Gunnar Nilsson
![]() Nilsson in 1976 | |
Born | 20 November 1948 |
---|---|
Died | 20 October 1978 29) | (aged
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality |
![]() |
Active years | 1976–1977 |
Teams | Lotus |
Entries | 32 (31 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 1 |
Podiums | 4 |
Career points | 31 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 1 |
First entry | 1976 South African Grand Prix |
First win | 1977 Belgian Grand Prix |
Last win | 1977 Belgian Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1977 Japanese Grand Prix |
Gunnar Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, born in Helsingborg. Before entering Formula One, he won the 1975 British Formula 3 Championship.
Nilsson entered 32 Formula One Grand Prix races, qualifying for all of them. He won once, the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder while driving for Team Lotus. After losing his Lotus seat, he signed for Arrows, but was later diagnosed with testicular cancer which meant he couldn't drive the car, however he did compete in three International Race of Champions (IROC) races in 1977. He had two sixth-place finishes and a fifth-place finish.[1]
As soon as the cancer was determined to be terminal, he created the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation. He died in October 1978.
Gunnar Nilsson is buried in Pålsjö cemetery in Helsingborg, Sweden, close to his parents Arvid and Elisabeth Nilsson.
Early years
Nilsson was the second son of a Helsingborg building contractor. He attended school in his home town and went on the serve as a submarine radio officer in the Swedish Navy. After leaving the navy, studied engineering for four years at the Stockholms universitet and gained a degree. It was hoped he would follow the family business, but eight months working as a supervisor in the construction industry; he left to start his own business.[2]
Although his background and training was in construction, this held no attraction to the young Swede. Together with his associate, Dan Molim they aimed to establish a transport business. This proved to be very successful and Nilsson continued to be a partner in the company, even when he became a full-time driver. He that seen the exploits of follow Swedes; Ronnie Peterson and Reine Wisell and knew he wanted to be racing driver.[2]
Junior Formulas
Nilsson began racing in national events in Sweden, in the late 1960s. It was 1972, when he acquired a RPB Formula Vee car set forth to learn the trade. This first season in Formula Vees, saw he race just ten times, and included one race win at Mantorp Park. At the age of 26, he decided to try his hand and raced in Formula Super Vee series in 1973, where end graduated with Ecurie Bonner. Driving a Lola T252 alongside his team-mate Freddy Kottulinsky, he would learn many valuable lessons from this seasoned campaigner. In his first race though, Nilsson finished third, and after a string of good performances, he fininshed fifth in the championship. He was clearly good as he stepped up to Formula Two, and promptly finished fourth in the Norisring-Trophäe, at the Norisring, in a Team Pierre Robert entered GRD-Ford 273, mainly due to misfortunes of others. One of these lessons learnt was that if he would to race at the top and with the best, his next step would be in Formula Three. It was while racing at Nürburgring that he was approached by Västkust-Stugan, who offered sponsorship for 1974.[3][2][4][5]
Formula Three/Formula Atlantic
With Västkust-Stugan help, a March 743 was acquired along with a Toyota engine. This enable Nilsson to contest the Polifac Formula Three Championship. The results were as good as expected. He did score some second places, but victories and the season was punctuated by many spins and minor accidents. Nilsson did not go unnoticed and towards the middle of the season, he was given a drive with Team Västkuststugan, in their F2 March-BMW 732. Later in the season, he got another opportunity with Brian Lewis Racing, in their F2 March-BMW 732, where he did scored a fourth place in the second heat of the Preis von Baden-Württemberg und Hessen, at Hockenheim. This is strong form in the German Formula Three series earned him a works March ride in the British series in 1975.[6][7][8][3][9][2][10]
With the advantage of adequate pre-season testing and growing self-confidence, Nilsson scored his first F3 win in the season-opener at Thruxton. This was the catalyst for run of success that would see him win the B.A.R.C. BP Super Visco British F3 Championship, and included wins at Aintree, Ring Knutstorp, Snetterton and Silverstone. In winning the F3 support race at the British Grand Prix meeting, part from winning the FOCA Trophy, he attracted the attention of Ted Moore of Rapid Movements Ltd., who signed Nilsson to race their Formula Atlantic Chevron. Gunnar had interspersed his success with some spectacular accidents, but with Ted Moore, he made no mistakes. Following a fourth place in his first Atlantic race, he would win the next five, four from pole position.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][3][9][2]
For 1976, Nilsson was going to return to Formula Two, driving for works the March-BMW in Formula Two, but after just one Grand Prix for Lotus, Nilsson’s fellow countryman, Peterson, decided he wanted to drive for March in Formula One. As part of this deal, March offered Nilsson to Lotus, where he joined Bob Evans, another new signing in the team to help develop their new car, Lotus 77. Prior to this, Nilsson had tested Formula One power with Frank Williams Racing Cars at Goodwood.[9][2][20]
Grand Prix years
In all his Grands Prix, Nilsson only drove for Colin Chapman and his Team Lotus. He got his chance with the famous marque when Jacky Ickx and Ronnie Peterson abandoned ship when the Lotus 76 proved a disastrous replacement for the legendary Lotus 72. The replacement car for 1976, Lotus 77 was promising, meanwhile the team was undergoing big change at the time and Mario Andretti soon replace Evans, the team was soon back on the way up, with Nilsson taking advantage of Andretti’s experience.[21][3][9][20]
Following Peterson departure, Nilsson was thrown in at the deep end – racing the Lotus-Cosworth 77 in the South African Grand Prix. His debut was not an auspicious one; he qualified last of 25 drivers, in what was acknowledged to bad car, and which had caught fire during practice. The next was the non-championship, Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. This was more promising: he started from the second row of the grid and stormed into an immediate lead. However, his race only lasted to lap six, when the Cosworth DFV shed a plug lead. Before the other English non-championship race, the BRDC International Trophy, there was the small matter of the US GP West, around the street of Long Beach, California. He had survived a huge first turn accident, only for his rear suspension to break, half a lap later, pitching him into the wall at 160 mph.[2][22][20]
![](../I/m/Nilsson_Lotus_77.jpg)
His debut season saw a podium finish at only his third Grand Prix, the Gran Premio de España. He also scored another impressive third place in the Grand Prix von Österreich, fifth in Germany and sixth in Japan, but the rest of the season was marred by accidents – in Belgium, Sweden, and Holland – and by car failures – in Monaco, France, England, and at Watkins Glen.[3][2][5]
For 1977, Lotus retained Nilsson alongside Andretti, and the pair worked on developing the new ground-effect Lotus 78. After a slow start to the season, as Andretti took over his car for the Argentine Grand Prix, Nilsson really got going at Jarama with a 5th place. Two races later, he took a magnificent win at the rain-soaked Zolder. As the race progressed, and the track dried, Nilsson suffered from a vibrating wheel nut, therefore he made a stop to have a tyre change. On these new tyres, he drove around the outside of Niki Lauda’s Ferrari with 20 laps to go, to take the lead and stayed ahead to take victory. With further good results at Dijon-Prenois (4th) and Silverstone (3rd) saw Nilsson climb the Championship standings. Come the Autumn, his performance was blighted by poor qualifying efforts and there was a sudden downturn in his performances, retiring from all the last seven rounds of the Grand Prix season.[21][9][3][2][5][20]
His last appearance in a Formula One car, was at Fuji, where he drove an Imperial-liveried Lotus 78. Nilsson’s last race was a lacklustre performance. Towards the end of the season, Nilsson’s relationship with Chapman deteriorated to some extent, and with Peterson having signed to return to Team Lotus, he was on the way out at Lotus. By now, he was already fighting the symptoms of cancer. He would finish the season, in eighth place with a total of twenty points. He might have scored more points but a whole catalogue of accidents.[21][2]
Nilsson signed to race for Arrows in 1978, in their debut season, but as it happened he did not have the health required to drive the car, and was forced to stand down before the first race. Rolf Stommelen was signed to replace him instead. As Nilsson got weaker, Andretti and Peterson race to the World Championship.[21][3][9]
Away from F1
![](../I/m/BMW_Peterson.jpg)
Nilsson was versatile; having driven a BMW saloon in both the World Championship for Makes and European Touring Car Championship in 1976 and 1977. For 1977, he joined Dieter Quester in a BMW-Alpina to contest a limited-numbered of races, taking the BMW 3.0 CSL to victory at Salzburgring and Nürburgring.[23]
Nilsson briefly sampled American style oval in the International Race of Champions series, scoring a fifth at Michigan in September 1977. A month later, he followed this with two sixth places at Riverside, and expressed plenty of enthusiasm for this form of racing.[24][23]
Cancer
It was in December 1977, during a routine check-up with a London doctor when Nilsson was faced with the news he had cancer. From then on, he saw a rapid decline in his health. At the Charing Cross Hospital, London, Nilsson was treated for his cancer by intensive radiotherapy. By July 1978, he was almost unrecognisable, having lost over 30 kg in weight and all his hair, but he still talked of a possible comeback.[5] But the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes.
After resigning from Arrows, he dedicated his remaining months on running the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation, linked to Charing Cross Hospital, declining pain-killing drugs so he could work as long as possible. His death came just five weeks after that of fellow Swede, rival and friend, Ronnie Peterson was killed in a crash at Monza. Peterson's death had a big impact on Nilsson. Whilst in Sweden, mourning at his friend’s funeral, it was too much for him, he lost the courage which kept him alive all for these months and finally collapsed.[3][9][5]
On 20 October 1978, he died due to his testicular cancer.
Nilsson’s was a career cut short, not by a tragic racing accident, as was the case with so many drivers, but to testicular cancer, at the age of 29. "His rare talent had taken him swiftly to the top as No.2 to Mario Andretti," wrote the Times, "[and] he was perhaps the most naturally gifted of the new generation of grands prix drivers".[3]
Racing record
Career highlights
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | John Player Team Lotus | Lotus 77 | Cosworth V8 | BRA | RSA Ret |
USW Ret |
ESP 3 |
BEL Ret |
MON Ret |
SWE Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER 5 |
AUT 3 |
NED Ret |
ITA 13 |
CAN 12 |
USA Ret |
JPN 6 |
10th | 11 | |
1977 | John Player Team Lotus | Lotus 78 | Cosworth V8 | ARG DNS |
BRA 5 |
RSA 12 |
USW 8 |
ESP 5 |
MON Ret |
BEL 1 |
SWE 19 |
FRA 4 |
GBR 3 |
GER Ret |
AUT Ret |
NED Ret |
ITA Ret |
USA Ret |
CAN Ret |
JPN Ret |
8th | 20 |
Formula One non-championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | John Player Team Lotus | Lotus 77 | Cosworth V8 | ROC 8 |
INT 6 |
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1973 | Team Pierre Robert | GRD 273 | Ford | MAL | HOC | THR | NUR | PAU | KIN | NIV | HOC | ROU | MON | MAN | KAR | ENN | SAL | NOR 4 |
ALB | VAL | 12th | 6 |
1974 | Team Västkuststugan | March 732 | BMW | MON | HOC | PAU | SAL | HOC | MUG | KAR Ret |
ENN | VAL | NC | 0 | ||||||||
Brian Lewis Racing | March 732 | BMW | HOC 15 |
International Race of Champions
(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
International Race of Champions results | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Points | |
1977–78 | Chevy | MCH 5 |
MCH 6 |
RSD 6 |
DAY | 10th | $7,500 |
References
- ↑ "IROC results". Racing-reference/info. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Gunnar Nilsson". Uniquecarsandparts.com.au. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Gunnar Nilsson". ESPN UK. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 2 1973 - Norisring". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Kurt Schleier. "The Retromobilist - Portrait of F1's Gunnar Nilsson". Theretromobilist.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 3 1974 - Race Index". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 2 1974 - Kanonloppet". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 2 1974 - Preis von Baden-Wrttemberg". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Drivers: Gunnar Nilsson". grandprix.com. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ↑ Kurt Schleier. "The Retromobilist - Portrait of F1's Gunnar Nilsson". Thereromobilist.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ Allen Brown. "Thruxton, 31 Mar 1975 « British Formula 3 « OldRacingCars.com". Oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 3 1975 - Aintree, 20.04". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 Allen Brown. "British Formula 3 1975 « OldRacingCars.com". Oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ Allen Brown. "Thruxton, 26 May 1975 « British Formula 3 « OldRacingCars.com". Oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 3 1975 - Knutstorp, 27.04". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ Allen Brown. "Snetterton, 15 Jun 1975 « British Formula 3 « OldRacingCars.com". Oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ Allen Brown. "Silverstone, 19 Jul 1975 « British Formula 3 « OldRacingCars.com". Oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ Allen Brown. "Silverstone, 28 Sep 1975 « British Formula 3 « OldRacingCars.com". Oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 Allen Brown. "British Formula Atlantic 1975 « OldRacingCars.com". Oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "One off Grand Prix winners: Gunnar Nilsson Belgium 1977". Motorsport Retro. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "8W - Who? - Gunnar Nilsson". Forix.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Clay Regazzoni dominates Ferrari one-two". ESPN UK. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 "Gunnar Nilsson (S) - All Results - Racing Sports Cars". Racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 "IROC standings for 1978". Racing-reference.info. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "1973 Formel Super Vau GTX Championship". Teamdan.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 "Formula Super Vee Europe 1973 standings - Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "1973 Formula Super Vau Gold Pokal". Teamdan.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 2 1973 - Championship Tables". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 2 Europe 1973 standings - Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 "Formula 3 1974 - Championship Tables". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Deutsche Formel 3 Polifac Trophy 1974 standings - Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- 1 2 "Formula 3 1975 - Championship Tables". Formula2.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "MCD/Southern Organs British Formula Atlantic Championship 1975 standings - Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 3 Sweden 1975 standings - Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "John Player British Formula Alantic Series 1975 standings - Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 1 Drivers & Constructors Standings - FIA Formula One World Championship 1976 - ESPN.co.uk". ESPN UK. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula One standings for 1976". Espn.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "1976 European Touring Car Championship". Touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "European Touring Car Championship 1976 standings - Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula 1 Drivers & Constructors Standings - FIA Formula One World Championship 1977 - ESPN.co.uk". ESPN UK. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Formula One standings for 1977". Espn.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "1977 European Touring Car Championship". Touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "European Touring Car Championship 1977 standings - Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "1978 IROC - International Race of Champions". Rauzulusstreet.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
Further reading
- Fredrik af Petersens. The Viking Drivers: Gunnar Nilsson and Ronnie Peteron. William Kimber & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-0718303662.
External links
- Gunnar Nilsson driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Gunnar Nilsson article on The Speed Blog
- The Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation
Sporting positions | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Brian Henton |
British Formula 3 Championship BARC Series Champion 1975 |
Succeeded by Rupert Keegan |