Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nilsson won the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix with Lotus.

Born and raised in Helsingborg, Nilsson initially studied engineering at Stockholm University and served as a submarine radio officer in the Swedish Navy. Nilsson began his racing career in the late 1960s, progressing into Formula Super Vee in 1973 with Ecurie Bonnier. His junior formulae career culminated in his victory at the 1975 British Formula 3 Championship, in only his second season of Formula Three racing. Nilsson signed for Lotus in , making his Formula One debut at the . Qualifying for every race in his rookie season, Nilsson scored podium finishes in Spain and Austria. Retaining his seat for , Nilsson scored his maiden win at the , with a further podium at the .

Having signed to Arrows for , Nilsson was diagnosed with testicular cancer in December 1977, experiencing a rapid decline in health prior to his death ten months later. Outside of Formula One, Nilsson was a race-winner in both the World Sportscar and European Touring Car Championships with BMW. The Gunnar Nilsson Memorial Trophy was held in 1979, won by Alan Jones.

Early life

Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson was born on 20 November 1948 in Helsingborg, the second son of a local building contractor. He attended school in his home town and went into the service as a submarine radio officer in the Swedish Navy. After leaving the navy, he studied engineering for four years at Stockholm University and gained a degree. It was hoped he would join the family business, but after eight months working as a supervisor in the construction industry; he left to start his own business.

Although his background and training was in construction, this held no attraction to Nilsson. Together with his associate, Dan Molin, they aimed to establish a transport business. This proved to be very successful and Nilsson continued to be a partner in the company, even when he became a full-time driver. He had seen the exploits of fellow Swedes; Ronnie Peterson and Reine Wisell and knew he wanted to be a racing driver.

Formula Three/Formula Atlantic

With Västkust-Stugan help, a March 743 was acquired along with a Toyota engine. This would enable Nilsson to contest the Polifac Formula Three Championship. The results were as good as expected. He did score some second places, but victories and the season was punctuated by many spins and minor accidents. Nilsson did not go unnoticed and towards the middle of the season, he was given a drive with Team Västkuststugan, in their F2 March-BMW 732. Later in the season, he got another opportunity with Brian Lewis Racing, in their F2 March-BMW 732, where he did scored a fourth place in the second heat of the Preis von Baden-Württemberg und Hessen, at Hockenheim. This strong form in the German Formula Three series earned him a works March ride in the British series in 1975.

With the advantage of adequate pre-season testing and growing self-confidence, Nilsson scored his first F3 win in the season-opener at Thruxton. This was the catalyst for run of success that would see him win the B.A.R.C. BP Super Visco British F3 Championship, and included wins at Aintree, Ring Knutstorp, Snetterton and Silverstone. In winning the F3 support race at the British Grand Prix meeting, partly from winning the FOCA Trophy, he attracted the attention of Ted Moore of Rapid Movements Ltd., who signed Nilsson to race their Formula Atlantic Chevron. Gunnar had interspersed his success with some spectacular accidents, but with Ted Moore, he made no mistakes. Following a fourth place in his first Atlantic race, he would win the next five, four from pole position. However, after just one Grand Prix for Lotus, Nilsson's countryman Peterson decided he wanted to drive for March in Formula One. As part of this deal, March offered Nilsson to Lotus, where he joined Bob Evans, another new signing in the team to help develop their new car, Lotus 77.

Grand Prix years

In all his Grands Prix, Nilsson only drove for Colin Chapman and his Team Lotus. He got his chance with the famous marque when Jacky Ickx and Ronnie Peterson abandoned ship when the Lotus 76 proved a disastrous replacement for the legendary Lotus 72. The replacement car for 1976, Lotus 77 was promising, meanwhile the team was undergoing big change at the time and Mario Andretti soon replaced Evans, the team was soon back on the way up, with Nilsson taking advantage of Andretti's experience.

Nilsson briefly sampled American style oval racing in the International Race of Champions series, scoring a fifth at Michigan in September 1977. A month later, he followed this with two sixth places at Riverside, and expressed plenty of enthusiasm for this form of racing. His death came just five weeks after that of fellow Swede, rival and friend, Ronnie Peterson, who died from complications to injuries suffered in a crash at Monza. Peterson's death deeply affected Nilsson, who attended the funeral.

|-

| Formel Super Vau GTX

|Ecurie Bonnier

| 6th

|

|-

| 1974

|German Formula Three

|Reine Wisell Racing Canon

| 8th

|

|-

| rowspan="4" | 1975

| British Formula Three

|March Engineering Ltd.

| style="background:#ffffbf;" |1st

|

|-

|Swedish Formula Three

|March Engineering Ltd.

| 5th

|

|-

| British Formula Atlantic

| Rapid Movements Ltd.-Ted Moore

| 12th

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | 1976

|Formula One

|John Player Team Lotus

| 10th

|

|-

|European Touring Car

| Luigi Racing

| 10th

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | 1977

|Formula One World

|John Player Team Lotus

| 8th

|

|-

|European Touring Car

|BMW-Alpina

| 11th

|

|-

| 1977–78

| International Race of Champions

|

| 10th

|

|}

Formula One non-championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

(Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

|-

| 1976

! John Player Team Lotus

! Lotus 77

! Cosworth V8

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ROC<br />

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| INT<br />

|-

!colspan="6"|

|}

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

|-

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! Pos

! Pts

|-

|

! Team Pierre Robert

! GRD 273

! Ford

| MAL

| HOC

| THR

| NUR

| PAU

| KIN

| NIV

| HOC

| ROU

| MON

| MAN

| KAR

| ENN

| SAL

| style="background: #dfffdf;"| NOR<br />

| ALB

| VAL

! 12th

! 6

|-

|rowspan=2|

! Team Västkuststugan

! March 732

! BMW

| MON

| HOC

| PAU

| SAL

| HOC

| MUG

|style="background:#efcfff;"| KAR<br />

| ENN

|

| VAL

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

!rowspan=2| NC

!rowspan=2| 0

|-

! Brian Lewis Racing

! March 732

! BMW

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| HOC<br />

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|-

!colspan="23"|

|}

International Race of Champions

(key) (<span style="font-size:85%">Bold&nbsp;– Pole position. *&nbsp;– Most laps led.</span>)

{| class="wikitable collapsible" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"

!colspan=10| International Race of Champions results

|-

! Year

! Make

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! Pos.

! Points

! Ref

|-

! 1977–78

! Chevy

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| MCH<br>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| MCH<br>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| RSD<br>

| DAY

! 10th

! $7,500

!

|}

References

Further reading

  • Fredrik af Petersens. The Viking Drivers: Gunnar Nilsson and Ronnie Peterson. William Kimber & Co Ltd. .
  • Gunnar Nilsson article on The Speed Blog
  • The Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation