Pete Lovely

Pete Lovely, whose full name was Gerard Carlton Lovely, was an American businessman and race car driver who recorded eleven participations (seven starts) in Formula 1 Championship races between 1959 and 1971. He was mostly active in sports car races, taking his place in the motorsport history as the winner of the first-ever race at newly-opened Laguna Seca in 1957.

Pete and his wife

Running Volkswagen dealership for more than 30 years

Born in Livingston, Montana, in April 1926, Pete Lovely opened a Volkswagen Dealership in Fife, Washington, in 1954, and ran it for 34 years, until his retirement. He competed under the 'Pete Lovely Volkswagen' banner in many races, although he rarely raced with Volkswagens. He also owned the company 'Pete Lovely Racing', which restored vintage race cars.

Pete Lovely's racing career started in 1953 and spanned for more than fifty years because he participated in vintage and historic events during the 2000s.

He started to race in a Giaur-Crossley sports car, taking some class victories in SCCA races during 1953. He then switched to Porsche 356, Porsche-powered VW Special, Austin-Healey 100, Cooper-Porsche in the following years. In 1955 and 1956, he also tried Italian cars – Ferrari 166 MM and Maserati 150S.

Pete Lovely in 1954 in a Porsche-VW Special

First participation at Sebring 12 Hours in 1956

After several years in national and regional races, he made a step to the international scene in March 1956, driving the #43 Porsche 550 for John Edgar Enterprises at 12 Hours of Sebring.

Sharing a car with John McAfee, he finished in the seventh place, one position behind factory-entered Porsche 550 driven by Hans Herrmann and Wolfgang von Trips. Juan Manuel Fangio and Eugenio Castelotti won a race in a Ferrari 860 Monza.

The first-ever winner at Laguna Seca

A year later, in March 1957, Lovely returned to Sebring in the #2 Chevrolet Corvette SR-2, finishing 16th together with Paul O'Shea. During the year, he continued to race, a to win, in different cars (Lotus Eleven, Cooper-Porsche) but the greatest victory came in November 1957, in the first-ever race at Laguna Seca.

In that race, a part of the SCCA National Championship, Lovely was driving Fred Armbruster's #125 Ferrari 500 TR, taking a victory in front of John von Neumann in a Ferrari 625 TRC and Paul O'Shea in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Carroll Shelby finished fourth in a Maserati 300S.

Pete Lovely's victorious Ferrari 500 Testa Rossa at Laguna Seca

Le Mans 24h debut with Lotus in 1958

In March 1958, in his third appearance at Sebring 12 Hours, Lovely was sharing the #32 Maserati 200S with Jim Kimberly, not finishing the race.

A few months later, Lovely made a debut at 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving the #35 Lotus 15. His co-driver was Jay Chamberlain. They didn't finish the race due to an accident after eight hours.

Two weeks later, still in France, Lovely scored GT1.3 class victory at 12 Hours of Reims, sharing the #36 Lotus Eleven with Innes Ireland.

Unsuccessful debut F1 in 1959, podium at Sebring in 1960

Following the second place in the GT1.3 class at 12 Hours of Sebring in March 1959, driving a Lotus Elite, Lovely's year was marked by his unsuccessful debut in the F1 Championship. In May 1959, he came to Monaco Grand Prix but he was too slow in the #42 Lotus 16-Climax and didn't qualify for the race.

In March 1960, Lovely scored his career-best result at Sebring, finishing in third place overall and the winner of the S3.0 class. He was driving the #8 Ferrari 250 TR, sharing a car with Jack Nethercutt. They were standing on a podium with two Porsche crews, who were driving 718 RS cars.

Pete Lovely at 1960 US Grand Prix in the #25 Cooper T51 Ferrari

Formula One debut at 1960 US Grand Prix

Lovely finally made a debut in the Formula 1 championship in November 1960 at Riverside International Raceway, in the US Grand Prix, the season-closing race of the championship.

He qualified 20th in the #25 Cooper T51-Ferrari, owned by Fred Armbruster. In the race, he was six laps behind the race winner Stirling Moss (Lotus-Climax), finishing in the eleventh place.

Waiting nine years for F1 return

After pretty successful participation in the US Grand Prix, Lovely focused again on sports car racing, waiting nine years for the next F1 attempt.

In that period, he raced just once at Sebring in 1961, in a Ferrari 250 TR (DNF), a many times in national sports car races in different cars (Lotus, Cooper,  Ford Cortina Lotus). He slowed down his racing activities from 1965 to 1968 and then reactivated himself in 1969.

Five starts in Formula 1 races in 1969

Lovely made a return to Formula 1 in 1969 with a hybrid car, using an F2-spec chassis of Lotus 49 and an F1-spec engine (Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8). In March, he finished sixth at Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and retired at BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone.

Then, he participated in the American tour of Formula 1, competing at the Canadian Grand Prix, the US Grand Prix and the Mexican Grand Prix. He was seventh at Mosport Park, recorded DNF at Watkins Glen and finished ninth in Mexico.

Pete Lovely in 1971

Struggling in F1 for two more seasons

In 1970, Pete Lovely expanded his F1 campaign to four championship races and two non-championship events, but his results were worse. He failed to qualify for three F1 Grand Prix races (Netherlands, France, USA) and raced only in the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, where he finished the race eleven laps behind race winner Jochen Rindt (Lotus-Ford).

In 1971, the results weren't better. He failed to qualify for the inaugural Questor Grand Prix at Ontario Motor Speedway and then participated in the Canadian Grand Prix and the US Grand Prix, not being classified due to a big gap behind race winners.

Pete Lovely, who died in 2011, was active until the old age

Photos: Motorsport Images, Art Evans/Sports Car Digest, Lovely Collection,