Pete Lovely

Pete Lovely
Born	April 11, 1926; Livingston, Montana
Died	May 15, 2011 (aged 85); Tacoma, Washington
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1959–1960, 1969–1971
Teams	Lotus (mostly as privateer), non-works Cooper
Entries	11 (7 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1959 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1971 United States Grand Prix

Gerard Carlton "Pete" Lovely (April 11, 1926 – May 15, 2011) was a

racecar driver and businessman from the United States. He was born in Livingston, Montana

.

Racing career

On November 9, 1957, Lovely won the first ever race held at

Laguna Seca, driving a Ferrari.^[1]^[2] Lovely participated in 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on May 10, 1959. He scored no championship points. He won the S3.0 class and achieved a podium overall at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring with a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. He was best known in his Formula One career for racing various private Lotus cars in World Championship events (usually entered under the banner of 'Pete Lovely Volkswagen') including a hybrid made from a Lotus 69 Formula Two car fitted with a Formula One-specification, 3.0L Cosworth DFV V8 engine

. After his retirement from Formula One he was an entrant in various kinds of racing in the USA until the 1980s. Lovely's racing career spanned more than 50 years, and he continued to participate in Vintage and Historic events into the 2000s.

Business career

Lovely opened "Pete Lovely Volkswagen", a Volkswagen dealership in Fife, Washington, in 1954 and ran it for 34 years. He also owned "Pete Lovely Racing" which restored vintage race cars.^[3]

Pete's only son, Chris, began working on Pete's cars at a young age and went on to become a highly respected mechanic in Can-Am, CART, Champ Car and IndyCar, working for championship-winning teams.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC
1959	Team Lotus	Lotus 16	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	MON DNQ	500	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	USA					NC
1960	Fred Armbruster	Cooper T51	L4	ARG	MON	500	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	POR	ITA	USA 11				NC
1969	Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	CAN 7	USA Ret	MEX 9			NC
1970	Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	NED DNQ	FRA DNQ	GBR NC	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA DNQ	MEX	NC
1971	Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.	Lotus 69 Special	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN NC	USA NC			NC

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1959	Team Lotus	Lotus 16	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	GLV	AIN	INT 15	OUL	SIL
1969	Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC 6	INT Ret	MAD	OUL
1970	Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC Ret	INT 13	OUL
1971	Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	ROC	QUE DNQ	SPR	INT	RIN	OUL	VIC

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

12 Hours of Sebring

Year	Entrant	No	Car	Drivers	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1960	Jack Nethercutt	8	Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa 59 Ferrari V12 2996	Jack Nethercutt Pete Lovely	S3.0	186	3rd	1st
1961	Jack Nethercutt	9	Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa 59 Ferrari V12 2996	Jack Nethercutt Pete Lovely	S3.0	1	DNF Oil Pump

References

^ "Laguna Seca Raceway Fund- 50 years". Archived from the original on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
^ Brodeur, Nicole (31 August 2007). "A Lovely tribute to race-car legend". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ "RIP Pete Lovely". www.gglotus.org. Retrieved 8 November 2023.

Sources

Profile at www.grandprix.com

[1] "Laguna Seca Raceway Fund- 50 years". Archived from the original on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2009.

[2] Brodeur, Nicole (31 August 2007). "A Lovely tribute to race-car legend". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 8 November 2023.

[3] "RIP Pete Lovely". www.gglotus.org. Retrieved 8 November 2023.

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