Reading about thet horrible Maria De Villota's accident, you may have read about how her father Emilio De Villota used to be a Formula One driver.
Mario Donnini wrote an article about Emilio's adventures of Autosprint. It is not only an interesting sidebar but a fascinating bit of Formula One history, happening right at that moment when the series changed dramatically and forever.
Maria De Villota's dramatic accident turned back the spotlight on one of Spain's beloved racing families, up to now known mostly for the passions and tribulations of Emilio.
Madrid, end of 1976. For a spaniard in the post Franco era, Formula 1 is little more than a dream. Emilio De Villota is almost thirty an knows he will never impress any team manager, but he's not one to give up. From a wealthy background, a bank manager and owner of a manufacturer of articles for children, he has many friends among the sporting authorities and the confidence to jump into a seemingly impossible situation.
He started racing late, in national touring cars, then tries theShellsport Gr8 series in the UK. In that marvelously insane Formula 1 where in 1976 season 56 different drivers sign up for at least one GP, Emilio got behind the wheel of an old Brabham run by John McDonald and Team Ram and tried to qualify for Jarama, his home race. Nada, he qualifies 28th, the last to be cut from the starting grid.
Back in Great Britain, racing in F5000 with Lyncar, Emilio does a little accounting and gets his crazy idea. Crazy but not stupid, F1 is an open circus, used cars are inexpensive, there is no Superlicense, tires can be found cheap. Electronics are still a dream and you could run a team with a bunch of friends recruited at the local bar. A round of phone calls, a few promises and the miracle really did happen.
