Jose Carlos Pace

José Carlos Pace, nicknamed Moco (Quiet), was a Brazilian driver who died in 1977, at age 33; the circuit of Interlagos was named after him.

Pace used the nickname Moco to hide from his family the obsession over speed. Pace’s parents were prosperous owners of a textile plant in São Paulo, and only learned about their son’s career when the real name of Moco was announced as the winner of a certain race. Pace’s parents decided to support Jose Carlos’s dream, and sent him to Attleborough, England, to attend Jim Russell‘s school of driving.

In Europe, on the way to Formula One, Pace started 33 races, had six winnings and seven second places. He was champion of the British Formula 3 in 1970, smashing several records.

In 1972, he reached the Formula One, in the Williams Team (after him, Nelson Piquet, Airton Senna and Rubens Barrichello, among other Brazilian pilots, would work with Frank Williams).

In F1, Pace faced difficult years. Some say he had a bad luck, but Pace himself was the first one to say “he didn’t believe in back luck” (which didn’t prevent him from changing the colors of this helmet, in search of a more lucky design). Others say tha Pace was too impulsive and audacious, running into accidents that a more prudent pilot would avoid.

In 1974, he moved to Brabham. In 1975, he won the only Formula One GP in his career, the Brazil Grand Prix, in Interlagos, Sao Paulo. Along his career, he participated of 73 GPs, one winning, six podiums, one pole position, 58 championship points (see complete records here).

The year of 1977 started very promising. Pace finished 2nd in the first GP, in Argentina. Pace was teaming with Argentinian pilot Carlos Reutmann (who later became an important politician, Governor of Province, in Argentina). Pace was developing a zen side, following the Seicho-No-Ie philosophy. On the other hand, he was pursuing even more speed: already skillful in ski-water, he was taking lessons to pilot airplanes.

On March 18th 1977, shortly after departing from small Campo de Marte airport in São Paulo, the plane where Pace and his friends Marivaldo Fernando and Carlos Roberto de Oliveira (who was the pilot) crashed into the ground and killed what could be one more Brazilian champion of Formula One.

Credit of photos: here.

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