Eliseo Salazar

Eliseo Salazar
Eliseo Salazar (1982).jpg
Salazar at the 1982 Dutch Grand Prix
NationalityChile Chilean
BornEliseo Salazar Valenzuela
(1954-11-14) 14 November 1954 (age 65)
Santiago, Chile
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series career
Current teamTRG Motorsports
Years active1998, 1999, 2012
Car number64
Starts3
Wins0
Poles0
Previous series
2004–2008
2003
1996–2002
1995–1996
1994–1997
1988–1990
1986–1987
1981–1983

1980
Rally Mobil
American Le Mans Series
Indy Racing League
CART IndyCar World Series
IMSA Exxon WSC Championship
World Sportscar Championship
International Formula 3000
Formula One World Championship
British F1 Championship
Awards
1999
1990
Scott Brayton Trophy
Autosport Sportsman of the Year
Formula One World Championship career
Active years19811983
TeamsMarch, Ensign, ATS, RAM
Entries37 (24 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points3
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1981 United States Grand Prix West
Last entry1983 Belgian Grand Prix
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish93rd (1997)
First race1997 Parts America 150 (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of 1 February 2012.

Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela (born 14 November 1954) is a Chilean former racing driver. As of May 2020, he is the only Chilean to have participated in a Formula One World Championship. He made his Formula One debut on 15 March 1981, and ultimately contested 37 races scoring a total of three championship points. After Formula One, Salazar has participated in numerous motorsport disciplines, including the Chilean national rally championship (Champion 1984 and 1985), Formula 3000, IndyCar (including the Indianapolis 500 race seven times), and the World Sportscar Championship.

Career

Formula One (1981–1983)

After racing in the British F1 Championship in 1980 with a Williams FW07, and winning in Silverstone, he moved to Formula One in 1981, with March. He switched midseason to Ensign, and finished 6th in the Dutch Grand Prix. In 1982 he drove for ATS, and finished 5th in the San Marino Grand Prix, a race where only 7 teams entered due to the FISA–FOCA war. His most noted career moment in Formula One came when he collided with the overtaking race leader Nelson Piquet in the 1982 German Grand Prix. After both drivers got out of their stricken cars, the angry Piquet started to punch and kick Salazar. Salazar did not respond to the assault due to the friendship with the Brazilian driver, who helped him in his first European experiences as a driver. Months later Piquet apologised to Salazar over the phone, after being told by a BMW mechanic that the engine in his car was about to expire anyway, and that Salazar avoided BMW the embarrassment of an engine failure at their home race. (BMW officials were in attendance).[1] In 1983 he entered six races with RAM Racing, but the car was very slow and he only managed to qualify twice. He finished 14th in Jacarepaguá and retired in Long Beach with gearbox failure.

After the Chilean economic crisis in the early years of the 80's, Salazar had to leave F1, and competed with little success at the Formula 3000 championship and the South American Formula Three Championship in some races. He began to race rally in Chile, becoming the champion of the 1985 hill-climbing season in Chile in a Toyota Corolla XT.

Sport Prototype (1988–1990)

In late '80s, Salazar drove some races in the FIA World Sport Prototype Championship. His best result was 1st place at the C-1 class in the '88 Fuji 1000 km in Japan with a Spice SE88C Ford car of the BP Spice Engineering. Thanks to his contacts with Tom Walkinshaw, he joined the Jaguar Silk-Cut factory team, to dispute the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the 1989 race, the Chilean, with Alain and Michel Ferté, achieved the 8th place with the Jaguar XJR-9; but his best result would be winning the 1990 event of the historic race in a Jaguar XJR-12, but after driving several hours in the No. 3 car, he was forced to leave his seat to the British driver Martin Brundle, who received the chequered flag, and Salazar was forced to move to the No. 4 car, which retired at 20 hours with mechanical problems (Brundle's original car, the No. 1, was pulled out at 14 hours for electrical problems). For that particular fact, he was named the 1990 Sportsman of the Year by the British magazine Autosport.

Career in USA (1994–2002)

After years with no competition, working as a co-host in the TV show "Video Loco" (America's Funniest Videos' Chilean version, broadcast in Canal 13), Salazar received an opportunity to join the Ferrari-Momo factory team for the 1994 IMSA Sport Prototype championship in the WSC (World Sport Car) series, with the Italian Gianpiero Moretti. He raced at the Exxon World Sports Car Championship in 1994 and 1995 with several races won and podiums with the Ferrari 333 SP. Those results were good enough to pull him to the Indy Car World Series.

He signed a contract with the Dick Simon Racing in 1995 to race in the CART Indy Car World Series, with a strong debut at the Indy 500. With a Lola-Cosworth, he started 33rd and finished 4th in the Cristal-Copec-Mobil 1 No.7.

When the IRL and CART split in 1996, Salazar chose to compete in the new series. He became a regular top driver at Indy 500 with four Top 10 results. His best result at Indianapolis was in 2000, when he started and finished on 3rd place, at the wheel of a G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora for A. J. Foyt Enterprises.

In 1997, Salazar earned his first and only victory in IRL racing, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, racing for Team Scandia. That year, he also made his only start at a NASCAR sanctioned race, finishing 17th on the Watkins Glen International road course, in the Craftsman Truck Series.

2000 and 2001 were the best years in the IRL for Salazar, finishing 4th and 5th in those championships, with five top 5 results in 2000. In 2002, he suffered a serious accident testing at Indianapolis, and was forced miss several races. After much consideration Salazar decided to retire from Indy Car racing and focus on Sports Cars.

Salazar later joined the American Le Mans Series, where he raced in a Porsche 911 GT3 and a Ferrari 360.

Present and future (2004–)

Salazar then returned to Chile where, in 2004, he joined the official Hyundai rally team in the Rally Mobil, the national rally championship. His car was an N3-class Hyundai Coupe GK 2.0L.

In November 2005, Salazar competed in the inaugural race of the Grand Prix Masters, as a late replacement for Alan Jones. In 2006 he raced in both GPM races in Qatar and England.

In 2007, Salazar moved to the N4-class of the Rally Mobil, the Chilean Rally Championship, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, and was 5th in his first year at the N4-Class with a car of the ING Team.

His last international project is to race the Lisboa-Dakar rally, with the objective of being the first driver to have raced in the Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Indianapolis 500 and the Dakar Rally. In February he signed a pre-contract with Jean-Louis Schlesser to drive one of his buggies at the 2008 Dakar Rally, but he could not get a deal with a sponsor and that year's running of the Dakar Rally was cancelled anyway.

In 2008, Salazar raced in the Rally Mobil with his own team, formed by 3 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX in the N4-Class.

He made his debut in the Dakar Rally in 2009 with a McRae Prototype, finishing in 88th place. He will compete in the 2010 edition as part of the Team Dakar USA, in a third Hummer H3, in addition to the ones raced by owner Robby Gordon and Frenchman Eric Vigouroux.

In 2013, Salazar introduced autocross (aka "solo racing") to Chile, with the first event being held 6 April 2013 at Estadio Monumental in Santiago. In September 2013, he participated in the Sports Car Club of America Solo National Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska, driving a C Prepared Ford Mustang.[2]

Personal life

On 15 May 2001, Salazar had a son, also named Eliseo. The younger Salazar attended his first Indy 500 at the age of 8 days old.[citation needed]

Motorsports career results

Complete British Formula One 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 Pos. Pts
1980 RAM Racing Team Williams FW07 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 OUL
Ret
BRH
3
SIL
1
MAL
Ret
THR
1
MNZ
Ret
2nd 52
Williams FW07B MAL
7
SNE
2
BRH
Ret
THR
1
OUL
Ret
SIL
Ret

Formula One World Championship

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts
1981 March Grand Prix Team March 811 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 USW
DNQ
BRA
DNQ
ARG
DNQ
SMR
Ret
BEL
DNQ
MON
DNPQ
18th 1
Ensign Racing Ensign N180B ESP
14
FRA
Ret
GBR
DNQ
GER
NC
AUT
Ret
NED
6
ITA
Ret
CAN
Ret
CPL
Ret
1982 Team ATS ATS D5 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA
9
BRA
Ret
USW
Ret
SMR
5
BEL
Ret
MON
Ret
DET
Ret
CAN
Ret
NED
13
GBR
DNQ
FRA
Ret
GER
Ret
AUT
DNQ
SUI
14
ITA
9
CPL
DNQ
22nd 2
1983 RAM Automotive Team March RAM March 01 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 BRA
15
USW
Ret
FRA
DNQ
SMR
DNQ
MON
DNQ
BEL
DNQ
DET CAN GBR GER AUT NED ITA EUR RSA NC 0

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1982 Japan Dome Co. Ltd. United Kingdom Chris Craft Dome RC82-Ford Cosworth C 85 DNF DNF
1983 Japan Dome Racing United Kingdom Chris Craft
United Kingdom Nick Mason
Dome RC82-Ford Cosworth C 75 DNF DNF
1988 United Kingdom Spice Engineering Italy Almo Coppelli
Denmark Thorkild Thyrring
Spice SE88C-Ford Cosworth C2 281 DNF DNF
1989 United Kingdom Silk Cut Jaguar
United Kingdom Tom Walkinshaw Racing
France Alain Ferté
France Michel Ferté
Jaguar XJR-9LM C1 368 8th 7th
1990 United Kingdom Silk Cut Jaguar
United Kingdom Tom Walkinshaw Racing
United States Davy Jones
France Michel Ferté
Jaguar XJR-12 C1 282 DNF DNF
1997 United Kingdom Pacific Racing Ltd. Finland Harri Toivonen
Spain Jesús Pareja
BRM P301-Nissan LMP 6 DNF DNF

International Formula 3000

(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 Pos. Pts
1986 RAM Motorsport RAM 04 Cosworth SIL VAL
11
PAU
DNQ
SPA
21
IMO
Ret
MUG
DNQ
PER
DNQ
ÖST 19th 1.5
Lola Motorsport Lola T86/50 BIR
4
BUG
12
JAR
Ret
1987 Bromley Motorsport Ralt RT21 Cosworth SIL
9
VAL
DNQ
SPA
17
PAU
Ret
DON
18
PER
Ret
NC 0
Colin Bennett Racing March 87B BRH
18
BIR
DNQ
IMO
14
Genoa Racing BUG
Ret
JAR
DNQ

American open-wheel racing

(key)

PPG Indycar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos. Pts
1995 Dick Simon Racing Lola T95/00 Ford XB V8t MIA
17
SRF
10
PHX
15
NAZ
12
INDY
4
MIL
16
DET
20
POR
15
ROA
18
TOR
21
CLE
10
MCH
18
MDO
13
NHA
13
VAN
13
LAG
DNQ
21st 19
Lola T94/00 LBH
24
1996 Dick Simon Racing Lola T96/00 Ford XB V8t MIA RIO SRF LBH NAZ 500 MIL
21
DET POR
18
CLE TOR MCH
11
MDO
15
ROA VAN LAG 30th 2

IndyCar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos. Pts
1996 Team Scandia Lola T95/00 Ford XB V8t WDW
Wth
PHX INDY
6
23rd 58
1996–1997 Team Scandia Lola T95/00 Ford XB V8t NHA
9
LVS
7
WDW PHX 9th 208
Dallara IR7 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 INDY
24
TXS
7
PPR
12
CLT
10
NHA
4
LVS
1
1998 Riley & Scott Cars Riley & Scott MkV Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW
12
PHX
23
INDY
DNQ
TXS
23
NHA
6
DOV
DNS
CLT PPR ATL TXS LVS 29th 60
1999 Nienhouse Racing G-Force GF01 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW
DNQ
PHX
20
CLT
C
INDY
33
TXS
5
PPR
20
ATL
4
DOV
18
PPR
19
LVS
12
TXS
17
20th 137
2000 A. J. Foyt Racing G-Force GF05 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW
5
PHX
4
LVS
18
INDY
3
TXS
17
PPR
6
ATL
10
KTY
25
TXS
5
4th 210
2001 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara IR-01 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 PHX
2
HMS
3
ATL
5
INDY
7
TXS
7
PPR
14
RIR
12
KAN
7
NSH
11
KTY
15
GAT
17
CHI
18
TXS
4
5th 308
2002 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara IR-02 Chevrolet Indy V8 HMS
5
PHX
4
FON
15
NAZ INDY TXS PPR RIR KAN NSH
19
MCH
19
KTY
14
GAT
14
CHI
18
TXS
16
20th 157

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1995 Lola Cosworth 24 4 Dick Simon Racing
1996 Lola Cosworth 3 6 Team Scandia
1997 Dallara Oldsmobile 9 24 Team Scandia
1998 Riley & Scott Oldsmobile DNQ Riley & Scott Racing
1999 G-Force Oldsmobile 18 33 Nienhouse Racing
2000 G-Force Oldsmobile 3 3 A. J. Foyt Racing
2001 Dallara Chevrolet 28 7 A. J. Foyt Racing

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 NCTC Pts
1997 Doran Racing 77 Chevy WDW TUS HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP
DNQ
FLM NSV GLN
17
RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO LVS 93rd 149

Dakar Rally results

Year Class Vehicle Position Stages won
2009 Cars United Kingdom McRae 88th 0
2010 Did not enter
2011 Cars United States Hummer DNF 0

World Rally Championship

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Pts
2012 Eliseo Salazar Mini John Cooper Works WRC MON SWE MEX POR ARG
12
GRE NZL FIN GER GBR FRA ITA ESP NC 0

References

  1. ^ "Hall of Shame: The Watch Out for Your Ear Award". Formula One Rejects. Archived from the original on 2012-02-18.
  2. ^ Creating Autocross in Santiago, Chile Archived 2013-09-05 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Roberto Guerrero
Scott Brayton Award
1999
Succeeded by
Eddie Cheever

This page was last updated at 2021-02-27 17:49 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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