Lotus 72 D

“Lotus 72 D” is a combination of the two things I love most: Formula 1, and 70’s Brazilian music. This Iconic Brazilian jazz-funk track immortalizes Emerson Fittipaldi’s 1972 world champion-winning season for Colin Chapman’s Team Lotus. At this time, Emerson was the youngest Formula One world champion at 25 years of age; these impressive facts led him to become a hero in his home country of Brazil. The track feels as if you’re stuck in the cockpit of a racing car, surging around a race track, wonderfully capturing the spirit of Brazilian motorsports culture and the feeling of pushing a car to its absolute limits. As an amateur racing driver and fan myself, this track holds a special place in my heart as a wonderful combination of two worlds I hold near and dear. Zé Roberto, at the time of this historic win, was already making a name for himself in the São Paulo Jazz scene. Having released his debut album with fellow Brazilian Os Tatuís in 1965, the project featured the then-new sounds of Bossa Nova, taking heavy inspiration from titans such as Antonio Carlos Jobim. By 1972 Roberto had established himself as a respected musician in the São Paulo scene. His sound had continued to evolve from the standard sounds of Bossa Nova he had become known for in the 60’s, he started to incorporate American funk influences into his work, so by the time “Lotus 72 D” came to be, Roberto had created a sound unto himself. Spurred on by the pride and jubilation of Fittipaldi’s world title, this track surged in popularity and cemented itself into the permanent cultural record of both Formula One and Brazilian music. I highly recommend digging into Zé Roberto’s music, though it is exceedingly difficult to find, this being the only track readily available online. I will update this review with some resources to locate more of his music at a later date.