title at his first attempt. A progression to Formula Three followed in 1985 with West Surrey Racing, winning the British championship and the season-ending Macau Grand Prix. Gugelmin subsequently spent two years in International Formula 3000 (F3000), the final step before Formula One, competing with sponsorship backing for the 1986 season. He took one victory in F3000, at Silverstone in 1987 while driving for the Ralt factory team. Formula One Gugelmin entered Formula One, the highest category of circuit racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body, with the March team in the 1988 season, as team-mate to Ivan Capelli. He had previously been in contention for a drive with Lotus in the 1986 championship at the request of his friend Ayrton Senna, however the British team could not promote two Brazilian drivers and he was overlooked in favour of Johnny Dumfries. Gugelmin began the season with five retirements from the first six races due to mechanical failure, but soon afterwards he took his first points scoring finish with fourth place at the . Gugelmin scored points in one other race with a fifth-place finish at the . He finished the season as the highest-scoring newcomer in the Formula One World Championship, ending the year in 13th position overall. The 1989 championship was barren for the March team, and Gugelmin took their only points scoring finish of the year at the . He finished in third position; an excellent result given that March were financially troubled. At the , Gugelmin was involved in a large accident at the start of the race which resulted in a spectacular barrel roll. A photograph of the accident was later selected for a London Exhibition as one of Formula One's most striking photographs. The race was stopped as a result; Gugelmin took the restart from the pit lane and set the race's fastest lap, the only one of his F1 career. In the March team was sold, and became known as Leyton House. Gugelmin was once again partnered by Capelli, but the team's CG901 chassis proved troublesome, and between them they failed to qualify six times during the season, including at the . However, at the next race, the , modifications had been made to the car, which improved the performance. Running the whole race without changing their tyres, Capelli and Gugelmin ran first and second during the race.