Benoît Nicolas Musy (December 13, 1917 – October 7, 1956) was a Swiss

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

road racer and Maserati race car driver.

Biography

Musy was born on December 13, 1917 in Bern, Switzerland, the son of the Swiss president Jean-Marie Musy. He received an

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

engineering degree from L'institut agricole de l'État de Fribourg in Grangeneuve / FR - Switzerland, and served in the air force during the Swiss military mobilisation

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. During 1944 he rescued a large number (1,200) of Jews from the

concentration camp Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...

with his father. He also received one of the first Swiss parachute jumper licenses in 1947.

Motorcycle racing

He acquired further fame as a motorcycle racer, winning six Swiss championships with

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...

motorcycles. He also competed in the 1949 Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix, part of the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. He competed in three more Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix races, finishing as high as fourth place.

Automobile racing

Later he moved to racing cars. He had various ones, all Maserati. Musy started in May 1954, with a 1953

Maserati A6 Maserati A6 were a series of grand tourers, racing sports cars and single seaters made by Maserati of Italy between 1947 and 1956. They were named for Alfieri Maserati (one of the Maserati brothers, founders of Maserati) and for their straight-si ...

or A6GCS (#2040), a Maserati factory race car, formerly used by Giletti, the official Maserati pilot. With this car he has won several races, including some record laps, on different tracks. He sold the car in 1955 to Pietro Pagliarini. At that time, Musy was already part of the semi-official Maserati racing team. He took part of several races, with very little success, in a 150,

200S 200s may refer to: * The period from 200 to 299, almost synonymous with the 3rd century (201–300) * The period from 200 to 209, known as the 200s (decade) almost synonymous with the 21st decade (201-210) * Chrysler 200S, a trim of the Chrysler 20 ...

, and 200Si. He even participated at a race in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

in a

250 __NOTOC__ Year 250 (Roman numerals, CCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Gratus (or, less frequently, y ...

; he failed to finish. After a test drive in the Swedish Grand Prix, he bought a

Maserati 300S The Maserati 300S was a racing car produced by Maserati of Italy between 1955 and 1958 to compete in the FIA's World Sportscar Championship. Twenty-six examples were produced. Background The 3.0-litre (approx at 6200 rpm) engine was based on th ...

(#3057) in 1955, with which he earned several podium results. Musy died in a racing event at

Autodrome de Montlhéry Board track racing was a type of motorsport popular in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s. Competition was conducted on circular or oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks. This type of track was first used for motor ...

, France, on October 7, 1956, crashing a factory

Maserati 200S The Maserati 200S (Tipo 52) is a racing car made by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati as a successor to the Maserati A6GCS. 28 cars were made in total. The development of the 200S, codenamed Tipo 52 started in 1952, led by Vittorio Belle ...

(#2047) over an embankment, after a steering column breakdown. Ejected from the car, he died immediately. In total, he attended eleven mid-1950s European sports car championships, of which he won five.

Auto racing results

References

External links

Benoît Musy biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musy, Benoit 1917 births 1956 deaths People from Fribourg Swiss motorcycle racers 250cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Swiss racing drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in France Sportspeople from the canton of Fribourg