32 replies to this topic

[neville mackay]

I've always been fascinated by the lurid and ultimately tragic story of Willy Mairesse. A works Ferrari driver in the mid 1960's, his career was punctuated by a series of huge accidents from which he somehow bounced back bloodied but unbowed- at least until his accident at Le Mans in 1968 which contributed to his suicide the following year.By all accounts his bravery exceeded his abilities by a prodigious amount. So onto my question .... was he just abnormally brave or was his bravery symptomatic of some form of psycholgical problem that perhaps led to his ultimate demise?

[No27]

I believe that one of the English glossy classic cars magazines or F1 Magazine had an article on him in recent years. Interresting fellow!

[Udo K.]

May I recommend a brandnew book on Willy Mairesse:

"Willy Mairesse - Le Chevalier Meurtri " by Christophe Gaascht
Les Editions Nostalgia, 37 rue Coronmeuse BE-4800 Verviers
Tel/Fax: +032(0)87/334373

Its written in French and English and as far as I know still the only existing book on W.M.

[Lotus23]

I'm not sure if "Wild Willy" had any psychological issues or not.

I had occasion to meet him a couple of times forty years ago and he certainly seemed as emotionally intact as the rest of the circus. But there's no denying that his nickname was well-merited. An interesting character.

[Keir]

When Willy found that he couldn't race any longer, he took his own life, much like Peter Gregg.

They both lived to race and raced to live. No other prospects interested them.

Sad, but this too is part of racing!

[lanciaman]

Originally posted by Keir
When Willy found that he couldn't race any longer, he took his own life, much like Peter Gregg.

They both lived to race and raced to live. No other prospects interested them.

Sad, but this too is part of racing!

What prevented Peter from racing? He was a manic depressive. Did it catch up with him on the track?

[wildman]

Originally posted by lanciaman


What prevented Peter from racing? He was a manic depressive. Did it catch up with him on the track?

Though Gregg lived with bipolar disorder, if memory serves, he'd taken a blow to the head in a crash during the 1980 season, which affected his vision. Evidently he was unable to cope with the reality that he was no longer "Peter Perfect."

[Hieronymus]

Was the fact that Willy's racing career was wrecked due his serious accident the only reason for his suicide or was it just perhaps a contributing factor in the whole tradegy? Did he leave any letters where he said that it was the reason for ending his own life or was it just someone (a journalist, relative or friend) that made everyone believed that Willy comitted suicide, because he could not race anymore?

Maybe there was other reasons for his suicide. Surely he was on some medication, maybe chronic, following his accidents. Medication in some cases leads to severe depression, so maybe it also happened to Willy. Maybe there were some other personal problems that the general public did not know about...

[David T.]

I'm really looking forward to finally browsing the new book.

[Alan Baker]

Dear old "Wild Willy"! An enigma if ever there was one. Usually thought of as an accident waiting to happen, he actually had (like all Belgian drivers!) a superb record at Le Mans. Apart from 1958 (when his ENB Testa Rossa crashed) and 1968 (the fateful first lap GT40 accident), Willy raced at the Sarthe six times. In 1960 he shared a works 250TRI/60 with Richie Ginther and they were consistently in the top three and pushing the sister Frere/Gendebien car (perhaps too hard) when the gearbox broke after 16 hours. In '61 Mairesse shared a works TR61 with Mike Parkes and they came second. He missed the '62 race, but in '63 should have won in the 250P he shared with John Surtees. They were race leaders for 15 hours until sloppy refuelling on Sunday morning led to the car catching fire on the approach to the Esses just after leaving the pits. Willy was quite badly burned before he could abandon ship. He missed '64, but in '65 brought the quasi works "prototype" 275GTB, entered by ENB and shared with "Beurlys" (Jean Blaton) into third place behind the two 250LMs. In '66 ENB's 365P2/3 was as unreliable as all of it's ilk and succumbed to transmission failure after 11 hours. In 1967 Ferrari gave ENB a 330P4 for Mairesse and Beurlys and they brought it home a good third. It was a considerable act of faith on the part of the "old man" to entrust a P4 to his old works driver, but Enzo always had a soft spot for Willy. Sadly this '67 Le Mans performance was just about the last result of his career.

[jgm]

DSJ used to refer to Willy as suffering from the incurable condition known as 'Speed Happiness'. DSJ admitted that he was also a life long sufferer.

[marat]

In his book "memoirs of Enzo Ferrari's lieutenant" Franco Gozzi relates the "legend of the racing
tiger".
Gozzi visited Mairesse two month before his death.
Mairesse's suicide was as his life, courageous.
I read somewhere about André Simon's old days, pathetical, and he was no physically suffering...

[ensign14]

Originally posted by marat
I read somewhere about André Simon's old days, pathetical, and he was no physically suffering...

Perhaps Michael Riedner's book "Mercedex-Benz W196"? The profile on Simon ends with a paragraph talking about his complaining about never havng been given a chance - "which is why no-one knowss exactly where Andre Simon is nowadays, and hardly anyone who is asked is really interested to find out." Seems just a bit harsh...

Is the Mairesse book any good?

[neville mackay]

The only first hand accounts of poor Willy's state of health after Le Mans in 1968 that I am aware of are by Franco Gozzi in his recent biography and Jacques Swaters as quoted in an article on one of the motoring monthly's. Both imply that his decline was in some way related to the injuries he suffered, but there is no way of knowing whether this was the cause or effect of his "speed happiness". Like others, I'd be fascinated to know more about the book.

[Doug Nye]

Jacques Swaters told me that Willie Mairesse's Le Mans injuries left him physically and mentally impaired and that when lucid he despaired of ever recovering fully from them. He seems to have been a pretty tortured, driven depressive at the best of times and his lengthy feud with Gendebien for pre-eminence within the Belgian racing 'ratings' alone stemmed - I have been told - largely from class consciousness. After the Le Mans crash he came to regard himself as having failed, dismally, in his life's ambition and with the certainty that his chosen sport and preferred way of life would now in future be denied to him he simply saw no purpose in submitting himself to that future...so he took the step to ensure it never came.

Brave man? Sad man? Unfortunate victim? Any judgement seems unfair, and will for sure be too simplistic.

Suicide is normally an extremely complex matter, and the full true reasons behind it are never for outsiders fully to comprehend...

DCN

[neville mackay]

There is more information about the new book on W.M. at www.dailysportscar.com/news.
A review is promised shortly. Its 156 pages with over 250 illustrations, of which 70% have never been published before. It costs 38 Euro.

Needless to say my order is already in!

Neville Mackay

[Udo K.]

Originally posted by ensign14
Is the Mairesse book any good?

You will find more on the new book here: http://www.motorspor...y_mairesse.html

Everybody interested in the book should contact Etienne Bourgoignon. He will be happy to answer all questions, I'm sure.

His e-mail is on the above web-site.

[neville mackay]

I have the book and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking of buying it. It is well produced, printed on good quality paper, with a good English translation, thoughtfully written, and well researched - quoting a number of original sources including Mairesse's wife. Most of the many photographs are previously unpublished . It passes the "does it tell us anything we didn't know before" test with flying colours. An impressive effort.

[charles r]

I have the book and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking of buying it. It is well produced, printed on good quality paper, with a good English translation, thoughtfully written, and well researched - quoting a number of original sources including Mairesse's wife. Most of the many photographs are previously unpublished . It passes the "does it tell us anything we didn't know before" test with flying colours. An impressive effort.

Is this book still in print?

[Fivestripes]

Interesting comment by Ken Gregory in the latest Motor Sport regarding Chris Bristow's accident at Spa 1960 - 'I suspect Willy Mairesse did a Schumacher while pasing him'

[sonar]

Is this book still in print?

Yes, it is.
Printed by 'Nostalgia'.
In French with translations in English.
ISBN 2930277092

[r.atlos]

Although ensign14's reference to Riedner's comment about André Simon is now 7 years old I must say that I am shocked to find him mentioned in such a context.

At some point in 1982 or so (and when living just outside Paris), I needed a new 2nd hand day-to-day (and tow) car and found a suitable low-mileage Alfetta TD in the small ads. You may imagine my surprise when I realised that this address in St.Cloud was that of Thepenier, previously Maserati importer and closely linked to the history of Colonel Simone's Le Mans cars. I was taken care of by a gentleman who introduced himself as André Simon.

Once the deal was struck I asked him whether he was "THE" André Simon. He was delighted to hear I had an interest in sports and race cars of the 50s and 60s, knew a bit about racing "in the old days" and that I was myself in Historic Racing. We started chatting about his racing career and in the end he took me to the top floor of their building to show me the GTO and A6 that were still in Thepenier's possession back then.

This gentleman was so delighted and enthusiastic to speak to someone who knew and understood what he was talking about - a real pleasure. Ok, I do realise this is now some 28 years ago and people may change in that time span. However, I doubt that someone so enthusiastic at the age of 62 should change so dramatically later in his life.

[Gabrci]

The only contact I've had with André Simon was through his son, Jacques, but they did both come across as very pleasant and delightful people. Jacques told me that his father, although living in a retirement home now and obviously 90 years old, is still very happy to talk about his racing days.

[ensign14]

Glad to see the reports on Simon were greatly exaggerated. Seemed to me to be one of the unlucky ones, insofar as anyone who had the chance at F1 and survived is unlucky...he could have had a number of excellent results, IIRC twice he ran second in Grands Prix and was good enough to be a team-mate to Moss in sportscars, but it never quite came together for him.

[raceannouncer2003]

Fifty years ago, Willy Mairesse and Georges Berger won the Tour de France in a Ferrari 250 GT. I believe Mairesse was in the winning car in two different years, and Berger three times. Here is a link to a photo:

http://www.klemcoll....1E-5.aspx?page=

I don't know much about Georges Berger, but these must have been his biggest wins. Here is another link:

http://forums.autosp...=Georges Berger

Vince H.

[raceannouncer2003]

If you go to the link for British Pathe:

http://www.britishpathe.com/

and search for "Mairesse", there is footage of the 1960 Tour de France.

Vince H.

[YvensC]

Is this book still in print?

The book is out of print, but you can either find copies at some French classic cars events (two French booksellers bought the remaining copies from the publisher when he got bankrupt). Or ask me. I wrote most of the text with my friend Christophe Gaascht who had been working for ten years on that project, so he deserved to be the only author. Christophe still has copies of the book available.
By the way, we will publish a new book on Equipe Nationale Belge on April 28th...

Claude Yvens

[Jack-the-Lad]

I have found a copy of the book and am in the process of purchasing it. This should make a fine companion book to Richard’s Richie Ginther biography.

[rudi]

By the way, we will publish a new book on Equipe Nationale Belge on April 28th...
 

 

The real definitive history ? If so, a long awaited book!

 

 

[ensign14]

Um, it's been out for nearly a decade...

[rudi]

Um, it's been out for nearly a decade...

Yes? all I can remember: a very disappointing book.

[Jack-the-Lad]

Yes? all I can remember: a very disappointing book.

Tell us more, please. In what ways is it disappointing? I have my eye on a copy to buy.

Thanks.

Edited by Jack-the-Lad, 31 December 2020 - 02:28.

[rudi]

Tell us more, please. In what ways is it disappointing? I have my eye on a copy to buy.

Thanks.

At the time, it was a "long awaited book". Much of what is in the book can be found in the Paul Frère books or articles.The photos are also well known. Later in his very good Claude Dubois told his part in the ENB story with very well choised van Bever images. So may be, as for Ecurie Ecosse, the last (here the next) book will be the best.