IN THE LAND OF BLACK GOLD - Grandprixplus

acer’s transmission wilted after 174 laps.
Ferrari decided not to run in the inaugural
Mexican Grand Prix in November, so Ricardo did a
deal to race one of Rob Walker’s Lotus Climaxes in
front of his adoring countrymen.
In his autobiography penned by Michael
Cooper-Evans’, Rob recalled: “When we were in
Monza in September Ricardo asked me if he could
drive my Lotus 24 in the Mexican GP as Ferrari was
not going to enter. It was a non-championship
race and the first Formula One race ever to be held
in Mexico. I talked it over with Alf Francis and we
agreed that we might as well go ahead although the
starting money was not terribly good, and I would
stay at home and leave it to Alf to run the team.
“Ricardo had been motorcycle champion
of Mexico when he was 13, he’d started racing cars
when he was 15 and he’d become a works Ferrari
Formula One driver by the time he was 19. He was
regarded as being much more talented than his
elder brother – although Pedro became a great
driver later on, and a very good friend of mine –
and I think that the locals really expected him to
win in Mexico City, which was a lot of pressure for
such a young man to handle.”
Typically, Rob called Ricardo from England
on the morning of November 1, a Thursday, to wish
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