Rahal’s F1 opportunity

Bobby Rahal, after shining in Formula Atlantic, where he was runner-up to Gilles Villeneuve in 1977 – though finishing ahead of Bill Brack and Keke Rosberg – came to the attention of Walter Wolf and was offered an F3 drive for 1978, with the possibility of some Grand Prix at the end of the year.

During the year in F3, Bobby Rahal again showed his potential by qualifying third at the Nürburgring and finishing a close second. He again qualified third at Monaco and despite losing second and fifth gear, he finished fourth.

Then came the promised Formula 1 drives, in the US and Canadian Grand Prix, alongside Jody Scheckter. At Watkins Glen, after qualifying in 20th, Rahal finished in 12th position in the Wolf WR5 (picture-above), while his team mate Scheckter finished third.

However, at Montréal the car was badly damaged during practice, but one of the previous season’s cars was on show at a local hotel to promote the race. The team took this car, the old Wolf WR1 (picture-below) put an engine in it overnight and made it race worthy. Unfortunately, Rahal’s race ended after 20 laps, because of fuel pressure problems. A great career in IndyCar beckons.