Formulation 1 within the Nineteen Eighties was a world away from the spectacle you see at present. The vehicles had been a lot slower however a lot louder, the drivers principally had nicotine addictions and security peaked with hay bales lining the monitor. You would additionally discover an ABBA drummer lined up on the grid alongside the likes of Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost.
ABBA discovered fame in 1974 after profitable the Eurovision Music Contest with their monitor “Waterloo.” The competitors, which pits mediocre pop acts from throughout Europe towards each other, catapulted the band to fame and their ensuing profession made them one of the vital well-known bands on the earth.
Alongside their meteoric rise, the band’s identify was plastered throughout all types of merchandise and memorabilia and even discovered its means onto the Formulation 1 grid on the facet of the ATS vehicles that competed within the Nineteen Eighties. That’s not as a result of the band was plowing tens of millions into Formulation 1 sponsorship, it’s as an alternative as a result of their session drummer Slim Borgudd was on the wheel.
Like many drivers of the time, Borgudd’s rise to Formulation 1 noticed him compete within the decrease formulation, together with F3 by which he raced his personal Swedish race group, reviews Motorsport Journal. As the location explains:
After failing to fund a Formulation 2 programme when Marlboro pulled out in 1980 Borgudd managed to scrape collectively the funds to hitch the ATS group run by the idiosyncratic wheel magnate Gunther Schmid in 1981. When he arrived on the Bicester workshops for a seat becoming a couple of days earlier than this primary race, he solely discovered two individuals there, the remaining had walked out.
He managed to steer his previous F3 group boss Roger Heavens to hitch together with a couple of mechanics and in some way made his Formulation 1 debut on the ripe previous age of 34 on the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix. He outqualified his team-mate Jan Lammers and ultimately completed thirteenth. There was higher and worse to come back. He missed out on qualifying for the subsequent 4 races however then completed a really stable sixth on the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The remainder of the season was scruffy, a tenth at Zandvoort within the Dutch Grand Prix the one end.
Sixth in Silverstone proved to be the Swede’s greatest lead to Formulation 1 and he concluded his first season within the sport with only one level to his identify, that means he completed in joint 18th place within the 1981 drivers’ standings.
In addition to racing around the globe in F1, Borgudd was a prolific drummer within the Swedish music business. He supplied the beats for bands just like the Lea Riders Group and Made in Sweden, which even earned Borgudd a Swedish Grammy award. Whereas drumming in numerous outfits throughout Sweden, Borgudd grew to become pleasant with ABBA founding members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson and have become a daily session drummer for the band.
Borgudd made mates with Ulvaeus and Anderson earlier than making the step as much as F1, so ABBA lent its assist to Borgudd to boost the profile of his racing profession. It was this transfer that prompted the printing of ABBA’s emblem on the facet of the ATS vehicles in 1981 and, though no sponsorship cash ever exchanged arms, Motorsport provides that the “affiliation was helpful in his quest for sponsorship cash and publicity.”
Sadly, ABBA’s ties to F1 had been short-lived as Borgudd’s F1 profession didn’t prolong to a full second season within the sport. After a couple of races with the Tyrrell in 1982, the Swede was dropped and went again to drumming.
Borgudd is way from the one racer to have hobbies away from the monitor. Excessive E racer Catie Munnings can also be mad about music and all types of racers have additionally thrown their weight behind a ardour for drinks in recent times.
