Bob Bondurant: Difference between revisions
Bob Bondurant passed away on November 12th, 2021. |
Bob Bondurant passed away on November 12th, 2021. |
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While recuperating, Bondurant drafted an idea for a high performance driving school borrowing from the experiences he had while training James Garner for ''Grand Prix''. The [[Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving]] opened in early 1968 at [[Orange County International Raceway]] then moved to [[Ontario Motor Speedway|Ontario]] and later moved to [[Sonoma Raceway|Sonoma]], where he was an important figure in the track's development. [[Nissan Motors|Nissan]] Motor Company (under [[Datsun]] in the US) was Bondurant's sponsoring partner in his school from its beginning, and continued in that role at the [[Sonoma Raceway]] driving school. |
While recuperating, Bondurant drafted an idea for a high performance driving school borrowing from the experiences he had while training James Garner for ''Grand Prix''. The [[Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving]] opened in early 1968 at [[Orange County International Raceway]] then moved to [[Ontario Motor Speedway|Ontario]] and later moved to [[Sonoma Raceway|Sonoma]], where he was an important figure in the track's development. [[Nissan Motors|Nissan]] Motor Company (under [[Datsun]] in the US) was Bondurant's sponsoring partner in his school from its beginning, and continued in that role at the [[Sonoma Raceway]] driving school. |
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In the June 1969 run of the grueling offroad [[Baja 500]] race, Bondurant with co-driver Tony Murphy took first place in the passenger car class driving an [[Rambler American|SC/Rambler]] for [[James Garner]]'s "American International Racers" team that was sponsored by [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC). <ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-06-28|title=Rambler Rogue Registry|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628070729/http://www.ramblerrogue.com/maverick.htm|access-date=2021-11-14|website=web.archive.org}}</ref> |
In the June 1969 run of the grueling offroad [[Baja 500]] race, Bondurant with co-driver Tony Murphy took first place in the passenger car class driving an [[Rambler American|SC/Rambler]] for [[James Garner]]'s "American International Racers" team that was sponsored by [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC). <ref>{{Cite web|title=Bob Bondurant|url=https://www.scca.com/pages/bob-bondurant|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Sports Car Club of America|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-06-28|title=Rambler Rogue Registry|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628070729/http://www.ramblerrogue.com/maverick.htm|access-date=2021-11-14|website=web.archive.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=School|first=Bondurant Racing|title=Legendary World Driving Champion Bob Bondurant to Open New Location of Famed Racing School|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/legendary-world-driving-champion-bob-bondurant-to-open-new-location-of-famed-racing-school-301266526.html|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en}}</ref> |
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Bondurant had four [[NASCAR]] starts, all at [[Riverside International Raceway]], with his highest finish of 18th in 1981. |
Bondurant had four [[NASCAR]] starts, all at [[Riverside International Raceway]], with his highest finish of 18th in 1981. |
Revision as of 00:35, 14 November 2021
![]() Bondurant in 2012 | |
Born | Evanston, Illinois | April 27, 1933
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Died | November 12, 2021 Phoenix, Arizona |
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Active years | 1965–1966 |
Teams | North American Racing Team, Reg Parnell Racing, non-works BRM, Eagle |
Entries | 9 |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Career points | 3 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1965 United States Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1966 Mexican Grand Prix |
Robert "Bob" Bondurant (born April 27, 1933 in Evanston, Illinois) is an American former racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari and Eagle teams. Bondurant was one of the most famous drivers to emerge from the Southern California road racing scene in the 1950s, and achieved success in North America and in Europe. His Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving has been responsible for training generations of American racing drivers.
Career
During his teens, Bondurant raced an Indian motorcycle on dirt ovals. In 1956 he switched to sports car racing with a Morgan and started to attract attention when he won the West Coast "B" production Championship, in a Chevrolet Corvette winning 18 out of 20 races.
Santa Barbara Chevrolet dealer Shelly Washburn hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his #614 1959 Corvette. Some of the best Corvette racing duels were between him and David McDonald on the West Coast during the early 1960s. At the L.A. Times Grand Prix in October 1962, Bondurant drove Washburn's new 1963 Corvette Z06 Stingray. Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Washburn's Corvettes.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Shelby_Cobra_Daytona_%281965-05-23%29.jpg/220px-Shelby_Cobra_Daytona_%281965-05-23%29.jpg)
In 1963 he became a member of Carroll Shelby's Ford Cobra team, winning his first race at the Continental Divide Raceway in Colorado, followed by an overall win at the LA Times Grand Prix GT race at Riverside in October 1963. For the 1964 FIA season after finishing 2nd in GT at Sebring, Bondurant was in Europe racing the new 289 FIA Cobras at the Targa Florio, Spa and Nurburgring. His best-known victory was winning the GT class at Le Mans 24 Hours in 1964 in Shelby's new Cobra Daytona Coupe with Dan Gurney co-driving. In 1965 Bondurant won the FIA Manufacturers' World Championship for Shelby American and Ford, winning seven out of ten races against the class dominating Ferrari 250 GTOs in Europe. In the same year he drove a works Ferrari Formula 1 car during the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, and handled a Lotus 33 for Reg Parnell at the following Mexican race.
In 1966 Bondurant served as a technical consultant for John Frankenheimer's film Grand Prix and trained the film's lead actor James Garner to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. Bondurant was one of two drivers (alongside Graham Hill) to help extricate Jackie Stewart from his fuel-leaking wrecked car during the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix, the incident that led to Stewart's crusade for motor racing safety. Bondurant also drove BRMs in five Grands Prix for Team Chamaco Collect, finishing 4th at Monaco. He finished the Formula One season in North America in two races, driving an Eagle for Dan Gurney's Anglo American Racers.
For 1967 he drove in the CanAm series and in a Corvette L88 Coupe at Le Mans, and led the GT class until a wrist pin failed putting the car out in the early morning. Later that month while driving a McLaren, at Watkins Glen, the steering arm broke at 150 mph approaching the Loop-Chute section of Watkins Glen (the current Turn 5, but without the bus stop, which was installed in 1992). Bondurant sustained serious rib, leg, foot and, most seriously, back injuries in the subsequent accident in which his car flipped eight times. Doctors told him he would likely never walk again, but through courage and hard work he overcame his injuries.
While recuperating, Bondurant drafted an idea for a high performance driving school borrowing from the experiences he had while training James Garner for Grand Prix. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving opened in early 1968 at Orange County International Raceway then moved to Ontario and later moved to Sonoma, where he was an important figure in the track's development. Nissan Motor Company (under Datsun in the US) was Bondurant's sponsoring partner in his school from its beginning, and continued in that role at the Sonoma Raceway driving school.
In the June 1969 run of the grueling offroad Baja 500 race, Bondurant with co-driver Tony Murphy took first place in the passenger car class driving an SC/Rambler for James Garner's "American International Racers" team that was sponsored by American Motors Corporation (AMC). [1][2][3]
Bondurant had four NASCAR starts, all at Riverside International Raceway, with his highest finish of 18th in 1981.
Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake he moved the driving school to Phoenix, Arizona, where he enjoys close ties to General Motors and Goodyear Tires.
Bondurant was a driving instructor to actors James Garner, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Wagner, Tim Allen, Tom Cruise, and Nicolas Cage. [4]
Award
Bondurant was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2003. [5]
Death
Bondurant died in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on November 12th. He was 88-years-old.
A statement on his passing reads, in part, "Bondurant is the only American to bring home the World Championship trophy back to the U.S. while racing for Carroll Shelby. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into ten motorsports halls of fame. Bondurant Racing School was founded in 1968 and has graduated celebrities for car movies like James Garner, Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Nicholas Cage, and Christian Bale, along with over 500,000 graduates from around the world. His legacy will remain with us forever."
He is survived by his wife Pat, who vows to continue the legacy of Bob's School. [4]
Racing record
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Road Atlanta | Chevrolet Camaro | American Sedan | 6 | 8 | Running |
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1965 | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 158 | Ferrari V8 | RSA | MON | BEL | FRA | GBR | NED | GER | ITA | USA 9 |
NC | 0 | |
Reg Parnell (Racing) | Lotus 33 | Climax V8 | MEX Ret | ||||||||||||
1966 | Team Chamaco Collect | BRM P261 | BRM V8 | MON 4 |
BEL Ret |
FRA | GBR 9 |
NED | GER Ret |
ITA 7 |
14th | 3 | |||
Anglo American Racers | Eagle T1G | Climax Straight-4 | USA DSQ |
||||||||||||
Weslake V12 | MEX Ret |
Formula One Non-Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1971 | Competition Developments | Lola T192 (F5000) | Chevrolet V8 | ARG | ROC | QUE 25 |
SPR | INT | RIN | OUL | VIC |
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1964 | ![]() |
![]() |
Shelby Cobra Daytona | GT +3.0 | 334 | 4th | 1st |
1965 | ![]() ![]() |
![]() |
Ford GT40 Mk.I | P 5.0 | 29 | DNF | DNF |
1966 | ![]() |
![]() |
Ferrari 365 P2 | P 5.0 | 88 | DNF | DNF |
1967 | ![]() |
![]() |
Chevrolet Corvette (C2) | GT +5.0 | 167 | DNF | DNF |
References
- ^ "Bob Bondurant". Sports Car Club of America. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "Rambler Rogue Registry". web.archive.org. 2009-06-28. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ School, Bondurant Racing. "Legendary World Driving Champion Bob Bondurant to Open New Location of Famed Racing School". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ a b "Bob Bondurant 'iconic American racing hero' dies at 88 in Paradise Valley". FOX 10 Phoenix. 2021-11-13. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ Bob Bondurant at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
External links
- Bondurant Racing School
- Bondurant Kart Racing School
- Bondurant Driving & Racing School Programs
- The Bondurant Methodology
- Bob Bondurant America's uncrowned World Driving Champion (2007, Editions Cotty; ISBN 0-9765247-0-8)
- Bob Bondurant Des Cobra à la Formule1 la meme passion (2008, Editions Cotty; ISBN 978-0-9765247-3-1)
- American Formula One drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- 12 Hours of Reims drivers
- Trans-Am Series drivers
- Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois
- 1933 births
- Living people
- Racing drivers from Illinois
- North American Racing Team Formula One drivers
- Reg Parnell Racing Formula One drivers
- Anglo American Racers Formula One drivers
- World Sportscar Championship drivers
- SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants