Robert La Caze

Robert La Caze (Moroccan Arabic: روبير لا كاز, pronounced [ʁɔbɛʁ la kaz]; 26 February 1917 – 1 July 2015) was a Moroccan and French racing driver, who competed under the Moroccan flag in Formula One at the Moroccan Grand Prix in 1958. 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 Agadir Grand Prix 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 1959 and 1960, 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.