Emilio de Villota
De Villota in 2018
Born	Emilio de Villota Ruíz (1946-07-26)26 July 1946 (age 79) Madrid, Spain
Children	María Emilio Jr.
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Spanish
Active years	1976–1978,1981–1982
Teams	RAM,privateerMcLaren,privateerWilliams,March
Entries	15 (2 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Careerpoints	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1976 Spanish Grand Prix
Last entry	1982 Dutch Grand Prix
British Formula One Championship career
Active years	1978–1980
Entries	39 (39 starts)
Championships	1 (1980)
Wins	9
Podiums	18
Career points	236
Pole positions	10
Fastest laps	10
World Sportscar Championship career
Years active	1981–1982,1986–1987
Teams	Lola,Grid,Porsche,Kremer
Starts	19
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	3
Poles	0
Fastest laps	1
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1981–1982,1986
Teams	Lola,Grid,Porsche
Best finish	4th(1986)
Class wins	0

Emilio de Villota Ruíz (born 26 July 1946) is a Spanish formerracing driver, who competed inFormula One between1976 and1982.^[a]

He entered 15 World Championship Grands Prix, qualifying twice. He entered mostSpanish Grand Prix between 1976 and 1982 and became a major force in the short-livedBritish Formula One Championship, winning the title in1980.^[1][2]

De Villota first arrived on the international motor sport scene in 1972, when he raced aSEAT 124 SC, in the 4 Horas de Jarama, a round of the European Touring Car Championship [ETCC]. In a car entered byScuderia Filipinetti, was co-driven by H. Hengstenberg to 15th place overall. De Villota would not return to international motor sport until 1975, when he re-visited the ETCC, this time in aFord Capri RS 2600, this time aided byJorge de Bagration. The pair did not finish in the Zandvoort Trophy, held at theCircuit Park Zandvoort. However, when the Spanish pairing were joined by"Nicha" Cabral, for their home race, the 4 Horas de Jarama, they finished second, albeit five laps adrift of the winner.^[3][4]

For 1976, de Villota turned his back on Touring Cars to try his luck in single-seaters, with the ultimate aim of racing in the World Championship. In order to gain experience of high-powered racing cars, he entered theShellsport G8 International Series. This was a UK-basedFormula Libre championship which ran F1, F2, F5000 and Formula Atlantic cars in the same races. Racing with theLyncar Engineering Ltd., de Villota scored two 5th places, and finished the season 14th in the overall standings.^[5][6]

Using a regulation which allowed the participation of private teams or drivers who could purchase a car and race alongside the official teams, de Villota debuted in the1976 World Championship driving aCosworth poweredBrabham BT44B, purchased in effect to participate in theGran Premio de España. De Villota failed to qualify, and did not return until the following season.^[7][8]

De Villota returned to England for the start of the next season, once again racing for Lyncar which was now entered under the name of Iberia Airlines, winning for opening race of the1977 Shellsport G8 International Series, atMallory Park. However, after just four meetings, de Villota abandoned the series for F1.^[6][9]

In1977, de Villota developed a more ambitious project that would make him one of the first Spaniards to participate in Formula 1 after drivers such asAlfonso de Portago andAlex Soler-Roig. Under the sponsorship ofIberia, de Villota led a modest outfit that raced under the name of Iberia Airlines F1 and contested seven Grands Prix of the European season. For the project Iberia acquired aMcLaren M23,Ford-Cosworth DFV engines, the cars painted in the colours of the airline. De Villota would qualify for just two of these Grands Prix, the first was his home event,Gran Premio de España, where he would finish 13th, albeit 5 laps adrift of the winner. The other race he started was theGrand Prix von Österreich, where an accident on the last lap deprived him of the finish, nevertheless classified in 17th position.^{[7][10][11][12]}

Between Grands Prix, de Villota did a number of selected Shellsport G8 races in his F1 McLaren, winning twice. He followed his earlier victory at Mallory, by winning there again, then taking the chequered flag atBrands Hatch. Although his season was split in two by his Grand Prix racing, de Villota still finished 5th in the championship.^[6][9]

Again he attempted to privately contest the1978 Gran Premio de España, failing again in qualifying. After this failure he turned his back on Formula One and turned his attention to the newAurora AFX Formula One Championship. In the Aurora championship, racing was cheaper and was therefore less dependent on sponsorships, thus making it more competitive. This proved to be the case with de Villota finishing 3rd overall in 1978 and 1979, then being proclaimed champion in 1980 with aRAM Racing preparedWilliams FW07. During this spell, he won nine races, including the infamous Gran Premio Lotteria di Monza.^{[7][13][14][15]}

His main focus for 1978, was theAurora AFX F1 Championship. This series replaced the Shellsport Group 8 series. He continued to race his McLaren, now entered under the Centro Asegurador banner. The season started promising the trip to the podium in the first three races, however he was unable to keep the momentum going and failed to visit the podium again, although it was still enough to finish 3rd overall at the end of the season.^[6][13]

For the1979 Aurora AFX F1 Championship, de Villota switched toLotus-Cosworth 78, prepared and entered by Madom F1 Team. Following a series of poor results, de Villota turned his season around by finishing on the podium in six straights races, winning four of them atThruxton, Zandvoort,Oulton Park, andNogaro. Then his poor early season form returned with three retirements in the last five races, with only one point finish. This left him 3rd once again in the overall standings.^[6][14]

He again tried to qualify for the1980 Gran Premio de España at the wheel of a RAM Racing prepared Williams-Cosworth FW07, which Banco Occidental sponsorship. Originally scheduled to be part of theFormula One World Championship, following the running of the race it was announced that World Championship points would not be awarded to the competitors, making it a non-championship race. He distinguished himself during the race by tripping up bothCarlos Reutemann andJacques Laffite in their battle for the lead.^[7][16]

Back in theAurora AFX F1, de Villota was at the wheel of the same Williams FW07, as he raced in Spain. Having switched to RAM Racing for the Aurora series as well, de Villota brought the FW07 home, on the podium in nine of eleven races he entered, winning five of them. Twice at Mallory Park, Brands Hatch,Silvestone and the big money event in Italy, the Gran Premio Lotteria di Monza. For one race, RAM switched de Villota to theirFittipaldi F5A, in which he still finished in 5th position. Adding this to the other trips to the podium, de Villota was crowned champion.^[6][15]

For 1981, de Villota made the switch to theWorld Endurance Championship of Drivers. Having signed forTeam Lola, to race theirGroup 6Cosworth DFV poweredLola T600, alongsideGuy Edwards, they made a poor start to the season, failing to finish their first two races. After an 8th place in theADAC 1000 km Rennen Nürburgring, the pair are joined byJuan Fernández, for what would be de Villota's first race at theCircuit de la Sarthe. The trio finish 15th overall, and 3rd in class. The strong result fromLe Mans inspired de Villota and Edwards who would win their next race, theCoppa Florio, 6 ore Enna-Pergusa by two laps, albeit from a field made up by entrants from the Italian Group 6 Championship. The pair would win once more in 1981, this time for season finale,Flying Tiger 1000. In the intermittent rain at Brands Hatch, they would win by a margin of eight laps.^{[3][17][18][19]}

In 1982 made his final attempt to qualify for another Formula 1 race. As a privateer again (with LBT Team March) and this time in aMarch 821, powered by Ford Cosworth, sought qualification, unsuccessfully for five Grands Prix, It was to be the first time in his career as a racing driver, he would crossed the Atlantic to compete outside Europe.^[7]

Away from F1, de Villota continued to race sportscar, in the newGroup C category with the Grid Plaza Racing team. The team was under-financed, and undertook a limitedWorld Endurance Championship for Drivers and Manufacturers andCamel GT Championship programme in 1982, and only once finished in the points, claiming 10th in theShell Oils 1000 Kilometres, at Brands Hatch, when de Villota was joined byDerek Daly andFred Stiff.^[3][20]

De Villota continued with Grid Racing into 1983. However, their Cosworth-powered Grid S1 remained unreliable, with de Villota only finishing once in the points. Like 1982, this was at Brands Hatch, in the European Endurance Championship race. For theGrand Prix International 1000km, he was joined bySkeeter McKitterick andDudley Wood, as they bring the Grid home in 8th place. Away from sportscars, de Villota tried his hand in two other categories with very mixed success. He had two drives inFormula Two; a 9th place at Silverstone with James Gresham Racing, in theirMarch-BMW 832 and 13th atJarama, forMinardi Team Srl aboard theirMinardi-BMW M283. The other category was away from the international scene. Driving a Ford Capri RS3000, de Villota won the Spanish Touring Car Championship.^{[3][6][20][21][22]}

For 1984, Grid Racing had produced a new car, the Grid-Porsche S2. De Villota raced the car in the Budweiser Grand Prix of Miami, but did not complete a lap. He did not race again that season. He did return to the ETCC in 1985 with Escuderia Mezquita, taking in two races. He co-drove withFrancisco Romero, finishing both races; 18th in the Vallelunga 500 km and 17th in the Donington 500, in theirVW Golf GTi.^[3][23][24]

Having obtained Spanish backing from Danone for1986,John Fitzpatrick Racing needed two Spanish drivers. De Villota was one, and he was joined at the team byFermín Velez. Although the pair only racing seven times, they scored five top ten finished in thePorsche 956. This included a 3rd in theADAC Kouros 1000 km Nürburgring, and a 4th in the24 Hour of Le Mans. This would be de Villota's last trip to Le Mans 24 hours.^[3][6]

The opening two races of the1987 World Sport-Prototype Championship was held in Spain,Kremer Racing paired two local drivers for these races.Paco Romero joined de Villota in the Marlboro-sponsoredPorsche 962C. The pair finished 10th at Jarama and then 8th atJerez. De Villota stepped away from Group C racing, to race to 8th overall in the Porsche 944 Turbo Cup.^[3][6]

By 1988, de Villota had retired from International racing, although he still won three Spanish Porsche Carrera Cup Championships in four years (1993, 1995 and 1996) at national level. However, in 1996 he raced in Porsche 911 Bi-Turbo in theGran Premio Repsol Resistencia Del Jarama, a round of theBRP Global GT series, alongsidePablo de Villota andFulvio Ballabio. It would be five more years before he reappears, this time atEstoril, racing a Porsche 911 GT2, in a Spanish GT race. De Villota still races, albeit mostly in Spain.^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

He currently heads the team and racing school, Emilio de Villota Motorsport. His sonEmilio de Villota Jr. has raced inFormula Three andFormula 3000. His daughterMaría de Villota was a test driver forMarussia F1; a major crash in a test in July 2012 left her with serious injuries; she died in October 2013.

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(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1981	Team Lola	Guy Edwards Juan Fernández	Lola T600-FordCosworth	S +2.0	287	15th	3rd
1982	Grid Racing	Desiré Wilson Alain de Cadenet	Grid Plaza S1-FordCosworth	C	7	DNF	DNF
1986	John Fitzpatrick Racing	Fermín Velez George Fouché	Porsche 956B	C1	349	4th	4th
Source:[49]

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

• Official website(in Spanish)

• 1946 births
• Living people
• Spanish racing drivers
• Racing drivers from Madrid
• Spanish Formula One drivers
• British Formula One Championship drivers
• European Formula Two Championship drivers
• 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
• Porsche Supercup drivers
• RAM Racing Formula One drivers
• March Formula One drivers
• World Sportscar Championship drivers
• Sports car racing team owners

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