Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela (born 14 November 1954 in Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean racing driver.
As of August 2019, he is the only Chilean to have participated in a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix. 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 (Champion 1984 and 1985), Formula 3000, IndyCar (including the Indianapolis 500 race seven times), and the World Sportscar Championship. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Born in Santiago, Chile, on the 14th November 1954, Eliseo Salazar made his F1 debut in 1981, going on to contest 37 races, and as of 2024, he is the only Chilean to have participated in the World Championship. He competed in many categories, including F3000, IndyCar (with seven Indy 500s), the World Sportscar Championship, the Chilean National Rally Championship and the Dakar Rally and could claim to have taken part in the Monaco GP, the Indy 500, the Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hours and the Dakar Rally; Fernando Alonso later competed in these events.
After success in Chilean touring cars and F4 in Argentina, Eliseo entered 1979’s F3 championship with the Schick Toyota Chilean Team, racing a Ralt RT1 and RT3, where his best results were seventh at Donington, fifth at Caldwell Park and Thruxton plus eighth at Thruxton and Donington.
Following this came a successful season in British F1 alongside Emilio de Villota with RAM Racing’s Williams FW07. He retired in March’s first round at Oulton Park (fuel system), then later that month was third at Brands Hatch and took his first victory at Silverstone, from pole plus recorded the fastest lap. He started on pole at Mallory Park but retired (transmission) then in late May took a second victory at Thruxton, from pole. There were retirements at Monza and Brands Hatch (accident and mechanical), seventh at Mallory Park and second at Snetterton (plus fastest lap) then another win at Thruxton (from pole plus fastest lap). There were retirements in the two final rounds (brakes and accident) at Oulton Park and Silverstone and De Villota won the championship, with Eliseo beating Guy Edwards to second place.
Joining the March team in 1981, it proved a frustrating year where he failed to qualify in six races and retired at San Marino. After Monaco, he switched to Ensign and was fourteenth in his first outing at Jarama though his only finish in the following eight races was sixth at Zandvoort.
In 1982 he drove for ATS and the season started with promise, finishing ninth in South Africa and team mate Manfred Winkelhock tenth. Unfortunately his only other finishes were thirteenth at Zandvoort, fourteenth in the Swiss GP at Dijon-Prenois, ninth at Monza and fifth at Imola although this race saw a reduced field of entrants due to a boycott by most of the FOCA aligned teams. However, one retirement saw the infamous incident involving him and Nelson Piquet at Hockenheim. As Piquet went around him into the Ostkurve chicane, the two cars collided, with the Brabham going off backwards into the tyre barrier. Both cars came to a halt off the track but after climbing out, a furious Piquet approached Eliseo and started hitting and kicking at him. Ironically, he was good friends with Nelson, who had helped him in his early experiences as a driver in Europe. Some months later Nelson phoned to apologise to him, as he had been told that the engine in his car was about to expire in the race and that Eliseo had inadvertently saved BMW from facing the embarrassment of watching their engine fail at their home GP. A BMW mechanic told how “when we disassembled the engine afterwards, we realised that it would have exploded two laps later at the latest. A defective piston pin would have torn everything apart.” The weekend was marred by a huge accident for Championship leader Didier Pironi in qualifying, when he ran into the back of Alain Prost’s car, which was obscured by the spray. There were sportscar outings with a Dome RC82 though he retired at Silverstone alongside Raul Boesel and Chris Craft (fuel pressure) while suspension issues after eighty five laps ended his run at Le Mans with Craft.
He returned to RAM in 1983 and entered six races but it would prove to be a disappointing season with the 04 and after finishing fourteenth in the first round in Brazil he retired with gearbox failure at Long Beach and did not qualify for the following races at Paul Ricard, San Marino, Monaco and Spa. His Le Mans drive in a Dome RC82 alongside Craft and Nick Mason ended after seventy five laps (clutch).
After the Chilean economic crisis in the early 1980’s, Eliseo had to leave F1 and he later competed in the South American F3 Championship plus began rallying and in 1985 became a hill climb champion in Chile with a Toyota Corolla XT. In the following year he contested F3000, beginning with RAM, though his only finish was twenty first at Spa, then a switch to Lola Racing saw fourth (plus fastest lap) at a wet Birmingham Super Prix and twelfth at Le Mans with their T86/50. Continuing in 1987 with Bromley Motorsport’s Ralt RT21/87 he was ninth at Silverstone, seventeenth and eighteenth at Spa and Donington but from August he was with CoBrRa Motorsport and was eighteenth at Brands Hatch and fourteenth at Imola.
In the late 1980s, Eliseo contested three seasons of the FIA World Sports Prototype Championship with Spice Engineering and in 1988 he and Thorkild Thyrring were eleventh (and class winners) with the SE88C at the Fuji 1000kms but their Le Mans drive (joined by Almo Coppelli) ended due to engine problems after two hundred and eighty one laps. In the following year there were a number of retirements with a SE89C and his only finish was tenth in the Mexico City 480kms (with Thyrring) while 1990 with an SE90C saw eighteenth in the Suzuka 480kms (alongside Bernard Jourdain), sixth in the Dijon 480kms (with Wayne Taylor) and tenth in the Mexico 480kms (with Fermín Vélez).
There were three Le Mans 24 Hour drives during this period with the Silk Cut Jaguar team, as, while racing with the Spice team in 1989, he took part in a Jaguar test at Dijon and impressed enough to be offered a drive in the 24 Hours. Sharing with brothers Alain and Michel Ferte, they finished eighth in an XJR-9 LM after gearbox problems had cost them a shot at victory. He was invited back to contest 1990’s event with the team, alongside John Nielsen and Price Cobb. However, although Eliseo was involved in qualifying, he never actually drove in the race as, when the car seemed on course for victory, shortly before he was due to jump aboard he was switched for Martin Brundle. He did not race in the early stages and as the race progressed, the Brundle, Michel Ferte and Leslie car took the lead but shortly before midnight a water leak caused a delay. Brundle then rested though as the race went into dawn, the car had to be retired for good. Nielsen and Cobb still held a strong lead but as Eliseo waited in the pits for his turn, he was called to see team boss Walkinshaw in his motorhome. “It was just the two of us. He said it was very important for him and the team to have Martin in the leading car. I understood it from the business point of view, I’m a business guy too. But I pledged to him, and I said Tom, this is my life, it’s very important for me as a driver. This was my big chance. There was a point when he was undecided, I had nearly convinced him. I really went for it! At the time we didn’t know it was going to win, there was still maybe half the race to go. He thought for a while, and he said I like you and I want you to do well, but I have to do it. It’s Martin, it’s Jaguar, there are 50,000 fans out there, and he’s a British guy. He asked me to drive number four, which meant Luis Perez Sala didn’t drive at all. But that car was two or three laps down and there was no chance.” The leading Jaguar pitted around 8am and Brundle rejoined the race but Eliseo had to wait until just after 10am before he was able to take over from Ferte. Their car was in eleventh place but he then drove some startlingly fast laps, stating “at the time I got in the car I was obviously disappointed and I was mad also, so I was driving fast. I caught Martin quickly and I was going to pass him just to unlap myself by a lap, but they came on the radio and said stay behind. So I had to.” Unfortunately, several hours later, engine problems after 287 laps ended their race and he was forced to stop on the Mulsanne Straight. He then had the pain of seeing Nielsen taking victory and celebrating with Cobb and Brundle. Eliseo told how “it could have been one of the highest points of my life, but it ended up being the lowest. The whole extent of the deal became apparent later on when the car won. What if the car had retired? Then I wouldn’t have lost anything. So afterwards I was very disappointed. You don’t get many chances like that. It was a big blow to my career and actually after that I didn’t race again for a few years. I did a couple of races with Spice to finish the season, but then they stopped, and I went back to Chile.” At the end of the year he was named Sportsman of the Year by Autosport magazine.
After several years out of racing, working as a co-host in the TV show ‘Video Loco’ (a Chilean version of ‘America’s Funniest Videos’), in 1994 he turned to sports cars in IMSA. Racing the Ferrari-Momo team’s 333 SP with Gianpiero Moretti they were second at Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca, Portland and Phoenix and won at Lime Rock, Watkins Glen and Indianapolis.
After his good season, he was offered an Indy Car drive with Dick Simon though he started 1995 at the Daytona 24 Hours alongside Moretti, Wayne Taylor and Didier Theys in the Momo 333 SP, finishing sixth in class. He retired in his first race at Miami though results with the Lola T9500 included tenth at Surfers Paradise and Cleveland, twelfth at Nazareth, thirteenth at Mid-Ohio, New Hampshire and Vancouver, fifteenth at Phoenix and Portland plus sixteenth and eighteenth at Milwaukee and Road America. In his Indy 500 debut, after starting thirty third, with eleven laps to go he was running third (behind Scott Goodyear and Jacques Villeneuve) though eventually finished fourth. When the IRL and CART split, Eliseo continued with the team in 1996 to contest the Indy Racing League with their Lola T9600, finishing twenty first at Milwaukee, eighteenth at Portland, eleventh at Michigan, fifteenth at Mid-Ohio and ninth at New Hampshire, with his best result seventh at Las Vegas. In one sports car outing with Scandia’s Ferrari 333 S he and Antonio Hermann were fourth and fifth in the 2 Hour Dallas and 3 Hour Daytona races.
In a switch the next year he raced Scandia’s Dallara but retired due to an accident in the Indy 500, was seventh at Texas, twelfth at Pikes Peak and tenth at Charlotte plus fourth at New Hampshire then took his first victory in the season’s final round at Las Vegas. In sports cars, driving a Central Arkansas Racing Services, Inc. 333 SP he and Rob Morgan were fourth, fifth at Sears Point, Road Atlanta and Lime Rock while drives with Dibos Racing’s 333 SP saw nineteenth at Las Vegas plus fourth at Sebring (with Dean Hall) and Laguna Seca (with Velez). Unfortunately, his Le Mans 24 Hours with Pacific Racing’s BRM P301 (alongside Harri Toivonen and Jésus Pareja) ended after six laps due to engine problems. He also made his only NASCAR start, finishing seventeenth at Watkins Glen in the Craftsman Truck Series.
In the following two Indycar seasons he was sixth and twelfth at New Hampshire and Walt Disney World Speedway with Riley-Scott Racing then the following year was fourth and fifth at Atlanta and Texas with Nienhouse Motorsports. Also in 1999 he was teamed with Duncan Dayton, Henry Camferdam and Scott Schubot for the Daytona 24 hours in a Transatlantic Racing Riley & Scott Mk II1 and finished fifth.
2000 and 2001 were the best years for him in the IRL, finishing fourth and fifth in the championships and results in 2000 with a G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora for A.J.Foyt Enterprises saw fourth at Phoenix, fifth at Walt Disney World Speedway and Texas, sixth at Pikes Peak and tenth Atlanta. He also took his best result at Indianapolis, where, in pole qualifying on the Saturday, Eliseo took the top spot with a run of 223.231 mph though Juan Pablo Montoya’s 223.372 mph run took over the provisional pole and later, Greg Ray secured pole position with his run at 223.471 mph. A total of 23 cars qualified for the field and the front row of Ray, Montoya and Eliseo was separated by only 0.173 seconds, which at that point, was the closest margin in Indy history. At the start, Ray took the lead, with Montoya second and Robby Gordon third. After eleven laps, Montoya had moved back into second and was challenging Ray, and later, Eliseo moved to third after setting the fastest lap on lap 44. On lap 75, the yellow flags were out again and at the start of the caution, the top nine were still on the lead lap, with Montoya ahead of Gordon and Eliseo. Then, Jeff Ward had taken second place but, while Montoya led, the drivers on the lead lap were drafting and changing position by the lap. The leading pack continued to dice, with Lazier moving back into second and Eliseo overtaking Gordon and Vasser then later, after another restart, he took Lazier for third. However, Lazier overtook him and Vasser on lap 188 but Vasser lost third place when he had to pit on lap 196. With two laps to go, Montoya was leading by 1.7 seconds and held it to the flag to take the victory, ahead Lazier and Eliseo in third.
Continuing in 2001 with A.J Foyt (now in a Dallara) the year started well with second and third at Phoenix and Miami and his best results through the season included fourth and fifth at Texas and Atlanta plus seventh at Texas, Kansas and the Indy 500. In his third season with the team, the opening races brought fifth and fourth in Miami and Phoenix but unfortunately he suffered a serious accident testing at Indianapolis. He had to miss several races and although he returned three months later, this would be his last Indycar season and Eliseo then concentrated on Sports Cars.
2003 started at the Sebring 12 Hours with The Racer’s Group’s Porsche 996 GT3-RS and he, Jim Pace and Kevin Buckler were twenty first (and eighth in class). There were a number of ALMS outings with a JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena and results included twenty second (eighth in class) at Road Atlanta with Jean-Albert Grégoire, twenty fifth (eleventh in class) at Sears Point and fourteenth (fifth in class) at Bayfront Park with Stéphane Grégoire plus eighteenth (sixth in class) at Laguna Seca and nineteenth at Mosport alongside Iradj Alexander and Stéphane Gregoire. He returned to single seaters for 2005-2006’s Grand Prix Masters, as a late replacement for Alan Jones. The series saw the drivers racing identical open wheel cars, in which traction control, power steering and ABS were absent and drivers must have retired from all forms of open wheel racing, competed in F1 for two complete seasons, passed a medical examination plus have retired from F1 for two complete seasons. They also had be more than 45 years old though the age limit for new drivers was reduced in 2006 from 45 to 40. The first, and only, race of 2005, took place at Kyalami in November, where he was tenth with Team Altech’s car though racing for Team Phantom in the second year he retired at Losail (Qatar) and Silverstone.
Returning to Chile, he joined the official Hyundai rally team in 2004, racing their N3-class Hyundai Coupe GK 2.0L in the national rally championship plus drove an IMG Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX in 2007 (finishing fifth in the N4-Class). In 2008 he entered with his own team plus in February that year he signed a pre-contract with Jean-Louis Schlesser to drive one of his buggies at that year’s Dakar Rally, hoping to become the first driver to have raced in that event, the Monaco GP, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Indianapolis 500. Unfortunately he could not get a deal with a sponsor though it would have been for nothing as that year’s Rally was cancelled. However, he eventually made his Dakar debut in 2009 (which was held in Argentina and Chile for the first time) with a McRae Prototype, finishing 88th. Robbie Gordon’s Team Dakar USA finished third and they entered their Hummers for 2011’s Dakar Rally, which took place in Argentina and Chile again and he was part of the squad. Racing the Speed Energy/Cristal Cero Hummer alongside navigator Steve La Roza, they crashed during a stage from Antofagasta to Copiapo, a difficult section of the rally as much of it was in the Atacama Desert, where landmarks were few and the team had to manoeuvre along old mine tracks. After working through the night to repair the car, they were able to start the next stage but after only a few kilometres into it they were forced to retire after losing the transmission.
He entered 2012’s Daytona 24 Hours alongside Gaetano Ardagna, Eduardo Costabal, Emilio Di Guida and Santiago Orjuela with an RTG Porsche 997 GT3 Cup and they were thirtieth (nineteenth in class) plus he contested several Grand Am Road Racing championship rounds. In 2013, he introduced autocross to Chile, drove a C Prepared Ford Mustang in the SCCA Solo National Championships and competed in the Grand Am Road Racing championship with Muehlner Motorsports America’s Porsche 997 GT3 Cup. 2015 saw him with The Racer’s Group Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 at the 24 Hour Daytona, though he, Kris Wilson, Brandon Davis, Max Riddle and Derek DeBoer, retired after 678 laps then in 2017 Eliseo drove a Formula E car on the streets of Santiago as part of an event to reveal the Chilean capital’s proposed circuit.
Gallery Indy and other F3000 and other F1
