Eliseo Salazar
Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela is a Chilean former racing driver., 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, Formula 3000, IndyCar, 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.. 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. 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", Salazar received an opportunity to join the Ferrari-Momo factory team for the 1994 IMSA Sport Prototype championship in the WSC 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 :es:Rally Mobil|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 :es:Rally Mobil|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 :es:Rally Mobil|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 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.
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.Motorsports career results
Complete British Formula One Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 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 | ||||||
| 1980 | RAM Racing Team | Williams FW07B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | MAL 7 | SNE 2 | BRH Ret | THR 1 | OUL Ret | SIL Ret | 2nd | 52 |
Formula One World Championship
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 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 | ||||||||||
| 1981 | Ensign Racing | Ensign N180B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ESP 14 | FRA Ret | GBR DNQ | GER NC | AUT Ret | NED 6 | ITA Ret | CAN Ret | CPL Ret | 18th | 1 | |||||||
| 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
International Formula 3000
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts | |
| 1986 | RAM Motorsport | RAM 04 | Cosworth | SIL | VAL 11 | PAU DNQ | SPA 21 | IMO Ret | MUG DNQ | PER DNQ | ÖST | 19th | 1.5 | |||
| 1986 | Lola Motorsport | Lola T86/50 | Cosworth | BIR 4 | BUG 12 | JAR Ret | 19th | 1.5 | ||||||||
| 1987 | Bromley Motorsport | Ralt RT21 | Cosworth | SIL 9 | VAL DNQ | SPA 17 | PAU Ret | DON 18 | PER Ret | NC | 0 | |||||
| 1987 | Colin Bennett Racing | March 87B | Cosworth | BRH 18 | BIR DNQ | IMO 14 | NC | 0 | ||||||||
| 1987 | Genoa Racing | March 87B | Cosworth | BUG Ret | JAR DNQ | NC | 0 |
American open-wheel racing
PPG Indycar Series
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 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 | |
| 1995 | Dick Simon Racing | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB V8t | LBH 24 | 21st | 19 | ||||||||||||||||
| 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
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 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 | |||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Team Scandia | Dallara IR7 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | INDY 24 | TXS 7 | PPR 12 | CLT 10 | NHA 4 | LVS 1 | 9th | 208 | |||||||||
| 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 |