Emilio de Villota Ruíz (born 26 July 1946) is a former racing driver from Spain, born in Madrid. He entered 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix between 1976 and 1982, qualifying twice. He entered most Spanish Grand Prix between 1976 and 1982 and became a major force in the short-lived Aurora AFX Formula One Championship for F1 cars, winning the title in 1980.

Career

De Villota first arrived on the international motor sport scene in 1972, when he raced a SEAT 124 SC, in the 4 Horas de Jarama, a round of the European Touring Car Championship [ETCC]. In a car entered by Scuderia Filipinetti, was co-driven by H. Hengstenberg to 15th place overall. De Villota would not return to international motor sport until 1975, when he re-visited the ETCC, this time in a Ford Capri RS 2600, this time aided by Jorge de Bagration. The pair did not finish in the Zandvoort Trophy, held at the Circuit Park Zandvoort. However, when the Spanish pairing were joined by "Nicha" Cabral, for their home race, the 4 Horas de Jarama, they finished second, albeit five laps adrift of the winner.For 1976, de Villota turned his back on Touring Cars to try his luck in single-seaters, with the ultimate aim of racing in the World Championship. In order to gain experience of high-powered racing cars, he entered the Shellsport G8 International Series. This was a UK-based Formula Libre championship which ran F1, F2, F5000 and Formula Atlantic cars in the same races.