Robert La Caze (, ; 26 February 1917 – 1 July 2015) was a Moroccan and French racing driver, who competed under the Moroccan flag in Formula One at the in . La Caze remains the only Moroccan driver to compete in Formula One. In rallying, La Caze was a two-time winner of the Rallye du Maroc in 1954 and 1967.
Born in Paris and raised in Morocco, La Caze started his career in rallying across North Africa, also winning a national title in skiing. Following World War II, La Caze competed in sportscar racing, finishing third at the 12 Hours of Casablanca in 1952, and winning the 3 Hours of Safi the following year. In 1954, La Caze won two classes at the Marrakesh Grand Prix, another class at the Tangier Grand Prix, and won the Rallye du Maroc in a Simca Aronde. He became a class winner at the in 1955, also finishing runner-up in the Rallye that year. In Europe, he further competed in the 1955 Mille Miglia, 1956 Tour de France Automobile and the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans, the latter with Gordini.
La Caze became the first driver to compete in Formula One under an African licence at the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix, entering a Cooper T45 as a privateer and finishing fourteenth in his Formula Two machinery. La Caze returned to Le Mans in and , driving a Porsche 550 and 718, respectively. La Caze won his second Rallye in 1967 in a Renault 8 Gordini.
Upon retiring from motor racing the following year, La Caze operated a garage and youth sports organisation in Marrakesh until his death in 2015, aged 98.
Career
Early life
La Caze was born in Paris, but as the grandson of a French diplomat, he moved to Morocco at a young age and spent most of his life there. He started his motorsport career in rallying, taking part in many events across North Africa. He also became the Moroccan national skiing champion.
Sportscar races and rallies in Morocco
International motorsport returned to Morocco after the Second World War in the form of a sportscar race, the . The event was held from 1950 to 1956, each year featuring multiple races for different engine classes. In 1951, he placed third in the S750 race. In 1952, he placed second in the S1.0 race. In 1953, he placed second in the S1.1 and S2.0 races. In 1954, he placed second in the S1.1 race. In 1955, he won the S1.0 race. In 1956, he set the fastest practice time for the S1.3 race but his final result is unclear; he finished 8th in the .
In 1951, La Caze participated in the Rallye du Maroc and finished sixth. In 1952, he finished third in the 12 Hours of Casablanca. He was runner-up in the rally in 1955. Outside of Morocco, La Caze raced in the 1955 Mille Miglia, the 1956 Tour de France and the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, the race was marred by Stuart Lewis-Evans's accident which ultimately proved to be fatal, and the Moroccan Grand Prix would not return.
Last races and later career
La Caze raced four times alongside Jean Kerguen, who had also been part of the Moroccan Grand Prix F2 field. In 1960, they drove to 14th overall in the Rally Isla de Gran Canaria before returning to Le Mans. La Caze won the Rallye du Maroc for the second time in 1967, and drove again in 1968 but retired with an accident.
Following his motorsport career, La Caze ran a garage and a youth sports association in Marrakech.
Racing record
Complete Formula One results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! WDC
! Points
|-
|
! Robert La Caze
! Cooper T45 (F2)
! Climax Straight-4
| ARG
| MON
| NED
| 500
| BEL
| FRA
| GBR
| GER
| POR
| ITA
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MOR<br>
! NC
! 0
|-
!colspan="17"|
|}
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
!
|align=left| Automobiles Gordini
|align=left| Clarence de Rinen
|align=left| Gordini T15S
|S2.0
|3
|colspan=2|DNF<br>(Engine)
|-
!
|align=left| J. Kerguen<br>(private entrant)
|align=left| Jean Kerguen
|align=left| Porsche 550A
|S1.5
|229
|colspan=2|DNF<br>(Clutch)
|-
!
|align=left| J. Kerguen<br>(private entrant)
|align=left| Jean Kerguen
|align=left| Porsche 718 RS60/4
|S1.6
|92
|colspan=2|DNF<br>(Camshaft)
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
External links
- Robert La Caze at racingsportscars.com.