Formula 1 in the 1980s was a different world. from the scene you see today. Cars are much slower but much noisier, Drivers mostly have nicotine addiction and safety peak with hay bales lining the track. You can also found an ABBA drummer line up on the grid along with things like Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell And Alain Prost.
ABBA rose to fame in 1974 after Eurovision Song Contest Winner with the song “Waterloo”. The contest, which pitted mediocre pop artists from all over Europe against each other, catapulted the band to fame and their subsequent career made them one of the most famous bands in the world.
Along with their rapid rise to fame, the band’s name was plastered across all sorts of merchandise and souvenirs and even appeared on the Formula 1 racing grid on the side ATS cars competing in the 1980s. Not because the band spent millions of dollars on Formula 1 sponsorship, but because the band’s drummer, Slim Borgudd, was behind the wheel.
Like many other drivers of the time, Borgudd’s rise to Formula 1 saw him compete in lower formulas, including F3, where he raced with his own Swedish team, report Motor Sports Magazine. As the website explains:
After failing to secure sponsorship for Formula 2 when Marlboro pulled out in 1980, Borgudd managed to scrape together enough funds to join the ATS team run by eccentric wheel magnate Gunther Schmid in 1981. When he arrived at the Bicester workshop to fit the seats a few days before the first race, he found only two people there, the rest had left.
He convinced former F3 boss Roger Heavens to join him along with a couple of mechanics and somehow made his Formula 1 debut at the ripe age of 34 at the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix. He out-qualified team-mate Jan Lammers and eventually finished 13th. There was better and worse to come. He missed qualifying for the next four races but then finished a solid sixth at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The rest of the season was miserable, with a tenth place at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort being his only finish.
Sixth place at Silverstone proved to be the Swede’s best result in Formula 1 and he ended his debut season in the sport with just one point, meaning he finished 18th overall. in the 1981 drivers’ standings.
As well as racing F1 cars around the world, Borgudd is a prolific drummer in the Swedish music industry. He has provided beats for bands such as Lea Riders Group And Made in Swedeneven earned Borgudd a Swedish Grammy. While playing drums in various outfits across Sweden, Borgudd became friendly with the founding members of ABBA Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson became the band’s regular drummers.
Borgudd had befriended Ulvaeus and Anderson before his F1 career, so ABBA supported Borgudd to boost his racing career. It was this move that prompted the ABBA logo to be placed on the side of the ATS car in 1981, and although no sponsorship money was exchanged, Motor sports added that “the association was helpful in his efforts to seek funding and publicity.”
Sadly, ABBA’s association with F1 was short-lived, as Borgudd’s F1 career didn’t last beyond his second full season in the sport. After a few races with Tyrrell in 1982, the Swede was dropped and returned to playing drums.
Borgudd isn’t the only racer with interests off the track. Extreme electric car racer Catie Munnings is also crazy about music and all kinds of riders also threw their weight around behind the passion for drinks in recent years.
