Bob Bondurant

Has taken his last checker.

https://www.fox10pho...paradise-valley

Leigh Diffey just did an obituary of him on NBC Sports during the Petit Le Mans 

Not surprising news as he had not been doing well for quite a while.   Saw him a couple years ago when a Hagerty tour ended at the school.  Chatted with us when we got there but his wife  (that's another WHOLE story) did all the talking...  definitely not the same guy that opened up the driving school I was at there in the mid '90's.   Even so, quite a life, and legacy.

A somewhat more reliable and informative report, from Autoweek. As SKL says, he had been unwell and in an assisted living facility for some time.

https://www.autoweek...uctor-has-died/

I will always remember him for attending to JYS along with NGH, after they went off in the deluge at Spa in 1966. Medical facilities...what medical facilities?

I will always remember him for attending to JYS along with NGH, after they went off in the deluge at Spa in 1966. Medical facilities...what medical facilities?

Yes, amazing from both given the amount of fuel in the vicinity.  R.I.P.

https://mobile.twitt...844937877528576

One of the last participants in Grand Prix.

RIP


Paul M

Here's a clip from Spa-Francorchamps seqment, posted on Youtube.  I think that's his face at 12 seconds in:

https://www.youtube....h?v=uuL_6f-STt4

RIP, Bob Bondurant

Edited by Emery0323, 14 November 2021 - 19:46.

Sad to hear this news. Those of us living in the UK rarely got a chance to see Bob race. I think the only time I saw him was at the 1965 Guards Trophy meet at Brands where he raced the Chequered Flag 4.7 Cobra - he was well in the lead until a clutch problem intervened. He had better luck the following year when he co-drove with David Piper to win the Ilford Films 500 at Brands in filthy conditions. This time it was in the Chequered Flag's 7 litre Cobra.

He was one of that number of drivers that were around in that era and whom, although not big star names known to the general public, were very talented and highly respected within the sport.

Bob did very well in Bernard White's private BRM P261 in 1966 considering it was run on a small - if not minimal - budget. His role in helping works driver Graham Hill rescue his trapped team-mate Jackie Stewart from the crushed and distorted cockpit of his crashed P261 after the opening-lap rainstorm at Spa followed his own escape from the overturned White car.  

He had been trapped in it upside down on the outside verge at Masta, unable to extricate himself, when he heard crackling and thought a fire had broken out - "...which would have been curtains".  Then he heard voices and realised the crackling was the sound of running footsteps approaching through the grass and scrub.  

Spectators then lifted the white-painted (MGM 'Grand Prix' liveried) BRM and he managed to squirm his way out.  He also told me how, when he undid his crash helmet strap and eased the sides of the helmet wide to remove it, his cheeks and jaw suddenly felt really cold.  He immediately noticed an even stronger smell of petrol and realised that while he had been trapped upside down, leaking fuel had actually gathered in his crash hat, and was now draining from it on each side...

Only then did he spot Jackie's car, bent into a vee, on the opposite side of the road...Jackie twisted onto his side in its squashed cockpit, which was also rapidly filling with leaking fuel.  With Graham and a borrowed spanner from the farm there, they got him out.  I have never heard much about any help being provided by the Masta marshals but there must, surely (?), have been some???

In any case, Bob was a good hand.  Sincere condolences to his family and many friends and admirers...

DCN

He did attend the Revival in 2004 when there was a Shelby 'reunion' and had a drive in the TT celebration.

On the far left is Augie Pabst.

Lining up for the TT Celebration race in 2004. He shared with Don Gerber. 

R.I.P.

A man who was part of what was likely one of the biggest battles ever within motor racing.

R I P  Legend Bob Bondurant

Bob did very well in Bernard White's private BRM P261 in 1966 considering it was run on a small - if not minimal - budget. His role in helping works driver Graham Hill rescue his trapped team-mate Jackie Stewart from the crushed and distorted cockpit of his crashed P261 after the opening-lap rainstorm at Spa followed his own escape from the overturned White car.  

 

He had been trapped in it upside down on the outside verge at Masta, unable to extricate himself, when he heard crackling and thought a fire had broken out - "...which would have been curtains".  Then he heard voices and realised the crackling was the sound of running footsteps approaching through the grass and scrub.  

 

Spectators then lifted the white-painted (MGM 'Grand Prix' liveried) BRM and he managed to squirm his way out.  He also told me how, when he undid his crash helmet strap and eased the sides of the helmet wide to remove it, his cheeks and jaw suddenly felt really cold.  He immediately noticed an even stronger smell of petrol and realised that while he had been trapped upside down, leaking fuel had actually gathered in his crash hat, and was now draining from it on each side...

 

Only then did he spot Jackie's car, bent into a vee, on the opposite side of the road...Jackie twisted onto his side in its squashed cockpit, which was also rapidly filling with leaking fuel.  With Graham and a borrowed spanner from the farm there, they got him out.  I have never heard much about any help being provided by the Masta marshals but there must, surely (?), have been some???

 

In any case, Bob was a good hand.  Sincere condolences to his family and many friends and admirers...

 

DCN

The inverted BRM at Masta.

Mr and Mrs BB in the Gurney tribute parade at the Revival in 2012.

Paul M

A fitting tribute from Vintage Motorsport has been posted. This emphasizes his contribution toward the World GT Championship. Not only did he win with Gurney at Le Mans 1964, but he beat the GTOs at Freiburg, the first Hill Climb he had ever seen. As the Shelby drivers and team members fade away, Bob Bondurant will be remembered as one of the best.

http://www.vintagemo...rant-1933-2021/

Hello, D28...

I know that you were in attendance at many races at Mosport back in the day so correct me if I'm wrong.  To my recollection, BB never ran a race at 'The Happy Track'.  Our loss.

Hello, D28...

 

I know that you were in attendance at many races at Mosport back in the day so correct me if I'm wrong.  To my recollection, BB never ran a race at 'The Happy Track'.  Our loss.

He ran the 1971 Mosport Can-Am in a McLaren for Motschenbacher Racing, finished 4th. He also raced the ST. Jovite round in 1970, but missed the Mosport opener. So you may have seen him after all. Not many front line drivers of the day didn't run here. 

Bob Bondurant was one of a handful of drivers who gave the sport, and it's many fans, more than just his racing career.  His racing school was one of the top two or three in North America, and for every student who attended, I bet there were many more who wanted to but never did.  Speaking for myself, a 2000+ mile hike was just a bit too far. 

He mentioned that '71 Mosport Can Am race in his book.  He said they finished the car at the track, and he got about 20 minutes of practice.  In their hurry they didn't add any padding to the seat, and he drove with his arms fully extended, and steered with his wrists and shoulders.  About one third of the way through his arms started getting tired, so he would pull himself forward, drive five or six laps flat out with a bent arm position, then relax for a bit and repeat the sequence.  No surprise that this episode appeared in the chapter about proper seating position. 

From December 1965 Road & Track, opening his Monaco account in an ex Stewart F3 Cooper

My condolences to Bob's family and friends

Stephen

The b&w photo of Bob's inverted car at Spa in Macca's post above is by Ami Guichard, the then publisher of Automobile Year, which image is now part of The Klemantaski Collection.

For many years I attended Bob's school in Phoenix as a kind of "warmup" for another year of racing. It was a terrific school and a great and useful experience before Daytona after a cold northeastern winter.