15 replies to this topic

[Jimmy Piget]

Long before his only outing in F1 (one Aurora race), Claude Bourgoignie was to participate at the Belgian GP (1973) with the spare McLaren.
For one or other reason, this did not occur.
Does somebody know more on this ?

[David M. Kane]

Is this same Canadian who was so successful in Formula Atlantic? If it is,
I didn't realize he was that old. The guy or son, I believe also did some
Indy racing?

[st59cz]

Borgoignie is Belgian, the Canadian boy is Bourbonnais.

[David M. Kane]

Thanks for the clarification, obviously I was confused.

[Marcor]

Jimmy, do you think if Sport-Moteur (Belgian weekly magazine) had spoken about it ?
About the 1973 Belgian GP at Zolder, I've "only" reports in "L'Automobile" and "Sport-Auto", and nothing about this speculative entry. Very strange race, and a big tarmac problem. I remember another Belgian rising star who did his first F2 race at Nivelles the same year, Willy Braillard. Claude Bourgoignie finished 7th in the 1975 European F2 championship and did this Aurora race at Zolder in the last F1 Surtees, in 1979...

[Jimmy Piget]

I think I remember the info from this "Sport Moteurs" Belgian magazine.
I remember too an interview of Jacky Ickx who was asked (1, 2 or 3 weeks before Spa) about a second Belgian in his home GP, probably too in "Sports Moteurs". The question was something like : "Bourgoignie is to compete next GP in Spa, what do you feel about this ?"

But by the time of the GP being raced, no more sign of Bourgoignie in the entry list nor in the reports.
Hence Paul Sheldon did not mention this in his Black Book.

My problem is that it's only in my memory, not in papers I own.
(the same, by the way, for an entry of Jacques Couture in the 1970 Canadian GP in the spare BRM, later to Peter Westbury)

[Pedro 917]

Claude Bourgoignie is the director of the annual Concours d'Elegance "Fascination Cars" in Brecht near Antwerp and through a friend, who's a free-lance journalist working for Old Timer Magazine and member of the jury, I met him on several occasions and happens to have his phone number.
I called him up this morning and we had an interesting conversation :

First, forget the story about the third Mc Laren being offered to him, he'd never heard of it.
However, in 1972, Jacky Stewart missed a couple of GP's suffering from an ulcer. So at the first Belgian GP held at the brand new Nivelles circuit, a Tyrrell was free. Bourgoignie's manager, Paul Swaelens, was a good friend of Ken Tyrrell and suggested Ken to give rising star Bourgoignie a try. As Bourgoignie was under contract of Ford Europe, driving Capri's in the European Championship for Touring Cars, Ford was all for it and so were the organisers. On Thursday before the GP, Bourgoignie did several laps in his GRD F2, in order to evaluate his abilities, and clocked a time which would have put him in the middle of the field. Everything looked good for Bourgoignie but then there were some last minute negotiations to put Redman in the car ( which failed ) and in the end nothing happened at all and only Cevert was to drive. Bourgoignie told me that there were rumours that there had been a strong opposition against him but until today, he doesn't know who ruined his chances of driving JYS' Tyrrell.

Maybe someone was afraid of this youngster putting down a fantastic result........

[Jeroen Brink]

Did he not drive a Porsche 935 or something similar in races at (among others) Zandvoort in the late seventies? Against (or with) the Porsches of Cremer and Georg Loos?

[Frank de Jong]

He did Jeroen. He drove the 1977 ex-Wollek 935K in 1978 and 1979. Henri van Oorschot was his only opposition, in a 1977 ex-Loos 935.
Claude drove many other touring cars and had in general a long and succesful career.

[ghinzani]

what had he actually done prior to 1972/73 to be in the offing for F1 drives tho? seems quite a step. I know it was easier to get into F1 then and that people would make big jumps, like GerardLarrouse who had hardly any single seater experience when he drove the Finotti Brabhams, but for Claude to be propelled straight into a top F1 car seems unlikely to say the least.

[Frank de Jong]

He was one of the first to drive Formula Ford, but drove F3 too IIRC. So he had quite some single-seater experience.

[Jeroen Brink]

Originally posted by Frank de Jong
He did Jeroen. He drove the 1977 ex-Wollek 935K in 1978 and 1979. Henri van Oorschot was his only opposition, in a 1977 ex-Loos 935.
Claude drove many other touring cars and had in general a long and succesful career.

I knew you would be the one to pick up this question ;)

Besides I recall it was Henri (in his 935 Turbo in white livery) who had the upper hand here.

[Marcor]

Henri van Oorschot ????

I think the good name is Albert Vanierschot.

[Frank de Jong]

Albert Vanierschot and Henri van Oorschot are two different people. One from Belgium, one from Holland. Both were great drivers. Both raced VW Scirocco's sometime.
Albert raced Alpine in the 70's, Henri NSU or Porsche.
Henri scared the @#$%^&*( out of the DRM professionals testing at Zandvoort 1978; the race was disappointing however.
He quit after 1979, I think, after a career which started in the 60's. Albert raced on and on and on, maybe to the present day?

[Marcor]

Sorry for the confusion. I'd not checked my "Auto Hebdo Belgique" collections.

[Marcor]

Albert Vanierschot seems always active. I did a simple research with Google. Lot's of answers. Involved in the Belcar and maybe also Paris-Dakar...