Lucien Bianchi

Luciano "Lucien" Bianchi
Born (1934-11-10)10 November 1934
Milan, Italy
Died 30 March 1969(1969-03-30) (aged 34)
Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Belgium Belgian
Active years 1959 – 1963, 1965, 1968
Teams ENB, UDT Laystall, Reg Parnell, Scuderia Centro Sud, Cooper
Entries 19 (17 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 1
Career points 6
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1959 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry 1968 Mexican Grand Prix

Lucien Bianchi (10 November 1934 – 30 March 1969), born Luciano Bianchi, was an Italian-Belgian racing driver who raced for the Cooper, ENB, UDT Laystall and Scuderia Centro Sud teams in Formula One. He entered a total of 19 Formula One World Championship races, scoring six points and had a best finish of third at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix.

He died in a testing crash in preparation for the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Personal life

Bianchi was born in Milan, Italy, but moved to Belgium in 1946 when he was still a child, with his father who was a race mechanic working, before the Second World War, in the Alfa Romeo competition department.[1] His grandnephew, Jules Bianchi, who made his Formula One debut with the Marussia team for the 2013 season competing under the French flag, also died as a result of injuries sustained in a racing accident.

Racing career

Lucien Bianchi's first race event was at the Alpine Rally in 1951. He won the 1957, 1958 and 1959 Tour de France as well as the Paris 1000 sports car race in the latter two years.

He entered Formula One in 1959, although only with sporadic appearances at first. He drove various cars under the banner of the ENB team, including a Cooper T51, a Lotus 18 and an Emeryson. After a couple of races for the UDT Laystall team in 1961, driving another Lotus, he returned to ENB for whom he drove their ENB-Maserati. He finally secured a more regular drive in Formula One in 1968, with the Cooper-BRM team, although success was elusive despite a bright start. Bianchi managed his best Formula One performance, finishing third at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix, in his first race for Cooper.[2]

Bianchi also raced touring cars, sports cars and rally cars, being successful in all disciplines, his biggest victories coming in the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, behind the wheel of a Ford GT40 with Pedro Rodríguez and at Sebring in 1962 with Jo Bonnier. He was also leading the London-Sydney Marathon when his Citroën DS collided with a non-competing car.

He was killed when his Alfa Romeo T33 spun into a telegraph pole during Le Mans testing in 1969.

Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 WDC Pts.
1959 Equipe National Belge Cooper T51 (F2) Climax V8 MON
DNQ
500 NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA NC 0
1960 Equipe National Belge Cooper T51 Climax Straight-4 ARG MON 500 NED BEL
6
24th 1
Fred Tuck Cars Cooper T51 Climax Straight-4 FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
POR ITA USA
1961 Equipe National Belge Emeryson 1001 Maserati Straight-4 MON
DNQ
NED NC 0
Lotus 18 Climax Straight-4 BEL
Ret
UDT Laystall Racing Team Lotus 18/21 Climax Straight-4 FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER ITA USA
1962 Equipe National Belge Lotus 18/21 Climax Straight-4 NED MON BEL
9
FRA GBR NC 0
ENB Maserati Straight-4 GER
16
ITA USA RSA
1963 Reg Parnell Racing Lola Mk4 Climax V8 MON BEL
Ret
NED FRA GBR GER ITA USA MEX RSA NC 0
1965 Scuderia Centro Sud BRM P57 BRM V8 RSA MON BEL
12
FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX NC 0
1968 Cooper Car Co. Cooper T86B BRM V12 RSA ESP MON
3
BEL
6
NED
Ret
FRA GBR GER
Ret
ITA CAN
NC
USA
NC
MEX
Ret
17th 5

References

  1. ↑ "Lucien Bianchi brief obituary". Autocar. Vol. 130 (nbr 3816). 3 April 1969. p. 25.
  2. ↑ "Lucien Bianchi 1968 Results". Formula. Formula One Administration Ltd. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-07.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Dan Gurney
A. J. Foyt
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1968 with:
Pedro RodrĂ­guez
Succeeded by
Jacky Ickx
Jackie Oliver
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