DOWN THE PUB
WITH FERNANDO RIBEIRO
He came from Brazil “I came to race in the UK in 1979. My brother Alex was nine years older than me and he was already a Formula 2 driver when I came here. The British weather was a struggle and the food was a big deal for me. We lived in Silverstone village and in 1979 I raced a Van Diemen for the Jesus Saves Racing team. I did well in my first year here and I was second in the RAC Championship.”
It was a tough season “A big rival was David Sears and we fought a lot of battles and he won the RAC Championship in 1979 when I was second. The racing was very tough and I broke my wrist at Oulton Park. That really cost me the championship because I missed two races.”
He went to Europe “The next year I moved to Royale Racing as a works driver and the RP26 was a good car. Jesus Saves was the main reason that we raced: to share our faith in Jesus and spread the word. In 1980 we concentrated on the European Formula Ford Championship.”
Then he quit the sport “I was third in the championship but there was a kind of a drama and we had a problem with relationships in the team. It was my mistake and I apologise about that. I was fighting for the championship but I didn’t take part in the last race and so I dropped to third place. Then I stopped racing. It was a personal crisis and a decision that I made.”
He returned in America “I went back to Brazil and started to study again and became a computer programmer and opened my own consulting company in Brasilia. After 13 years out of racing I decided to put the record straight, so I went to America and pursue the dream to race again. I wanted to get to Indycar. I raced there for 10 years and was two-time champion in Formula Russell. I was racing as a master as I was about 40 years old. I was granted US citizenship and now we are Americans and Brazilians.”
He was back at Silverstone “Three years ago there was an idea to bring Jesus Saves Racing back. Adriano Medeiros won the Classic Formula Ford Championship and they invited me to do the Walter Hayes Trophy. It was 36 years since I was last at Silverstone.”