[1] Solana was also a proficient Jai alai player and his racing career was partly funded by this.

[citation needed] He was the only driver in the history of the Formula One World Championship to start a race in a number 13 car (Divina Galica, in the 1976 British Grand Prix, also attempted a race with the number, but failed to qualify), something he did for BRM on his Formula One debut in the 1963 Mexican Grand Prix until Pastor Maldonado adopted 13 as his permanent number in 2014.

Solana was a classified finisher in 11th despite his engine having failed eight laps short of the chequered flag.

[3] On 27 July 1969, Solana was killed in the Hillclimb Valle de Bravo-Bosencheve in Mexico, in a fatal accident after his McLaren went wide in a bend and hit a concrete trimming on the edge of the road, overturning the car which landed on top of him and caught fire.

The Solana family is still very active in motor racing and has manufactured handmade sports cars on a mostly one-off basis.