Pierre Veyron

Pierre Veyron
Born	(1903-10-01)1 October 1903 France
Died	2 November 1970(1970-11-02) (aged 67) Èze, France
Nationality	French
Occupation	Grand Prix motor racing driver
Years active	1930-1953
Known for	Winner, 24 Hours of Le Mans (1939)
Awards	Legion of Honour (1945)

Pierre Veyron (1 October 1903 – 2 November 1970) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver active from 1933 through 1953.

Pierre Veyron enrolled at university to study engineering. Veyron's friend, Albert Divo, convinced Veyron to take up racing and introduced Veyron to André Vagniez, an industrialist who provided financial support to Veyron. Vagniez purchased a Bugatti Type 37A that Veyron drove to his first racing victory, winning the 1930 Geneva Grand Prix.^[1]

Jean Bugatti, son of Bugatti founder Ettore Bugatti, hired Pierre Veyron in 1932 as a test driver and development engineer. Veyron entered races as a Bugatti company driver, winning many including the 1933 and 1934 Berlin Avus races while driving a Bugatti Type 51A. Veyron's most significant race victory was his 1939 win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, co-driving a Bugatti Type 57S Tank with Jean-Pierre Wimille.^[1]

During World War II, Veyron joined the French Resistance against German occupation. For his service during the war, the Republic of France awarded him the Legion of Honour in 1945.^[1]

After the war, Veyron continued racing, but his main focus was on his family and his oil-drilling technology company. Veyron died in Èze, France in 1970.^[1]

Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. named the Veyron 16.4 supercar in honor of Veyron.^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 5 "Pierre Veyron". bugatti.com. Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. 2011-11-30. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2012-07-28. Veyron’s initial career plan did not include racecar driving – instead, he enrolled in the university to study engineering. But his friend Albert Divo, himself an ardent motor sport aficionado, persuaded him to give racecar driving a try.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Eugène Chaboud Jean Trémoulet	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1939 with: Jean-Pierre Wimille	Succeeded by Luigi Chinetti Peter Mitchell-Thomson

Winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Nine-time	Tom Kristensen
Six-time	Jacky Ickx
Five-time	Derek Bell Frank Biela Emanuele Pirro
Four-time	Yannick Dalmas Olivier Gendebien Henri Pescarolo
Three-time	Woolf Barnato Rinaldo Capello Luigi Chinetti Marcel Fässler Hurley Haywood Phil Hill Al Holbert André Lotterer Klaus Ludwig Allan McNish Benoît Tréluyer Marco Werner
Two-time	Earl Bamber Timo Bernhard Tim Birkin Ivor Bueb Romain Dumas Ron Flockhart Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Gérard Larrousse JJ Lehto Manuel Reuter André Rossignol Raymond Sommer Hans-Joachim Stuck Gijs van Lennep Jean-Pierre Wimille Alexander Wurz
One-time	Aïello Alboreto Amon Ara Attwood Baldi Bandini Barilla Barth Benjafield Benoist Bianchi Bloch Blundell Bouchut D. Brabham G. Brabham Brundle Chaboud Clement Cobb Davis de Courcelles Dickens Duff Dumfries Duval Étancelin Fontés Foyt Frère Gachot Gené González Gregory Guichet Gurney Hamilton Hartley Hawthorn Hélary Herbert Herrmann G. Hill Hindmarsh Howe Hülkenberg Jani Johansson Jones Kidston Krages Lagache Lammers Lang Léonard Lieb Marko Martini Mass McLaren Mitchell-Thomson Nielsen Nuvolari Oliver Ortelli Pironi Riess Rindt Rockenfeller Rodríguez Rolt Rondeau J. Rosier L. Rosier Rubin Salvadori Sanderson Scarfiotti Schuppan Sekiya Shelby Smith Tandy Trémoulet Trintignant Vaccarella Veyron Walker Wallace Warwick Weidler Whitehead B. Whittington D. Whittington Winkelhock

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