Ingo Hoffmann came to Europe in the mid-1970s and entered the 1975 British Formula 3 Championship. The very next year he joined the Copersucar Formula 1 team as second driver, partnering the double World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi…not an easy task. Over the partial two seasons, he failed to qualify three times and took part in three Grands Prix. His best result was seventh place in his last Formula 1 race, at home in São Paulo in 1977. In April 2015 Aleš Norský and Anthony Valdettaro had an opportunity to have the following internet conversation with him.
A.N. There was very little of Brazilian presence in Formula 1 before Emerson Fittipaldi showed-up. Was his success the inspiration that made you decide to become a racing driver?
I.H. Emerson was an idol for me when I started racing in 1972, but it wasn’t because of him that I chose that path.
A.N. You arrived in Formula 1 with relatively very little experience. I suppose nobody turns down such opportunity, but was it a mistake?
At the time I knew that it was a big risk for me, to accept the F-1 contract and drive for the team. But I had no money to do another season or two in F-3 or F-2 to gain more experience.
A.N. The Copersucar/Fittipaldi project was no doubt a source of pride for Brazil. At the time, did you believe that it really could succeed, or was it more or less doomed from the beginning.
Everybody involved in the project believed that it could be successful.
A.V. If you could go back in time to when they first planned to enter Formula 1, knowing what you know now, what would your advice to them be? Get a big-name designer? Start out buying someone else’s chassis, which even Penske and Williams used to do? Or join forces with someone like Walter Wolf from the start?
I don’t believe in IFs. I like to say that IF my aunt had balls, she would be my uncle…kkkkkkkkk. There are no IFs in life. The truth is that it is very easy to point-out the mistakes today, but at the time, for sure the Fittipaldi brothers believed they were taking the right steps and making the right decisions.
A.V. Do you think Emerson Fittipaldi would have won more World Championships if he’d continued driving for other teams?
He certainly would have been in position to have good chances to achieve that.
A.N. Do you keep in touch with your former bosses Wilson and Emerson Fittipaldi?
I have much more contact with Wilson than with Emerson.
A.N. In 1977 you took a step-down to compete in Formula 2 with Project Four.
Yes, and the initial idea was to do F-2 season in 1976 already, to try to get some more experience, and to learn the circuits as well.
A.N. How did you find working with Ron Dennis…was he already the master of ‘ronspeak’ back then? And do you ever see him nowadays?
Sorry, don’t know what ‘ronspeak’ means! He was already very competent and organized. Haven’t seen him since then, though.
A.N. Once the opportunities in Europe were not available to you anymore, you returned to Brazil and continued racing in stock and touring cars. I understand that you have won over a hundred races and multiple national Championships. Can you tell us more about that?
At the end of 1978 I decided to return to Brazil, basically because I had no sponsorship anymore, and have realized that my international career came to an end. In 1979 I began to race in the Brazilian Stock Car Series, where I stayed until the end of my racing career at the end of 2008. During that time I won the National Championship 12 times.
A.N. Would you give them all up in exchange for one Grand Prix win?
No, I would not exchange all the titles I won for one GP victory. Definitely not, because a single F-1 win would’n had given me the exposure and provide opportunities I got for all those 30 years of racing back here in Brazil.
A.N. Did you ever consider trying your hand in NASCAR?
No, I never considered to go racing in NASCAR. I had a good career going on here in Brazil, I had my kids in school, and I started my tire business.
A.N. Have you been lucky enough to get paid for racing, or did you need the tyre business to support your career?
I earned all my money from motor racing. In the tire business, I lost money.
A.N. What is behind your cancer institute and how deeply are you involved personally?
I founded the ‘Instituto Ingo Hoffmann’ in 2007. We provide temporary housing for the children and their parents during the period when they are undertaking cancer treatment in the specialized hospital next door. The hospital donated us the land where our institute was built. The families we shelter usually come from very far away, and don’t have money to pay for a house or hotel during the time they need to stay. With us they have all they need, all meals, a place to play, library, gym classes, and so on. I decided to do this in appreciation of everything life has given to me. We depend 100% on donations, and these generally come from people and companies that I know through motor racing.
A.N. This surely is a silly question to ask a Brazilian, but here it comes: Prost or Senna?
And here comes the silly answer: Senna.
A.N. After leaving Europe, did you continue to follow Formula 1 or was it something better left in the past for you?
How do you feel about the state of the sport today? In the beginning I followed F-1 a lot, but today I watch it only if I happen to be at home. I think F-1 today is quite boring, and in almost all the races you know beforehand who is going to win.
A.N. In any case, over the past four decades, Brazilians had achieved considerable success in the sport.
Yes, and it all started with Emerson Fittipaldi back in 1970.
A.N. Auto racing has changed a lot over the years, but the biggest change seems to be the amount of money involved in almost every decision made within the sport.
I believe that focus, passion, and determination are still necessary, but unfortunately, all other aspects have changed in some way. Money comes above all. Clearly it’s so because the sport had not only become highly professional, but mainly because it also is a very big business.
A.V. When Emerson Fittipaldi went to IndyCar, did you think he’d achieve the success he eventually did? Did you ever want to follow him on that path?
When Emerson went to Indy Cars, it was mostly an unknown category here in Brazil. When he started to win, all the press over here begun to cover his success, of course. As I said before, I had no intention to leave Brazil anymore, because I was enjoying success here, and my family had a life here as well.
A.V. In the 1970s, did you find Interlagos scary to drive in a Formula 1 car, through curves like Curva 2 and Curva do Sol? If the old track configuration were restored and made smooth, do you think those curves would be flat out in today’s cars?
Yes, for me they where scary. Today, Curva 2 would be flat for sure. Curva do Sol…probably not, I don’t think so.
A.N. Finally, did I forget to ask anything?
I don’t think so
