Plinio Vida

Plinio Vida (born May 31, 1974) is a Brazilian racing driver who competed in the F1RGP2C for Tyrrell and Minardi.

Early career
This one's for Tristan.

1997
Plinio first appeared on the world scene in 1997, when he applied for the job as Ligier test driver in the Formula 1 Rejects Grand Prix 2 Championship. He was briefly considered, but the seat was given to Martin McFry.

However, Plinio's wealthy sponsors still made him an attractive offer, and after the Hungarian Grand Prix, it was announced that Plinio would be competing in the 1997 Duel in the Desert for Tyrrell. As it turned out, his début would come even earlier. In the Belgian Grand Prix, Robert Anderson crashed out, earning nine penalty points, and was fired from Tyrrell. Plinio was immediately announced as Anderson's replacement for the Italian Grand Prix.

Plinio did not disgrace himself in his first race weekend, qualifying comfortably, and just behind McFry, who had also moved to Tyrrell (to replace Lawrence Tucker. He also drove a respsectable race, finishing 13th. However, it had been previously decided that other drivers would share the car for the last two races, and Plinio sat out.

Just prior to the Duel in the Desert, it was announced that Plinio had signed for Minardi for the 1998 season. In the Duel itself, Plinio qualified 19th and retired anonymously.

1998
The move to Minardi would turn out disappointing at first, as the car was visibly off the pace. Although Plinio easily outpaced his team mate Geoff Grove in pre-season testing, Plinio was unable to set a time good enough for a place better than 22nd.

F1RGP2C
A * marks a season in progress.