Alex Soler-Roig – F1 | The “forgotten” drivers of F1

1970 One of my strangest F1 memories was the day Alex Soler-Roig met the Lotus 72. On a sunny Saturday afternoon I pulled into the spectator parking area at Spa in 1970 to watch the last practice session before Sunday’s race. In front of me was a brand new Lotus 72 on a trailer. Soon Spanish driver Alex Soler-Roig appeared in street clothes carrying his helmet. He climbed in the car, received a some instruction from a couple of guys also in street clothes, strapped on his helmet, started the car, stalled a couple of times, got it running and was ushered out of the parking lot and onto the track. I wish this story had a happier ending, but it seems the late arriving 72 still wasn’t quite complete. Soler-Roig was only able to complete three laps in practice, 24+ seconds off the pace, the gear linkage was balky, the brakes were sticking and a wheel bearing failed (in three laps!). He didn’t appear for the race on Sunday. Here are a couple of my parking lot pictures taken with a Nikormat FTN with a 50mm Nikor lens.I wish this story had a happier ending, but it seems the late arriving 72 still wasn’t quite complete. Soler-Roig was only able to complete three laps in practice, 24+ seconds off the pace, the gear linkage was balky, the brakes were sticking and a wheel bearing failed (in three laps!). He didn’t appear for the race on Sunday. Here are a couple of my parking lot pictures taken with a Nikormat FTN with a 50mm Nikor lens. Photo and info Jim Culp