André Testut (13 April 1926,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

– 24 September 2005,

) was a French-born racing driver and team owner from

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Career

Testut's debut in racing took place at the beginning of September 1956 at the Course de Cote de Vuillafans-Echevanne in France, driving an

O.S.C.A. O.S.C.A. (Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili—Fratelli Maserati S.p.A.) was an Italian manufacturer of racing and sports cars established 1947 in San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, by the Maserati brothers, and closed down in 1967. The ...

MT4 roadster where he finished second. This was followed up with a 3rd-place finish at the wheel of a Porsche 356 at the Coupe d’Automne toward the end of September. In 1957 Testut partnered with his compatriot

Louis Chiron Louis Alexandre Chiron (3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix. Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty years, ...

for the 24th edition of the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

. The two raced a Citroen DS19 under the monicker Montecarlo Team and finished in 103rd place. Testut's victory at the Vuillafans-Echevannes sport car event in 1957 earned him a congratulatory letter from the Maserati brothers, who had formed OSCA after being forced out of their company bearing their name. Testut entered 2

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Championship Grands Prix, both in

, in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

. On both occasions he drove his

Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made. Mechanical details The 250F principally used the SSG 220 bhp (@ 7400 rpm) ...

and both times he failed to qualify. In 1958 he also entered a car for Chiron. For both drivers it would be their last attempt to race in Monaco. Testut performed better at the

1958 Syracuse Grand Prix The 8th Syracuse Grand Prix was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 13 April 1958 at Syracuse Circuit, Sicily. The race was run over 60 laps of the circuit, and was won by Italian driver Luigi Musso in a Ferrari Dino 246, who also took ...

when he retired with engine failure when he was running seventh with ten laps to go.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Profile on OldRacingCars.com
Monegasque racing drivers Monegasque Formula One drivers Formula One team owners Formula One team principals French racing drivers 1926 births 2005 deaths Sportspeople from Lyon 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers {{Monaco-sport-bio-stub