24 replies to this topic

[rolando]

Some people think that he was just as fast as Pedro and Ricardo, I suppose this picture can talk by itself.



**(The other surprise by Lotus during practice was the performance of guest driver Moisés Solana, who was handed the car wich Baghetti had driven in Monza, and in the course of only twelve training laps on the second day succeeded in lapping within approximately two seconds of the "masters".)

**SPORTS GRAPHIC/DECEMBER 1967, PAG. 38 WATKINS GLEN ARTICLE..

Moises leading World Champion Dennis Hulme

[Ray Bell]

Shame, I can't get the picture to come up.

[Barry Lake]

Rolando
Since he's a countryman of yours, are you able to provide us with more details on his pre-GP background than we would have from the usual GP profiles?

[luisfelipetrigo]

Moises Solana was born in Mexico City on Dec 26th 1935 and died in a car accident on July 27 1970 (yesterday was the 30th anniversary of his death).

His father went to school in France with Jean Bugatti (Etore's son) which can be said determined his love for the automovil and the support he always gave to his son Moises.

Following are a few highlight of his prolific career, since he dedicated most of his time to Mexico he is not as well known internationally but down here he was a hero!

He participated in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana (the last edition) finishing 6th in his category with a 1953 Dodge Ram.

He was in the Formula 2 race that inaugurated the Jarama ciruit in Spain.

On July 3rth 1966 he won every single race of the day in the Autodromo Hermanoz Rodriguez (still a record), these included the Reanult class, the Grupo Mustang (two heats) and the Libre.
His local victories and variety of cars and competitions are too many to mention here.

On March 31st 1968 he won a Can-Am race in Mexico(group 7) being the only Mexican to accomplish such fate.

Moises Solana participated in eight Grand Prix (the picture from Rolando is from the VI Mexico GP in 1967):

Year Country  Car				Qual	 Finish   

1963 Mexico  BRM P578			 11	  57 laps - engine

1964 Mexico  Lotus 33 Climax	  14	  10th place

1965 USA	 Lotus 25 Climax	  17	  12th place

1965 Mexico  Lotus 25 Climax	   9	  56 laps - ignition

1966 Mexico  Cooper T81 Maserati  15	   9 laps - overheating

1967 USA	 Lotus 49 Ford		 7	   8 laps - ignition

1967 Mexico  Lotus 49 Ford		 9	  13 laps - front suspension

1968 Mexico  Lotus 49B Ford	   11	  15 laps - broken wing

As you see his cars let him down quite too often.

He died in a Hill Climb at a point where there was nobody so there is no data as of what exactly happened ... other than Mexican fans loosing a very loved and competitive person.


Most of this info comes from http://www.xe1rcs.or...ana/moises.html which I have translated for your enjoyment

As an irrelevant side note I will mention that the road of the Hill Climb where he died is no longer used for car racing but is part of a triathlon in which I have competed every year for the las few years and it is alway emotional to ride next to the small monument at the site of his death

[rolando]

As Luis Felipe has mentioned almost everything about Moises Solana, I can only add that he was very successful in mexican road races, he drove many kind of cars been unbeatable here in Mexico.
Enzo Ferrari contracted him to drive in the F1 team but when he was in Modena he spent some night in the same room where Ricardo used to stay. Moises being a superticious man thought that he would have the same fate so he refused the offer.

In this picture you can see Moises leading Ricardo Rodriguez
and his father Antonio in a Formula Junio race.

[Ray Bell]

Some might be tempted to say that his GP runs were in good cars... perhaps competitive cars of the era (maybe not quite so with the 25s), but they were third-string cars in a team notable for not keeping the effort up to the minor drivers. Whose Cooper was it?
A fairly long career for one so young, and the eye-openers in this are the qualifying positions, the FJr race (had Ricardo spun, or was there any other circumstance that would change the appearance of things here?) and winning all those races in the one day.
Like the Hermanos Rodriguez, he obviously came from a wealthy family to be able to compete at that level.
The only similar occurence I know about was Frank Matich at Catalina Park winning about seven of the fourteen races, including each one he entered, driving a FJr, a Lotus 7-type Elfin Clubman, I think there was a 1500cc open wheeler, and the Lotus 19.
That picture of Solana at the top of the thread now appears to me, and it's a good one of poor Denny handsomely sideways, isn't it?

[Jerry Entin]

Moises Solana seen here leading Ronnie Bucknum
This was Mexico City in 1965.

photo -Joaquin Solana collection
http://www.jsolana.com.mx/moises/

[Jerry Entin]

Monterey USRRC in 1968- Moises Solana in his #99 Gold McLaren Mk 6.
Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons in front of Moises.
photo Gil Munz - scanned for site Ike Smith

[Jerry Entin]

Moises Solana winning the 1968 Mexico City USRRC Race

The following comes from fellow Forum member Carlos Jalife:

" The best race I ever saw was a Group 7 USRRC named NARRC in 1968 which was the opening of the season in 1968 in Mexico City. Moisés Solana (the only guy ever to wear #13 in F1), a great Mexican champ, got his Mclaren M6 delivered on Monday before the race, with a normal Chevy V8 iron engine (not the Traco aluminum ones used by Donohue and others), and together with his dad, brother and a few helpers had it ready for the practice on Friday. He qualified not too well, they had something wrong in the suspension or the camber or toe-in or something (I was only 9 y.o. and his brother doesn't quite recall what it was) and on Sunday they had it fixed.

Moisés started slow, just to try the car, since he had only done about 20 laps of the 5k circuit (the now Hermanos Rodríguez track, then called Magdalena Mixiuhca) and he was passed by several, although not by Donohue who refused to start since he broke his engine and refused to run one of Solana's spares since it was not Traco (and he was universally called chicken by the Mexican press, who later would want to crucify him after the incidents with Pedro in 1971 at Daytona and Sebring, the ones Penske claimed not to remember when I asked him). After a few laps he got the car right, as he wanted and started chasing Skip Scott and Peter Revson who were about half a minute in front. I was in the infield of the track and Moisés was awesome through the Esses and the Hairpin and those places catching people at an alarming rate. He took the lead shortly after mid race (it was a 50 lap affair I think) and just cruised to a victory by about 15 seconds from Skip Scott and Peter Revson. He almost seemed in a different race and the way he drove when he was catching those guys was awesome. I had my first real live GP in 1967, the F1 in Mexico, but this McLaren was something much more amazing to 9 y.o. my mind, the sound was unbelievable, the way it turned around and it seemed so aggressive compared to the skinny F1s, which were fast but seemed like small compared with that monster McLaren.

I wish I had a camera then, but I never took one to the races. And of course, a Mexican winning made it memorable."

Carlos: Here is the picture you didn't take.

photo Gil Munz - scanned for site Ike Smith

Edited by Jerry Entin, 27 June 2010 - 11:37.

[Manfred Cubenoggin]

TY for those images, Jerry. I remember well when the news came in that he'd won that USRRC round on home turf.

Could I get a definitive pronounciation of his first name, please? Have always been in the dark on that. TY.

[Stephane Lebiez]

Originally posted by Jerry Entin

Moises Solana winning the 1968 Mexico City USRRC Race



photo Gil Munz - scanned for site Ike smith

His Mclaren was white during this race ?

I thought he used the gold during the complete season

[Frank S]

Originally posted by Manfred Cubenoggin
TY for those images, Jerry. I remember well when the news came in that he'd won that USRRC round on home turf.

Could I get a definitive pronounciation of his first name, please? Have always been in the dark on that. TY.

I'd try "Moy SAYSS" as a starting point ...

Frank Sheffield
San Diego CA
USA

[Jerry Entin]

Moises Solana's McLaren with Pepsi Logo.
Stephane:
When Moises Solana first got the Mk6 McLaren it was white. He had it painted Gold after the first race. He then raced it at Monterey and Riverside in the Gold configuration. He later painted it white again and it had a Pepsi logo on the front.

Photo - Joaquin Solana collection.
http://www.jsolana.com.mx/moises/

[Jerry Entin]

Moises Solana in his McLaren Mk6 with the Gold paint job.

photo Joaquin Solana collection

[Stephane Lebiez]

Thans a lot Jerry. I collect group7 1/43 model and the manufacter SPARK has released the gold version. But on the box, they say it's the mexico version, so they have made a mistake !

[Jerry Entin]

Racing pits Riverside 1968 USRRC race.
Chuck Parsons Lola T-70 and Skip Scott Lola T-70
Moises Solana McLaren Mk 6.


Stephane: I am told by the family that Moises was in a hillclimb type event. That his car crashed and caught fire and he perished. He was a very good representative of Mexico. And a very good friend as well. The car did look very good in Gold. I think they called the Team Aztec Racing. That is what it says on the side of the car.


photo Gil Munz - scanned for site Ike Smith

[Carlos Jalife]

Guys,
interesting thread, and since I am also writing his bio, though Rebaque's will come first since Rebaque is still alive, I'd appreciate all the thoughts you might have such as anecdotes, and if you've got some pictures you want to lend for the prohject, that would be great too. Jerry, send me you thoughts on him, you know my mail.
The championship in 1968 was actually the NARRC not the USRRC, since it had races in the three North American countries, small details most people miss.
And there are lots of stories about Moisés, who was among the top jai-alai forwards in the world (he played here in Mexico City, in Acapulco and in Miami) so he earned more money that any F1 driver easily and when Ferrari offered him a few F2 races and maybe some F1 if he did good after a test in Modena (the Aeroautodromo) he turned it down, he would only come to Ferrari (and lose his big jai-alai income) for a F1 drive, not just a mere F2 stint. That shows you how good and confident he was. But he was a deeply superstitious man and being housed in the same hotel and room as Ricardo didn't suit him, he felt it was an omen of death.
Also when he raced the F2 in Jarama against many among them Pedro who had a Protos, he found a black cat on race day in the entrance of his hotel and driving to the circuit crossed a hearse and its followers and he didn't like the omen and decided to just drive around, so he finished many laps arrears and beaten soundly, but alive.
He died in July 27, 1969 in the Avándaro Hill Climb, about 30k long in the McLaren, a bad idea since the very low car touched a concrete protection in the side of the road covering a small bridge over a ravine that was in the road and it turned the car around at maybe 180 kph and buried him in the ravine below, maybe 10-20 feet down and the car burned for ages (it had about 100 liters of gasoline and magnesium wheels so ...) and nobody could save him that day.
And we, the Scuderia Rodriguez of which his brother Nanàn Solana and some other family are members too (we are not rodrigusitas only, but solanistas, rebaquistas, and all other mexican drivers' supporters) are talking to the state government so the road where he died, which is not very much used nowadays since there is a much shorter highway to take you to Valle de Bravoa and Avandaro, can be renamed in his 40th anniversary as the Moisés Solana Highway and we think it will be done in a huge ceremony with the governor next July.
And I would say more, but today is St. Charles' day, my day and I have a party.
All the best
Carlos Jalife (not Jaffe, Jerry)

[Carlos Jalife]

Guys,
I just noticed that there are a few things wrong.
There were no Dodge Rams in 1956 at least not in here. It was the Dodge car of a friend of the Solana family and he drove it well even beating his dad and Piero Taruffi, and he was barely 18.
Also the race where he beat Ricardo was a rain race, and he had a Lotus 20 or 22 with disc brakes against Ricardo's Cooper T56 with drums, not exactly challenging to do. And in the previous race, Ricardo killed everyone in a small Alfa and won with Carlos Sales, but it wasn't raining yet.
And Ricardo was the first to win 4 races in a day in Mexico City track January 15, 1961, with the GT (Corvette), Fj (Cooper), small touring (Sunbeam) and another, with the Alfa, so Moises merely tied the record, though Ricardo lost a race with the Renaults (1100 cc to the DKWs) and only finished 4 or 5th.
And they, Rodríguez and Solana were equally talented but in mexico Moises always had the best equipmenta and team (his dad was a great mechanic, driver and team manager) so it was difficult to beat, but remember Pedro beat both Moi (2) and Ricardo (3) in the 500K which opened our track in 1959 with a round Volvo against the Alfas of these two guys (who were sort of teammates) so the three were very similar in their skills
Also the McLaren was painted gold with some blueish lettering against his will since someone thought that Mexico's colours were gold and blue and it looked good. So Moises comes along and says "this car is almost like mine", and then they tell him it was his, so he had to race it that way but changed it back to white in Mexico as soon as the Californian races were done.
Cheers
Carlos Jalife

[Jerry Entin]

Alejo Peralta and Moises Solana and his father Jose Solana.
This is after winning the USRRC Race at Mexico City in 1968. Moises's father Jose was a racer in his youth and also a very good race mechanic and supporter of Moises's Racing. Alejo Peralta was a great friend of the Solana Family and also a great supporter of Moises's racing.

photo: Solana Collection - scanned for site Carlos Jalife

[Jerry Entin]

Crew working on Moises Solana's McLaren at USRRC race in 1968.


View of the cockpit area of Moises Solana's McLaren Mk 6.

photos lent site Kirby Guyer collection - scanned for site Dave Nicholas.

[Jerry Entin]

Moises Solana at Riverside leading John Cannon.
This was from the USRRC race in 1968. Kirby Guyer ran the Team for Moises for the two westcoast races.


photo Kirby Guyer collection - scanned for site Dave Nicholas

[Jerry Entin]

It is with great sadness that I report that Moises brother known as Nanan Solana was been killed during the Rally Chihuahua Express. He was participating in his 1995 Corvette when it left the road killing him.
http://www.alvolante...ihuahua-express
Here is a you tube site showing the aftermath of the wreck.


report sent site Joaquin Solana

Edited by Jerry Entin, 22 March 2010 - 22:04.

[Manfred Cubenoggin]

Heavens! How tragic...

The parallels with the Rodriguez brothers can't be ignored.

RIP, amigo.

[cjpani]

It is with great sadness that I report that Moises brother known as Nanan Solana was been killed during the Rally Chihuahua Express. He was driving his 1995 Corvette when it left the road killing him.
http://www.alvolante...ihuahua-express
Here is a you tube site showing the aftermath of the wreck.


report sent site Joaquin Solana

Just to clarify, Nanán was not driving, he was navigating. The driver was someone else.
Very sad indeed, Godspeed, Nanán

cj

[Jerry Entin]

Nanan Solana and his wife Rocio Cabal de Solana.

Here is a nice article on Nanan:
http://www.alvolante...1/#comment-7059

article sent site Joaquin Solana
photo: Joaquin Solana collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 27 June 2010 - 11:14.