André Paul Victor Morel (3 August 188417 July 1961) was a French racing driver.

Life and career

Morel was born on 3 August 1884 in

Troyes, France Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

. His father died when he was 11. His parents at that time expected him Morel to become a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

. After dipping his toes into both careers, he switched to the automotive field. When Morel made his way to Lyon, he was obliged to work his way up; having no diplomas or degrees, he began washing windows and negotiating used cars. Between 1911 and 1914, Morel managed a mechanic workshop that repaired and sold automobiles and represented the brands

Berliet Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into 'ad ...

and

Le Zèbre Le Zèbre was a French make of car built between 1909 and 1931 in Puteaux, Seine. The company was founded by Jules Salomon and Georges Richard with finance from Jacques Bizet, son of Georges Bizet the composer. History Julius Salomon was a ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was deemed unfit for combat and was sent to work in a munitions factory. After the war, on 1 April 1919, Morel was hired as a commercial inspector by

. Soon,

Amilcar The Amilcar was a French automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1940. History Foundation and location Amilcar was founded in July 1921 by Joseph Lamy and Emile Akar. The name "Amilcar" was an imperfect anagram of the partners' names. The b ...

was created by André Morel, Edmond Moyet, Emile Akar and Joseph Lamy. The name "Amilcar" was formally registered on 29 July 1921 and was loosely based on an anagram, using letters (adjusted to replace the "k" and the "y") from the names of two of the company's founders, Lamy and Akar. As the Amilcar business grew, Morel began his great racing career. He won many races, including the French Constructor Championship in 1922. Later, on 26 August 1928 at Arpajon, speed records were officially broken: the 1270 cc was recorded achieving 211 km/h under harsh wet conditions, and the 1100cc (car) at 207 km/h. Andre Morel raced with Delage in 1925 with

Albert Divo Albert Divo (24 January 1895, in Paris – 19 September 1966, in Morsang-sur-Orge, Essonne, France) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was born in Paris, France. In 1922, Divo competed in the International Tourist Trophy endurance race on ...

and won the

San Sebastián Grand Prix The San Sebastián Grand Prix (''Gran Premio de San Sebastián'') was an automobile race held at the Circuito Lasarte in Lasarte-Oria, Spain. During most of its existence, it was the main race event in Spain, since the Spanish Grand Prix had not y ...

. March 1929 ended

's race era. Shortly afterwards, André Morel left

. While he was racing for

, Morel was also racing for

Voisin Voisin (French for "neighbour") may refer to: Companies *Avions Voisin, the French automobile company :*Voisin Laboratoire, a car manufactured by Avions Voisin *Voisin (aircraft), the French aircraft manufacturer * Voisin, a Lyon-based chocolat ...

. The two companies never competed against one another. Then, Morel met back up with Lamy, and in April 1929, Morel was named representative for the Hudson and Essex brands. Driving an

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, Morel won the automobile Tour de France. Later Morel raced with

Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...

, his last race being at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

in 1952. Near the end of his life, Morel was elected the vice president of the Racers Society. On 3 August 1961 André Morel died in the suburbs of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, due to some illness. The most comprehensive historical work on André Morel has been compiled by Philip Schram and is published a
www.lezebre.eu
A DVD was published that includes the Le Zebre portion of André Morel's resume.

Gallery

Image:Le Zebre C5 BW 1.JPG, Le Zebre C5, 1913 Image:André Morel at the 1926 San Sebastián Grand Prix.jpg, André Morel at the 1926 San Sebastián Grand Prix Image: Andre_morel_le_champion_modeste.jpg, DVD Andre Morel Le Champion Modeste

References

External links

* This text is an abstract of the life of Andre Morel published a
www.lezebre.eu
by Philip Schram {{DEFAULTSORT:Morel, Andre 1884 births 1961 deaths French racing drivers Sportspeople from Aube