R.I.P. Pete Lovely

[henk4]

This weekend we learned of the death of one of the USA's great racing drivers, Pete Lovely, who passed away shortly after his 85th birthday.

Pete Lovely was one of the last true privateer F1 drivers, who ordered a Lotus 49 directly from Colin Chapman at the time when it mattered, and raced the car with some success until 1971.
It was not just another 49, but chassis R2, that won its first ever race with Jim Clark at the wheel in 1967 at Zandvoort. When Chapman asked what chassis number Lolvely wanted, he mentioned 11 (and shot three will tell you why) and without further a due R2 was restamped R11.....
see:
1967 Lotus 49 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information

Lovely's racing career predominantly shone at the US West coast and it was there that he won the first ever race at Laguna Seca, held in 1957, and fittingly in 2007, 50 year later, he won his class at the Monterey Historics in his faithful Lotus XI, the story of which is as unique as the man himself.

We had the pleasure meeting with him at a small party during the 2005 Pebble Beach festivities, and it was absolutely amazing just to listen to somebody who has seen and done it all. Since then we regularly met him in the paddock of the Historics.

Sadly his health deteriorated since 2007 and 2008 was the last time we saw him race, already not quite the man he used to be.

To pay tribute to a great man and friend we have selected a few personal pictures and some action shots.

May he rest in peace.

[csl177]

Sad news, he was a fascinating character that not only was a great privateer but an influence on racing in the US.
Reconfiguring Laguna Seca into an arguably safer track was just one of his accomplishments.

Regarding the relevance of his requesting chassis #11 from Chapman, there's that small bit of trivia illustrated in photo #3 of henk's post.

We attended a cocktail party in Monterey a few years ago at which he was the guest of honor... his wife Nevele just wanted to relax, away from the group that Pete was regaling with tales from the old days. "I've heard this 1000 times" she said joining us on a sofa just apart from that group, and over the course of an hour or so humorously "clarified" points of the discussion going on behind us. The Chapman deal wasn't one of Pete's best in her opinion... "Snakey" was her description of Colin. She was Lovely, indeed... insisting on a rather comic introduction to Pete after the canapes were gone, and we shared a quiet drink before dinner. They were in such great spirits... it was a pleasure to meet them.

All I wanted to know about was the Pooper... and how much he had cadged from Pupilidy.

[FastDriver]

well he had an exciting life. Good for him

[henk4]

All I wanted to know about was the Pooper... and how much he had cadged from Pupilidy.

so here is the Pooper, with some more history on Pete as well. The Pupilidy has been fully restored and was shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2010. Inspiration for the Popper might have come from this car, but using an exisiting Cooper FJ MkVIII chassis, might have been at least a much cheaper option. More inspiation might have come from the first Cooper Porsche, based on a MkVII chassis. It is amazing that all three cars are still asround.

[FastDriver]

haha! i can't believe they named a car the pooper!

[csl177]

Porsche + Cooper. Those early amateur racers had a sense of humor.

Saw the Pooper right after it's restoration some 15 years ago or so. Fun little scoot, great on track.
Have yet to see the Pupilidy car up close.

[Wouter Melissen]

He was one of Laguna Seca's heroes:

The following statement is attributable to Gill Campbell, CEO/General Manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca:

“It is with a heavy heart to learn of Sunday evening’s passing of one of the Legends of Laguna Seca, Pete Lovely. He was a fixture at the race track from day one. It was on Nov. 10, 1957 that Pete overcame long odds to win the Pebble Beach Road Races at our then-named Laguna Seca Raceway, which was the very first race of the recently completed track. He was driving a 2-liter Ferrari Testa Rosa against more powerful cars driven by bigger-named racers like Carroll Shelby, Jim Hall and Richie Ginther. But Pete’s perseverance and keen race strategy earned him the historic win and permanent place in the record books. Pete will forever be remembered in the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca family for his passion and kindness.”

[cowboy14]

OH.....so sad....... R.I.P.