th and last race in Formula 1, the torrid Brazilian was able to proudly look at the GP ranking, having 2 "home" drivers in the top 2 positions (Pace and Fittipaldi). With a second, third, fourth and fifth place he ranked sixth in the drivers' championship at the end of the year, also thanks to the podiums in Monaco and Silverstone, and the pole position in South Africa.

In the following two years he managed to score a few times, also prevented by a crisis in his car. Suddenly on March 18, 1977 Josè Carlos Pace died, but not in his car, as happened to many of his colleagues, but rather in a plane crash. At just 32 years old.

So in his honor, since 1985, the São Paulo circuit has been named after him: Autodromo Nacional de Carlos Pace. So everyone will be able to remember this pilot and his glorious victory just a stone's throw from the house where he was born.

Matteo Bramati.