Ran his own research and development business, and as well as being an independent consultant, was also involved with Nissan, especially with GT and rally attempts recently. Richard (or Ricardo) has had a long, successful and varied career in the sport, with over 40 years involvement in sportscars, Formula 1 and the IRL amongst other disciplines. He worked, until a short while before his death, as a technical consultant and track engineer, and wrote a column for Race Car Engineering magazine right up until his health took a dowturn. Divila began his working life as a teenager with the Fittipaldi brothers and their Fitti-Kart business as a mechanic, before moving to Europe with Wilson and Emerson. Divila also worked in Formula 3000 with Apotamox and DAMS. Divila, a few years before his death, joined up with Wilson again to launch Formula Vee back in Brazil with Richard acting as technical director of the series. He was also involved in Brazilian Formula 4 and was a tutor at the MIA School of Engineering. His health took a downturn in 2020. He was admitted to hospital for a scan for pancreatic cancer and shortly afterwards had a stroke. Despite all of this, he still stayed involved electronically via email and the internet but then slipped into a coma from which he never recovered.

Biography last updated 25 Apr 2020