
The cars of the Pilettes
#1
Posted 16 April 2001 - 11:50
Greetings and welcome to THE forum.
Someone mentioned that you were interested in finding the cars raced over the years by older members of your illustrious family. Let me start the ball rolling.
THÉODORE PILETTE
I’m unable to help with the Mercedes cars your great-grandfather used in Belgian events 1906/1909, or the Mercedes-Knight of 1912/13, or the car he drove in the 1913 Grand Prix de France. However, I do know that the works Mercedes he drove in the 1914 French GP was dismantled by the factory in 1951, and the parts almost certainly used to create a new car which is, I believe, still on display in the Daimler-Benz Museum.
I'll get onto the later Pilettes when I get a chance.
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#2
Posted 16 April 2001 - 19:48
ANDRÉ PILETTE
The last owners of your grandfather’s cars, as far as I know, are as follows:
Formula 1 cars
Emeryson F1 (raced in 1961) - whereabouts not known
Emeryson Mk3 c/no 1005 (1961/62) - written off
Gordini Type 16 0031 (1954/55) - Collection Huet 1983
Gordini Type 16 0033 (1954) - written off 1955
Gordini Type 32 41 (1956) - Musée Nationale, Mulhouse
Gordini Type 32 42 (1956) - Musée Nationale, Mulhouse
Lancia-Ferrari 009 (1956) - scrapped
Lotus 18 915 (1963) - Alan Baillie, UK
Lotus 18 916 (1963) - André Wanty, Belgium
Lotus 18 917 (1963) - Dawson-Damer estate, Australia
Maserati 4CLT (1953) - not known
Scirocco-Climax SP-2-63 - Simpson Engineering, UK, 1994
Talbot T26 110052 (1951/52) - Colin Crabbe, UK, 1987
Formula 2
Connaught A-Type c/no A4 (raced in 1953) - David Wenman, UK
Cooper-Climax T45 possibly F2-7-58 (1960) - whereabouts not known
Cooper-Climax T51 F2-9-59 (1959) - not known
Cooper-Climax T51 F2-10-59 (1959) - possibly written off by M Bianchi
Maserati A6GCM (1953) - not known
Merlyn Mk7 69R (1964) - not known
Formula Junior
Lotus 18 (raced in 1960/61) - whereabouts not known
Lotus 20 (1961) - not known
Merlyn Mk2 (1961) - not known
Merlyn Mk3 (1962) - not known
Merlyn Mk5 (1963) - not known
Sportscars
Alfa Romeo 2.3 (raced in 1947) - whereabouts not known
Aston Martin Speed Model c/no C7/719/4 (1948) - Jonathan Williams UK
BMW 328 (1949/50) - not known
Ferrari 166MM 0014M (1950) - in France 1990
Ferrari 500TR 0518M (1956) - Paul Kunkle, UK
Ferrari 750 Monza 0552M (1956) - Tony Amaddeo
Ferrari 250TR (1959) - most likely the ENB car 0736TR, which was sold UK 1998
Ferrari 250TR/59 0766TR (1960) - John McCaw, USA
Ferrari 250GT lwb 0971 (1960) - last known in Sweden late 1960s
Ferrari 250GT lwb 1461 - written off*
Ferrari 250GT swb 2731 (1961) - Marco Pellizziani, Italy
Gordini 3000 36S (1954, 1956) - private collector, Paris
Gordini 2000 43 (1957) - Musée Nationale, France
Gordini 1500 39 (1956) - Musée Nationale, France
HRG 1500 (1949) - not known
Jaguar D-type KD573 (1956) - John Coombs, UK
Veritas 2000 (1949) - not known
*The factory built a replacement for this car with the same chassis no., and this is in the Colezzione Maranello Rosso in Italy
TEDDY PILETTE
Others should be able to contribute more than I can on your uncle’s cars, but, as far as I know, the last owners are as follows:
Formula 1
Brabham BT42 c/no 3 (raced in 1974) - Murray Smith, USA
BRM P207 02 (1977/78) - whereabouts not known
Wolf WR3 (1992) - John Fenning, UK, 1995
Formula 5000
Chevron B24 c/no 05 (raced in 1973/74) - whereabouts not known
Chevron B28 01 (1974) - Nick Shrigley-Feigl, UK
Lola T400 HU4 (1975) - not known
McLaren M10B 400/20 (1971/72) - not known
McLaren M22 1/72 (1972) - not known
McLaren M22 (1972/73) - not known
Formula Junior
Lola Mk2 (raced in 1962) - whereabouts not known
Lotus 18 (1962) - not known
Merlyn Mk3 (1962) - not known
Sportscars
Alfa Romeo 33/2 (raced 1968/69) - whereabouts not known
Ferrari 375GTB/4 Daytona c/no 15373 (1972) - Nick Mason, UK
Lola T70 3B SL76/146 (1970) - not known
McLaren M8C (1970) - written off
McLaren M8E 80-08 (1971) - in USA 1992
McLaren M8E/9 (1971) - in UK 1988
McLaren M8F turbo (1972) - Victor Myette, USA
Over to the rest of you - Allen? Island?
#3
Posted 16 April 2001 - 21:25
#4
Posted 17 April 2001 - 10:52

I can look further for details about the Alfas involved, the 8C2.3 raced in 1947, and the TZ2, GTA and 33s of the late 60s.
#5
Posted 17 April 2001 - 20:40
André Pilette drove two different Talbot T26C. In the 1951 Belgian GP, André drove the Talbot T26C 110006 recently bought by 4 people who had just created the Ecurie Belgique: Roger Laurent, Jacques Swaters, Charles de Tornaco and ... André Pilette.
André was the poorest of the 4 but apparently the fastest so he used for the first time the colour (Yellow of course) of the team. He finished 6th ahead of John Claes in another yellow Talbot T26C (110052) entered by the Ecurie Belge.
André Pilette drove the car again at Zandvoort. Started from the third place on the grid, he was second behind Farina when he had to stop to the pits to change its spark plugs. He was then the fastest man in the race when, just 5 laps at the end, he crashed and was ejected out of the car. Suffering of several fractures, André was removed from the circuits for a long time (1 year).
He was then replaced by Jacques Swaters (German GP), Roger Laurent (Albi GP), Swaters again (Italian GP) and in 1952 by Charles de Tornaco (at Turino) and Roger Laurent (victory at Helsinki but the other cars were so-called local F1 - in fact, some Ford Special).
In May 1952, André Pilette announced that he left the Ecurie Belgique and rejoined ... the Ecurie Belge. Meanwhile the Ecurie Belgique (had to) change(d) his name to Ecurie Francorchamps !!!
André made his international comeback at Albi in one of the last race run under the F1-regulation, and he drove the Talbot T26C DA 110052 of John Claes. André started from the back of the grid and he suffered (from the heat, as the weather was hot). After one lap, he stopped to the pits to change his shirt soaked by fuel. He was hardly come back into the race when he crashed and went to the hospital...
André Pilette would say: "John Claes was a nice man. He never commented on my crash and the loss of his car."
Hope you see the difference between the two stables.
Ecurie Belgique = Stable Belgium,
Ecurie Belge = Belgian Stable.
According Pierre Abeillon (Talbot specialist): the owners of the two cars were in 1990:
110006: Henry Wessels (USA)
110052: Erich Trabber (USA)
#6
Posted 23 April 2001 - 09:29
André Pilette bought 8C 2.3 #2111023 in 1946, in a "street auction" of goods having belonged to some collaborationist. It was a Spider formerly owned and raced by Scuderia Ferrari. André Pilette raced it from 1947 to 1950, the main event where he entered was 1947 Grand Prix des Frontières at Chimay, where he retired. Pictures show the car with wings, spatboards and headlih-ghts removed, otherwise original body. Amongs many hillclims and little events (I haven't the full list), he seeemingly won a flying kilometer at Wovelgem in 1949. He then sold the car to "a belgian lord living in the south of the country" where it disappeared.

Teddy Pilette raced many Alfas with the VDS team: GTAs (no details about the actual cars), TZ2s and Tipo 33 in both 2-litre and 2.5 forms.
VDS TZ2 was #750116, sold by Autodelta in November 1966, now, as far as I know, in a Japanese collection. That car was user for 1600 cc sports cars races before the 33 became available, i.e. mainly during the 1967 season.
There were at least two 33/2B chassis bought and raced by VDS team.
33-2B #0025 was driven by Pilette/Slotemaker at the 1968 Le Mans 24H., race #37, DNF
33-2B #0012 was team-mate's car driven by Trosch/von Wendt, race #65, DNF.
I assume that the other entries with Pilette as driver, during 1968 and 1969, were at the wheel of one of the two cars, but I have not the chassis numbers for the other races.
(This isn't actually a VDS car, but an Autodelta identical one)
A list, unchecked, of Pilette's race on 33s can be found at
http://www.classicsc...ssis/alfa33.htm
However I strongly recommend the current issue of L'Automobile Historique, with Alfa 33s as main feature, including most race results, nice period colour pictures, etc, with especially many pics of Teddy pilette and/or his cars.

#7
Posted 19 May 2001 - 10:30
Thanx for all your infos...it's really impresive how you people are interested about my family... i never thought that.
For the Lola F5000, my dad (Michel Pilette) owns it and it's at the Stavelot Museum, with a Lotus Formula Ford from the 60s and another car...
He owns another FF Lotus and it's in our living room at our country house here in Belgium...i remember the Lola was in the living room when i was a child...the body shell only indeed:)
I know my mother as a picture of me at 2 years old in the Lola cockpit in the garden, i guess it's when it arrived at home.
Thanx a lot for everything:)
Toine
PS i'll be going in June to the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or at Monthléry, maybe Goodwood this summer with a cousin or two... and to Dijon-Prenois in september for the F5000 race where i gonna try to bring my uncle Teddy.
#8
Posted 20 May 2001 - 23:50
I am writing the bio of the Rodríguez brothers, and you granddad drove with Ricardo to second place in 1960. Any anecdotes from the family regarding that race, any comments on the mexican, any thing?
Just curious. The car they drove is in John McCaw's careful hands in the USA, but you probably know that already.
#9
Posted 02 July 2001 - 13:48
Nope, sorry i don't have anything about the Rodriguez... my grand father died too early before i got interested in classic racing... and my grand mother divorced him before that le Mans race... so nothing to say about the brothers:(
Sorry
Antoine Pilette
#10
Posted 03 July 2001 - 15:46
Thanx a lot for all your help again.
Théodore Pilette died in a car accident in 1921 in Luxemburg while coming back from Stuggart in a Mercedes... he was heading toward Brookland where he was supposed to race against a british driver and a french one. I'm wondering who were those two other drivers and which car he died in excactly... I've asked around me but nobody knows:(
Another info is that the british driver died in a car accident the same morning...spooky...
Thanx for your infos.
Toine
#11
Posted 05 July 2001 - 21:47
I'll be at the Grand Prix of Chimay this week-end, my uncle Teddy gonna race but i don't know what type of cars yet...
My first time there and it's kinda interesting it's where my uncle and my grand father raced one of their first times in their carreers.
C U
Toine
#12
Posted 08 July 2001 - 15:34
In fact it was built in Leuven (Louvain, so the name) in ... Belgium. The car was not very succesfull. The Lova appeared at Chimay in 1961 and 1962. It used a DKW engine and was immediately outpassed by the rear-engined car. I admit it is very obscure and André only drove it once, without success.
#13
Posted 08 July 2001 - 18:10
Just got back from Chimay where i saw a couple of interesting cars for the first time: Riley, Jap, Era...
Also this afternoon three chicanes of the track changed names to: Frère, Bourgoignie and...Pilette:)
see u
Toine
#14
Posted 30 July 2001 - 17:25
I would like external opinions about the Pilette family. I mean i wanna know their real driving skills, how good or bad they were in racing, etc:)
Thanx a lot and be frank, please:)
Toine
#15
Posted 30 July 2001 - 18:02
I knew pretty well André, for having chatted with him over circuits a number of times in the 60s. Although being of the same age, I was far less acquainted to Teddy. To fill some of the gap in the rich information already provided in this forum about cars driven by the PILETTE family, let me add:
1. An Autodynamics Formula VEE, run by Precision liégeoise in 1966
2. A Brabham F3, run by the same team
3. A short-lived Belgica F3, built by the same workshop
4. Teddy was also Abarth test driver (and works driver) before joining Team VDS
#16
Posted 31 August 2001 - 11:17
Originally posted by kazan
Toine,
I knew pretty well André, for having chatted with him over circuits a number of times in the 60s. Although being of the same age, I was far less acquainted to Teddy. To fill some of the gap in the rich information already provided in this forum about cars driven by the PILETTE family, let me add:
1. An Autodynamics Formula VEE, run by Precision liégeoise in 1966
2. A Brabham F3, run by the same team
3. A short-lived Belgica F3, built by the same workshop
4. Teddy was also Abarth test driver (and works driver) before joining Team VDS
Hi
I've read Lucien Bianchi biography and there is a part about his work as an Abarth official driver, wasn't it during the same time as Teddy Pilette? i'm wondering but it isn't mentioned in the book. I recall about a Nurburgring race where Teddy was told not to pass Lucien Bianchi, even if he was faster...
CU
Toine
#17
Posted 18 September 2001 - 21:26
#18
Posted 19 September 2001 - 16:40
Originally posted by kazan
Sorry, Toine, I have only come back to this old thread to-day. I am pretty certain that Teddy Pilette and one of the Bianchi brothers were together at Abarth. If I recall well, Teddy was also part of the "Grand Prix" script drivers, on fake F1 (actually 66 F1 "silhouette" cars with Lotus 18 chassis), for shots which were mixed-up with actual race scenes.
Hi
i'm pretty sure it was with Lucien, i saw a picture... maybe the two drivers weren't getting along very well:)
I'm waiting for GP to get on DVD, i've never seen the movie:( André played in it too.
C U
Toine
#19
Posted 19 February 2003 - 02:17



More of them: http://homepage.mac....otoAlbum10.html
I've found the Grand Prix NTSC videotape last september and Teddy told me he was Dan Gurney's double and André was Graham Hill's. If I remember right, in the movie when the characters are at Monza, you could see during a second or two, helicopter view, an Eagle following closely a BRM... a son following his father?? I'll try to get in touch with Teddy and ask him.

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#20
Posted 19 February 2003 - 11:28
Now I may be wrong, but it looks like a few bits of that car are missing!Originally posted by Pils1989
Here is the Lola T400's pictures..finally..never too late![]()
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Do you know which T400 your dad has? VDS had T400 HU4 but I think only Gethin drove that (it was wrecked in Australia many years later and rebuilt as a T332); HU11 which I think was Teddy's car but also HU14 which was a back up car. Teddy advertised a T400 in Autosport in March 1977 - presumably the car that went to your house in 1978 and now in the museum. Both HU11 and HU14 are now "missing" but which one is yours?
Thanks
Allen
#21
Posted 20 February 2003 - 12:13
Teddy racing a Lotus Elan with Freddy Semoulin (finished in 34th spot).
Andre was in a Porsche 904 GTS entered by Leon Dernier (Elde). He had an accident with the car in practice, but they made it to the start, only to experience another crash during the first lap of the race. Does anybody know who the starting driver was, Dernier or Pilette?
Teddy Pilette raced his McLaren-Chevrolet M8E in the 1971 Nürburgring 300 KM. He finished second to Jürgen Neuhaus in his Porsche 917 Spyder.
I took some nice pics of Teddy in that car. Will post them here later, if anybody is interested to see them.
Udo
#22
Posted 20 February 2003 - 21:54



#23
Posted 20 February 2003 - 23:41
Thank you alot for the pictures, I'm sure you don't mind me forwarding them to Teddy


As for the Nurburgring race, I've asked by email Teddy and he doesn't remember or has no documents about it.
I've asked my dad about the Lola chassis, apparently we have HU14 but I'm going to double-check it with the Stavelot Museum on the phone asap and correct my T400's webpage. Apprarently HU11 has been written off in France..if someone knows how...? I think I've might heard it has fallen from a truck...

Thank you alot,
Toine
#24
Posted 22 February 2003 - 20:56
Many thanks. The story of HU11 is news to me. Has anyone else heard that story?
Allen
#25
Posted 23 February 2003 - 14:13
At the Press Conference where the new Ferrari 456 was presented, my brother Carlos posing with Richard Attwood, David Piper and Teddy Pilette :
and a lot of legends of motor sport at the Concours d'Elegance on the Esplanade of the Brussels' Cinquantenaire : sitting (left to right) are Gendebien, Chinetti Sr, Andre Pilette, Phil Hill, Swaters and Attwood. Teddy is standing on Phil Hill's right hand side :
and here is Andre sitting next to Jean Sage's Ferrari 750 Monza in the Francorchamps paddock :
#26
Posted 29 April 2003 - 07:44
I went to the Stavelot Museum this sunday, after the Ferrari Days.
Here's the T400... looking old!


#27
Posted 29 April 2003 - 09:53

Hi Tonie . I know the boys who worked for the THE COUNT as he used to be called. Garry
Simkin is here in Sydney ----Phill Harris is in the STATES --- an Steve Horne now lives in NZ
on his own island in the Auckland area ,now they could tell you stories about uncleTeddy
however i unable to convince Garry to go on line
#28
Posted 29 April 2003 - 10:11
I'm from Circuit Zolder Belgium. Our next event is the European Historic Grand Prix , featuring 40 years Circuit Zolder.
Therefore, I'm searching for old racingcars. We are going to assemble an exposition with old racing cars, the racecars present the rich history of Circuit Zolder. We are also going to invite the ex pilotes to race their oldcars, if possible of course.
As I'm also looking for cars where Teddy Pilette drove with, I'm asking if there are any people who can give me some information.
The racecars are expected for the whole weekend.
So if there is anybody who can give me information, please contact me on the adress below.
If you have any questions, just ask me.
Greetings
Tim
temp.2@circuit-zolder.be
http://www.circuit-zolder.be
European Historic Grand Prix
21-22 june 2003
"Featuring 40 year Circuit Zolder"
#29
Posted 29 April 2003 - 21:02
I've tried to visit the Spa museum twice now. First time I couldn't find it. Second time deceided to keep looking, eventually found it, only to be told it is closed on a Monday.

BTW got the book today, some excellent pictures in it! The one on page 114 is interesting ;)
Mark
#30
Posted 13 May 2003 - 14:41
Congratulations to the Pilette family.

#31
Posted 19 May 2003 - 07:18

eldougo, maybe you could give me their email addresses which I could forward to Teddy? Thx:)
temp.2, I'll be in the US for 3 months during your June meeting : where I was supposed to meet some Mini racers


Mark A, glad you got the book finally:) Can't wait to meet you at a continental Seloc event:)
Patrick Italiano, thanks

#32
Posted 19 May 2003 - 08:50

That could be a bit difficult????? But i will try to get one of them to step into 21st century.
#33
Posted 21 May 2003 - 18:54
It is a bit late now as the book about the Pilettes has been published, with the unconfirmed mention of the above, but for those who have purchased the book including myself ( a worhwhile addition in my opinion ) I decided to look into the allegation.
As Theo was killed on the 13th May, 1921 he must have been entered in the annual Whitsun BARC meeting on Monday, 16th May, 1921. That makes the 13th a Friday.
When researching anything about Brooklands the first thing to consult is the Brooklands bible written by Bill Boddy. Bill has written the following:-
"....Hartshorne Cooper also contrived to follow his friend Zborowski's lead, entering a Cooper-Clerget which had an 8-cylinder aero-engine ( non-rotary ) installed in a chassis which was very likely that of his old 1906 GP Mercedes. Handicapped to lap at over 110 mph, this car never reached the starting line in any race as, unfortunately, it crashed in practice, killing its owner, who lived near Derby. Cooper was buried in Weybridge Cemetery." Later Bill writes," The Private Sweepstake was cancelled as only "Chitty" was there to compete."
So another driver did die just before the Whit meeting and if Hartshorne Cooper was the third man in a three man contest with Zborowski and Pilette the fabulously wealthy Count would have had nobody to race against. But no mention of Pilette or a Frenchman.
So on to the race reports in The Motor and Autocar. No mention of any 3 man contest probably because it was cancelled.
Back to the entry lists published in those two periodicals. Again no mention of a 3 car race. In any case the entry lists only showed the owners of the cars and not the drivers. ( As an aside, the immediate post Great War race reports did indicate actual drivers in brackets but in some pre-war accounts only the owners were mentioned and you could not assume that they were the drivers although they usually were. )
Anyway, a little flicking through pages and there in a section called News and Views in The Motor, a section usually concerned with general motoring matters, I found what I was looking for. It stated :-
"Private Race At Brooklands
After the ordinary racing at the Whit Monday Meeting at Brooklands, four of the fastest cars in England will be evenly matched against each other in a private event. The winner will receive £80. The contestants will be Count Zborowski ("Chitti-Chitti-Bang-Bang"), J.Hartshorne-Cooper ( eight-cyclinder Cooper-Clerget), Mr E. Gillette (racing Mercedes), and Major R.Cooper ("Mephistopheles", the famous old Fiat )."
So it was 4 not 3 contestants. Along with the unusual spelling of Chitty, Toine's great-grandfather was misrepresented as a Mr., associated wrongly with the famous safety razor family and was not in a car from England but from Stuttgart! No Frenchman. As a private race it explains why it was not listed in the The Motor and Autocar previews.
Almost there: time to dig out the programme and viola!, in the cursive style of handwriting taught in those days the purchaser of the programme had written the answer to the final question. On what day did Hartshorne Cooper die?
Brooklands Programme 16/5/1921
Of course, someone could pop round to the cemetery to confirm or disprove!
As Zborowski was to die in a Mercedes in 1924 at Monza it is to be hoped the Major never acquired one!
John H
#34
Posted 22 May 2003 - 12:15
congratulations and thanks for the research!

That's up to the TNF reputation!

#35
Posted 22 May 2003 - 21:39
But I doubt we're unhappy that you're here! Keep up the good work!
#36
Posted 11 July 2003 - 14:12
Thanks alot for your story! I am actualy reading Brooklands' book.
Toine
#37
Posted 12 August 2003 - 23:00
let's quote:
1)- The Daily Telegraph, Friday 13 May 1921, page 3.
An accident occurred at Brooklands yesterday morning to Mr Hartshorne Cooper. He was driving his Cooper-Clerget, practising for the races on Whit-Monday, when for some unknown reason the car ran to the inside of the kerb and off the track.
The mechanic was thrown out, but was uninjured.
Mr Cooper was hurt about the head. He received medical attention almost immediately, but it was afterwards found necessary to convey him to the hospital, where he is stated to be progressing favourably.
2)- The Times, Friday 13 May, 1921, page 7.
Racing motorist killed, Accident during car test.
Captain J. H. Cooper, a well-known racing motorist, was killed at Brooklands yesterday afternoon while testing a 200 HP Mercédès car for the Whit-Monday meeting.
The car left the track near the approach to the finishing straight, and crashed into a fence. Captain Cooper, who was suffering from very severe head injuries and was taken to the local hospital, died there in half an hour. His home was at Brailsford, near Derby.
3)- The Daily Telegraph, Saturday 14 May 1921, page 7.
Fatal accident at Brooklands
The tragic death of Captain John Hartshorne Cooper, a prominent motor-car racer, whilst testing a powerful car at Brooklands on Thursday, was investigated by the West Surrey Coroner yesterday.
Deceased, who was 26 years of age, lived at Culland Hall, Brailford, Derbyshire.
Godfrey Wiggle-Sworth, motor mechanic, said the tracks showed that the car commenced to skid at one point, and was actually broadside on. It finally turned completely round, pushed down the railings and turned upside down on the fallen railings.
Count Zborowski lifted Cooper from underneath the car, but he died from a fractured skull within an hour.
Captain Cooper's injured mechanic, Harold Easten, who was limping badly, said the car ran perfectly well until half-way round the first lap, when, whilst travelling at a racing speed, Captain Cooper opened out. The car evidently hit a bump, and leapt into the air. When it landed on the track again it was out of control.
A verdict of death by misadventure was returned.
Major Lindsay Lloyd, from Brooklands Automobile Racing Club, stated that they had lost a gallant officer and a good sportsman.
4)- The Times, Saturday 14 May 1921, page 7.
An inquest was held by the West Surrey Coroner yesterday on the body of Captain John Hartshorne Cooper, a motor-car racer, who was killed while testing a powerful car at Brooklands on Thursday.
Captain Cooper, who was 26 years of age, lived at Culland Hall, Brailsford, Derbyshire.
It was stated that the car turned upside down.
Captain Cooper's injured mechanic, Harol Easten, said that half-way round the first lap, the car evidently hit a bump, leapt into the air, and when it landed on the track again was out of control.
A verdict of "Death by Misadventure" was returned.
#38
Posted 25 September 2003 - 09:21
Thanks a lot for your contribution!
Toine
#39
Posted 26 September 2003 - 08:59
- devised by Pierre Clerget (1875 - 1943) who was famous for his seven- and nine-cylinder radial-rotary engines;
- built in 1911 in the Clément-Bayard aero-engine factory at Levallois;
- 60-degree Vee-eight, bore/stroke 140/160 mm, 19.7 litres, 200 HP at 1300/min, 180 kg.
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#40
Posted 23 October 2003 - 19:16

Lola T400, Teddy, André and Michel Pilette somewhere in Flander
#41
Posted 18 December 2003 - 22:22
#42
Posted 19 December 2003 - 10:09
photos # 2, # 3 and # 6 = Mercedes stock chassis.
photo # 4 = Mercedes 1908 GP type chassis, 37/90 three-valve engine (130/180 mm), the car was driven by Elskamp in the 1913 GP de France/Le Mans (DePalma's famous "Grey Ghost" was a similar car).
photo # 5 = August 1913 GP de France/Le Mans - the Mercedes (130/180 mm) of Elskamp leading the Delage of Bablot (the famous incident "Elskamp obstructing Bablot").
photo # 7 = Théo Pilette at the wheel (mechanic Bathélémy Bruyère by his side) of a Mercedes Knight (Knight sleeve-valve engine, 100/130 mm) - with this Mercedes, Pilette and mechanic Bruyère finished 5th in the 1913 Indianapolis 500.
#43
Posted 03 February 2004 - 18:35

Here is a 1913 Grand prix de l'ACF picture:

And some 1914 ones:
http://homepage.mac....otoAlbum42.html

#44
Posted 04 February 2004 - 09:23
Probably (not sure/a lot of leaves on the trees for mid-October) Tervuren (Parc of the Tervuren château/castle, to the east of Brussels)/17 October 1909 - standing kilometre, Pilette on his sprint/record Mercedes (175/180 mm) finished second behind Hémery/Benz, and ahead of Jenatzy who drove an identical Mercedes.
Second photo :
August 1913 - GP de France (not ACF which was at Amiens)/Le Mans - In the foreground Pilette's # 25 Mercedes (4-cylinder, 140/150 mm, 9.2 litres, OHC-two-valve-head - engine developed for the 1912 aeroengine Kaiserpreis) - in the background a Théo Schneider and Elskamp's Mercedes (130/180 mm, OHV-three-valve-head).
Third photo :
ACF 1914/Lyon - Photo taken before/after the pesage at Brignais (a few kilometres to the north of Givors).
#45
Posted 04 February 2004 - 09:58
I have found a photo for comparison - it is Tervuren/October 1909.
Results - standing kilometre :
1) Hémery (Benz) in 31" 1/3
2) Pilette (Mercedes) in 33" 1/5
3) Jenatzy (Mercedes) in 34" 2/5
4) Joerns (Opel) in 38"
5) Gasté (Rossel) in 39" 1/5
#46
Posted 21 October 2004 - 16:42
I'm interested in VDS racing team and Mr.Rudi van der Straten.
If anybody knows the history of VDS racing team, Please, tell to me.
Thank you in advance.
SEIJI OKUMOTO
FROM JAPAN
#47
Posted 30 July 2005 - 20:29
Sorry for bumping this thread but someone asked me a few months ago about the Alfa 8C and its chassis number which Patrick provides earlier in the thread but I don't remember if it was a TNFer asking me this :
#48
Posted 01 August 2005 - 13:31
Originally posted by David McKinney
This one is for Toine...
Greetings and welcome to THE forum.
Someone mentioned that you were interested in finding the cars raced over the years by older members of your illustrious family. Let me start the ball rolling.
THÉODORE PILETTE
I’m unable to help with the Mercedes cars your great-grandfather used in Belgian events 1906/1909, or the Mercedes-Knight of 1912/13, or the car he drove in the 1913 Grand Prix de France. However, I do know that the works Mercedes he drove in the 1914 French GP was dismantled by the factory in 1951, and the parts almost certainly used to create a new car which is, I believe, still on display in the Daimler-Benz Museum.
I'll get onto the later Pilettes when I get a chance.
An update:
It seems from what I've read recently in the Pomeroy book and in the Quicksilver book that the actual Pilette's 1914 GP Mercedes, race number 41, is the one at the Collier Collection in Florida. I saw it in the flesh in March and the Goodwood's pictures.
From an email I've received from curator Scott George, the car was restored in the 50s and it might be more accuratly restored soon.
I'm going to try to help but I'm affraid I only have some old pictures! At least I've been invited to see the car running

#49
Posted 09 August 2005 - 23:10
Some sources list it as Tim Parnell, others as Pilette himself.
That car (Lotus 18 917) seemed to have belonged to
Parnell in the early season. Was it then bought by Pilette maybe? Hence the confusion?
#50
Posted 20 August 2005 - 20:20