Jean-Pierre Wimille (26 February 1908 – 28 January 1949) was a

Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car an ...

driver and a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during

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 opposin ...

Biography

Born in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

to a father who loved motor sports and was employed as the motoring correspondent for the Petit Parisien newspaper, Jean-Pierre Wimille developed a fascination with racing cars at a young age. He was 22 years old when he made his Grand Prix debut, driving a

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

37A at the 1930

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

in Pau.

Career

Driving a Bugatti T51, in 1932 he won the La Turbie hill climb, the Grand Prix de Lorraine and the Grand Prix d'Oran. In 1934 he was the victor at the Algerian Grand Prix in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

driving a Bugatti T59 and in January 1936 he finished second in the

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, R ...

held at the Prince George Circuit in East London,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

then won the

in his home country. Still in France, that same year he won the Deauville Grand Prix, a race held on the city's streets. Wimille won in his Bugatti T59 in an accident-marred race that killed drivers

Raymond Chambost Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

and

Marcel Lehoux Marcel Lehoux (3 April 1888 – 19 July 1936) was a French racing driver and businessman. Lehoux was born in Blois in France. His racing career was built on the back of his successful trading company that operated in French Algeria. He placed sec ...

in separate incidents. Of the 16 cars that started the race, only three managed to finish. In 1936, Wimille traveled to

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

to compete in the

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, ...

where he finished 2nd, behind the winner,

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and single-seaters. A resident of Mantua, he was known as 'Il Mantovano Volante' ( ...

. He also competed in the

24 hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

endurance race, winning in 1937 and again in 1939.

World War II

When World War II came, following the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

occupation Wimille and fellow Grand Prix race drivers

Robert Benoist Robert Marcel Charles Benoist (20 March 1895 – 14 September 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero. Early life Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild' ...

and

William Grover-Williams William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams (born William Charles Frederick Grover, 16 January 1903 – 18 March 1945 (or shortly thereafter)), also known as "W Williams", was a British Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked ...

joined the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

, which aided the French Resistance. Of the three, Wimille was the only one to survive.

Post World War II

Jean-Pierre Wimille married Christiane de la Fressange with whom he had a son, François born in 1946. At the end of the War, he became the No. 1 driver for the Alfa Romeo team between 1946 and 1948, winning several Grand Prix races including his second

. He had a long standing affair with French Singer

Juliette Greco Juliette is a feminine personal name of French origin. It is a diminutive of Julie. Notable people * Juliette (Canadian singer) (1926-2017), full name Juliette Augustina Sysak Cavazzi, Canadian singer and TV personality of the 1950s-1970s. known ...

, who he met in 1947 at the Tabou in Paris. Wimille 1948

From 1946 on, Wimille built and designed cars in Paris under the brand-name

Wimille Wimille is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Wimille is a farming and light industrial town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D237 roads, on the ba ...

. Between 1946 and 1950 around eight cars were built, at first with Citroën-engines, later with Ford V8-engines. Jean-Pierre Wimille died when he lost control of his

Simca-Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini be ...

and crashed into a tree during practice runs for the 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix. He is buried in the

Cimetière de Passy Passy Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Passy) is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), w ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. There is a memorial to him at the

Porte Dauphine Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire * Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte Richard Julian Porte (born 30 January 198 ...

on the edge of the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...

in Paris.

Racing record

Some of Jean-Pierre Wimille's race victories: 1932: * Grand Prix de Lorraine * Grand Prix d'Oran 1934: * Grand Prix of Algeria –

T59 1936: *

– Bugatti T57G *

Grand Prix de la Marne The Grand Prix de la Marne (commonly known as the Marne Grand Prix) was a motor race organized by the Automobile Club de Champagne and staged at the circuit Reims-Gueux on public roads located west of the city of Reims in the Marne département ...

– Bugatti T57G * Deauville Grand Prix – Bugatti T59 *

Grand Prix du Comminges The Grand Prix du Comminges was an automobile race held in France. The race was named after the Comminges, one of the former Provinces of France in ancient Gascony in what is now the Haute-Garonne department of the Midi-Pyrénées region of France ...

– Bugatti T59/57 1937: *

Pau Grand Prix The Pau Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Pau) is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurat ...

– Bugatti T57G (The Tank) * Grand Prix de Böne – Bugatti T57 *

– Bugatti T57G driving with

– Bugatti T57 1939: *Coupe de Paris *Grand Prix du Centenaire Luxembourg – Bugatti T57S45 *

– Bugatti T57C driving with

Pierre Veyron Pierre Veyron (1 October 1903 – 2 November 1970) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver active from 1933 through 1953. Career Pierre Veyron enrolled at university to study engineering. Veyron's friend, Albert Divo, convinced Veyron to take ...

Post War – 1945: *Coupe des Prisonniers – Bugatti sprint car 1946: *Coupe de la Résistance – Alfa Romeo 308 * Grand Prix du Roussillon – Alfa Romeo 308 *Grand Prix de Bourgogne – Alfa Romeo 308 * Grand Prix des Nations – Geneva (Heat 1) –

Alfa Romeo 158 The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the ''Alfetta'' (''Little Alfa'' in Italian), is a Grand Prix racing car produced by Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It is one of the most successful racing cars ever; the 158 and its derivative, the 1 ...

1947: *

Swiss Grand Prix The Swiss Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Suisse, german: Großer Preis der Schweiz, it, Gran Premio di Svizzera), was the premier auto race of Switzerland. In its later years it was a Formula One race. History Bremgarten (1934–1939, 1947 ...

– Alfa Romeo 158 *

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of ...

– Alfa Romeo 158 *Coupe de Paris 1948: *Grand Prix de Rosario –

Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bough ...

Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies ( Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini b ...

15 *

– Alfa Romeo 158 *

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...

– Alfa Romeo 158 *Autodrome Grand Prix – Alfa Romeo 158/47

Complete European Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

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

Post WWII Grandes Épreuves results

(

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

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

Bibliography

* Paris, Jean-Michel and Mearns, William D: "Jean-Pierre Wimille: à bientôt la revanche", Editions Drivers, Toulouse, 2002, * Saward, Joe: "The Grand Prix Saboteurs", Morienval Press, London, 2006,

External links

Grand Prix History – Hall of Fame
Jean-Pierre Wimille * Jean-Pierre Wimille grave photos at Cimetière de Pass

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wimille, Jean-Pierre 1908 births 1949 deaths French Resistance members Recipients of the Legion of Honour French racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Bugatti people Racing drivers who died while racing 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers Sport deaths in Argentina Burials at Passy Cemetery French Special Operations Executive personnel European Championship drivers