Ricardo Londono-Bridge

BIOGRAPHY

Before Formula One

The drivers who make their way onto this site appeal to us either because of their mediocrity, their ill-fortune, or their sheer obscurity. Colombian mystery man Ricardo Londono-Bridge falls into the last two categories. In terms of Formula One participation, he fits in between Jorge de Bagration and Masami Kuwashima. That is, he never even got to take part in official practice like Kuwashima did, but at least he had the chance to sit in and drive his intended machine, which is more than what de Bagration achieved. A word about his name first. Some people may think that the name 'Londono-Bridge' bears too much of a resemblance to the famous British landmark - a bit like someone being called 'Pierre Eiffel-Tower' or something like that. It is, however, the propensity in Spanish for double-barrelled names from both paternal and maternal sides of the family that left Ricardo with this extraordinary surname. While some sources call him just 'Londono', on occasions Ricardo entered himself as 'Londono Bridge Racing', and that's good enough for us.

And just as there is mystery surrounding his name, there’s also not a great deal that we know about his racing career. Some of what we know come courtesy of the respected motorsport journalist Mike Doodson, who was friends with Ricardo. Hailing from the city of Medellin, in the 1960 and 1970s he competed in his native Colombia in bikes such as a 350cc Yamaha, cars like a Simca 1300, and even boats, earning the nickname “Cuchilla” (meaning “Razor”) for his bravery and skills. As a result he earned notoriety in his homeland, notwithstanding the rivalry between Bogota and Medellin, but that was a double-edged sword. In a place where the line between clean money and, shall we say, not-so-clean money was distinctly blurry, it meant that he attracted the attention, company and even sponsorship of perhaps some shady characters. It also meant that Londono made himself a comfortable living and had no particular incentive to take his undeniable abilities overseas.

Unlike, say, Brazilian drivers who had gone abroad throughout the 1970s to develop their racing careers, it’s not until 1979 (when Ricardo was already nearing 30) that he appeared to race abroad and we get his first specific international results. At the Sebring 12hrs, he retired in a Porsche 935 Turbo with John Gunn and George Garces, but came 18th in the same car at the Daytona 250 miles, which left him equal 45th in the IMSA Winston GT series with 4 points. At the start of 1980, he drove in both the Daytona 24hrs and the Sebring 12hrs, which counted for both the IMSA championship and the World Challenge for Endurance Drivers. At Daytona, sharing Mauricio DeNarvaez’s Porsche Carrera with the owner and also Albert Naon, he came an impressive 7th, and 2nd in GTO class. At Sebring, where he drove only with DeNarvaez, they were 10th in GTO class and 26th outright. That put RLB equal 104th in the WCED with 15 points, but equal 17th in IMSA GTO with 16 points.

But throughout 1980, Ricardo also competed in the thunderous cars of the Can-Am championship, where as the Londono Bridge Racing Team he entered a Lola T530 Chevrolet. In nine starts, he recorded six top ten finishes, with 9th at Laguna Seca, 8th at Brainerd, 6ths at Sonoma, Road America and Riverside, and 5th at Mosport, showing that he was not without some ability behind the wheel. He scored five points in the process, enough for 12th in the final Can-Am standings. Londono certainly had some talent, but he also had a fair degree of backing, albeit not always from the most savoury sources. And with it, having seen the success of compatriot Roberto Guerrero in British F3, he finally sought to make his way to Europe. In reality, having driven nothing but sports cars, he had a big gulf to traverse. But undeterred, and with age not on his side, he was soon being entered for the last round of the 1980 Aurora F1 championship, the Pentax Trophy at Silverstone.

Formula One

The car which Ricardo was scheduled to drive was being entered by Colin Bennett, and what a daunting challenge it would turn out to be. It was an old Lotus 78, once used by such aces as Mario Andretti and Gunnar Nilsson. However, earlier in that same Aurora season, this very chassis had been involved in heavy accidents at the hands of Gianfranco Brancatelli and Desiré Wilson. It took some courage not only to step into it but to try to push to the very maximum. But that is exactly what Londono did, and Ricardo very quickly left his mark in practice by having yet another shunt in the chassis. As a result, his final time in qualifying was very slow, some 11 seconds of Emilio de Villota’s pole pace, and he was down in 18th spot ahead of only two F2 cars but behind a brace of other F2 machines. In the race, though, he showed his true ability and, after a duel with F2 driver Kim Mather, he finished in a creditable 7th place.

During the course of 1980, in the World Championship the Ensign F1 team had had a difficult season. They had failed to progress up the order with their N180 chassis, especially after the career-ending injuries suffered by star driver Clay Regazzoni. For 1981, with sponsor Unipart having withdrawn, team boss Mo Nunn found himself needing a cash injection fast. Bennett had become part-owner of the team and pressed for a “promising” new driver - Londono - to be signed up. Not only did Ricardo look capable of making a rapid transition to F1, but he also presented a new market in which to attract sponsorship. In early 1981, Nunn led a contingent to Colombia to look for backers. Café Colombia signed on, as did Pasta Doria. Some of Londono’s more colourful backers also wanted to join the party, which posed a conundrum for the team. Another dilemma was even more fundamental; Londono did not have a superlicence from FISA.

That was not a surprise, given Ricardo’s limited experience and virtually zero international single-seater experience. And so for the first race of the season, the US GP West at Long Beach, Marc Surer filled the sole Ensign seat despite Londono having been signed. The Swiss hard charger qualified 19th but retired with electrical failure. However, prior to the next race, the Brazilian GP at Rio de Janeiro, there would be an opportunity for Londono to impress FISA observers sufficiently to get his superlicence. The Jacarepagua track had been used for the first time in 1978, but financial problems meant that it had been off the calendar (replaced by Interlagos) until 1981. Nonetheless, the FIA allowed a pre-event acclimatisation session on the Wednesday before the race weekend, normally a session reserved for tracks being used for the first time. Londono was free to participate in this Wednesday test, and this was the eager Colombian’s chance to prove his worth.

After Surer completed a few installation laps, he handed the car over to Ricardo. In only around ten laps in his first drive of the Ensign N180B, he set a time of 1:41.77, over four seconds slower than the fastest time set by Carlos Reutemann, but faster than Nelson Piquet, René Arnoux, Derek Daly, Bruno Giacomelli, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and others. Better still, he was within a second of the times set by Gilles Villeneuve, Alan Jones, John Watson, Patrick Tambay, Keke Rosberg and Andrea de Cesaris! This was eye-catching stuff, except that his aggressive style had caused something of a stir. Rosberg in particular was unimpressed and, when the chance arose, brake-tested the Colombian; Londono could not avoid slamming into the Fittipaldi. Although he had acquitted himself well in his brief time on the track, that incident had irreparably blotted his copybook. By the Thursday night, his application for a superlicence had been turned down, and Ricardo’s F1 dream seemed to be over.

What happened next added insult to injury. Surer was drafted back into the car at the eleventh hour, although the Colombian sponsorship remained, and so Ensign gratefully accepted Ricardo’s money anyway. The Swiss pilot qualified 18th, but in an amazing drive in treacherous wet conditions, he claimed three points for 4th place, as well as the fastest lap of the race. The team had no real choice but to keep Surer in the seat after that, rather than look for other opportunities to get a superlicence for Ricardo. And so that was it as far as Londono the F1 driver was concerned. He had gone further than de Bagration by actually making it onto the final entry list and by driving his intended car, but unlike Kuwashima he never took part in an official practice session during the race weekend. As a result, he goes down as a ‘did not practice’. But, by having been officially entered, he could still claim to have been Colombia’s first F1 driver, before Guerrero and, of course, Juan-Pablo Montoya.

After Formula One

Prior to his attempt to participate in the 1981 Brazilian GP, though, Ricardo had once again raced at the Daytona 24hrs, a round of both IMSA and the World Championship for Drivers and Makes. There he drove in a Red Lobster Racing BMW M1 with Kenper Miller and Dave Cowart, but the car dropped out with engine problems. But whilst licking his wounds in the aftermath of the Rio debacle, he landed an opportunity to go back to Europe, this time to race in Formula 2. The Docking-Spitzley Racing Team, run by Alan Docking, had run Toleman TG280s for Huub Rothengatter and Siegfried Stohr in 1980, but for 1981 were upgrading to Lola T850s for Stefan Johansson and Kenny Acheson. However, they decided to run Rothengatter's old TG280 at selected rounds of the 1981 F2 championship, and they entrusted the car to Londono. At Pau in June, Ricardo qualified last, but managed to keep the car on the track and finish 9th, ahead of the late Jim Crawford.

Londono’s next start was at Enna, where he started ahead of the likes of Christian Danner, Johnny Cecotto, Paolo Barilla, and Loris Kessel, but retired with engine failure (having also lost his girlfriend to fellow Colombian Guerrero during that weekend!). Similarly, at Spa he started in the midfield, but suffered a flywheel failure on lap 15. He then competed at Donington, where he qualified 23rd but did not start after a crash in the warm-up, and that Toleman chassis would never be used again after that. Frustrated by his European experience, he returned to America where he had a few IMSA outings and other sports car drives. In 1983, he retired from the Sebring 12hrs in a Phoenix JG-1 Chevrolet with John Gunn, but the pair came 6th at the Daytona 250 miles. In 1984, in a Chevrolet Corvette with Tommy Riggins Ricardo retired from the Charlotte 500, and he also fell out of the Daytona 3 hours where he was driving the same car with Luis Londono.

His final start of any note was in a Miami IMSA GTO race in 1985, where he retired in his Pontiac Firebird. He then returned to Colombia for good, and while he may have done some more motor racing, perhaps inevitably he also became ensnared in the uglier side of life in Colombia. He started a lucrative business selling American boats, planes and helicopters. One can imagine the type of folk in that troubled country who were not only interested in such equipment but who could afford to buy them. Sadly, Ricardo became so mired in that scene that in 2000 a Court issued a confiscation order against him, which resulted in several million dollars worth of items being seized. Much worse still, in July 2009, whilst leaving a beachside restaurant he and two others were brutally gunned down in an organised hit. It was a most horrific end to a life which, in another time or place, deserved to be remembered more for his racing achievements rather than for the unhappy associations that led to his death. Rest in peace, Ricardo.

CAREER SUMMARY

Back to Career Summary
Back to Full Biography
Back to Picture Index

http://www.f1rejects.com
email@f1rejects.com