This popular Brazilian started racing more than 30 years ago, first coming to Europe to race Formula Ford cars in 1969 and took over the number one drive at Team Lotus after Jochen Rindt crashed fatally at Monza during practice for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.
Between then and his retirement from F1 at the end of 1980, Emerson Fittipaldi contested 144 grands prix, winning 14. He was world champion in 1972 with Lotus and 1974 with McLaren, his delicacy of touch and stylish approach earning him a reputation for being easy on his machinery and a great tactical operator.
At the end of 1975, Emerson dropped a bombshell when he announced that he would quit McLaren to join his elder brother Wilson's fledgeling F1 team, Fittipaldi Automotive, which was sponsored by the Brazilian state-run sugar cartel, Copersucar. It proved to be a rash decision which brought down the curtain on his serious F1 driving career long before his basic talent had expired. A strong run to second place behind Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari in the 1978 Brazilian GP at Rio was one of the few bright moments, but the Fittipaldi team eventually closed down in 1982. In the mid-1980s he went to America and drove with the WIT Indycar team. In the midseason he replaced the injured Chip Ganassi at Patrick Racing and stayed with the team throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1989 and 1993 and the CART championship in 1989. He joined Penske in 1990 and continued to win races until 1995. At the end of the year Roger Penske and Carl Hogan established Penske Hogan Racing and Fittipaldi moved to the new team. In the middle of the year Fittipaldi had a nasty crash at Michigan International Speedway and fractured a vertebrae.
In the autumn of 1997 Emerson was seriously injured again when he crashed a light aircraft he was piloting near a citrus fruit farm he owns outside the town of Araraquara in Brazil. Although he regained movement in his legs, Fittipaldi's racing career was finally over.
He kept in touch with the sport as the holder of the CART TV rights in Brazil and in 2003 he announced that he was returning to the sport as a CART team owner in partnership with 29-year-old financier James Dingman. Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing announced that it would be running Portugal's Tiago Monteiro.
Disclaimer
NOPACTALENT acts only as an entertainment broker/producer for corporate functions, private events and speaking engagements. NOPACTALENT does not claim or represent itself as the exclusive agent, manager or management for any artist on this website. NOPACTALENT is a celebrity talent booking agency and speaker booking agency representing organizations seeking to hire motivational speakers, athletes, celebrities and corporate entertainment for private corporate events, celebrity endorsements, personal appearances, spokesperson campaigns and speaking engagements.
Related Tags:
Find More Booking Information on Emerson Fittipaldi for speaking engagements, personal appearances, endorsements, private corporate events and celebrity appearance fees. Hire Emerson Fittipaldi for personal appearances, celebrity marketing agency, print advertising, product endorsements, media events and fundraisers. Emerson Fittipaldi talent agent, celebrity appearances, celebrity representation, celebrity talent booking agent, find speakers bureau or booking agent for Emerson Fittipaldi. Official Booking Agency for Conventions and Trade Shows, Television and Radio Commercials, Spokesperson or Spokesman Campaigns, Marketing Agent, Celebrity Biographies. Emerson Fittipaldi Agent, booking agency, celebrity talent agent, keynote speaking engagements, Emerson Fittipaldi manager, publicist, business manager, find top rated business speakers, celebrity entertainers, celebrity speakers, promotions, celebrity advertising, representation, talent booking agent, celebrity booking services, hire celebrity talent, celebrity spokespersons, celebrity experts, celebrity spokesperson agency, celebrity supplier, event speaker agency, sports and athlete personal appearances, sports promotions. NOPACTALENT is home to all industry experts including: Celebrity Fitness Trainers, Celebrity Chefs, Celebrity Stylists, Fashion Experts, Lifestyle/Entertaining Experts, Health Experts, Home Improvement Experts, Organizational Experts, Relationship Experts, Travel Experts and much more.
