Joakim Bonnier (31 January 1930 – 11 June 1972) was a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
sportscar racing
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...
and
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, ...
driver who raced for various teams. He was the first Swede to both enter and win a Formula One Grand Prix.
Early life
Jo Bonnier was born in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, to the wealthy
Bonnier family
The Bonnier family is a Swedish family, originally of German Jewish descent, who since the beginning of the 19th century has been active in the book industry and later also in the mass media industry. They own the media group Bonnier Group, with ...
. His father, Gert, was a professor of
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
at the University of Stockholm, while many members of his extensive family were in the publishing business. He spoke six languages and, although his parents hoped that he would become a doctor, for a while it was his aspiration to enter the family publishing business. He attended
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
for a year, studying languages, then went to Paris, France, planning to learn about publishing.
First competition
Bonnier began competitive racing in Sweden at age 17, on an old
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
motorcycle. He returned home to Sweden in 1951 after his Paris trip, and later took part in several rallies as the proud owner of a
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 ...
.
[''Bonnier Seeks Grand Prix Win'', ]Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
, 9 October 1962, Page B2.
Formula One
![1962-08-05 Joakim Bonnier, Porsche F1-804 (sw)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/1962-08-05_Joakim_Bonnier%2C_Porsche_F1-804_%28sw%29.jpg)
Bonnier entered Formula One in , driving a
Maserati
Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
. His racing career almost ended in September 1958 in a race at
Imola
Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical re ...
, near
Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
. He debuted a 1500cc Maserati and moved up through the field following a bad start, passing
Luigi Musso
Luigi Musso (28 July 1924 – 6 July 1958) was an Italian racing driver. In 1955 he joined the Ferrari team, entering into a fierce rivalry with Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins, which boosted the performance of the team, but also encouraged ...
, and was gaining on leader
Eugenio Castellotti
Eugenio Castellotti (10 October 1930 – 14 March 1957) was a Formula One driver from Italy.
Driving career
Castellotti was born in Lodi, Italy. He acquired a Ferrari at the age of twenty, from a local benefactor, and began racing sports cars ...
at around two seconds per lap when he lost control after another car pulled directly into his path as they negotiated a fast corner. His Maserati struck a large rock at the edge of the road and catapulted. The other driver went underneath him as he turned over and over in the air and, while he was upside down, the crash helmet of his competitor made contact with his. Bonnier's Maserati landed on its side before skidding 75 feet and heading into a ditch, where it came to a stop against a pole. Bonnier was thrown out of the car and suffered concussion, several cracked ribs, and a broken vertebra. His car was completely written off.
His greatest achievement in Formula One was taking victory for
BRM
British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM wo ...
in the
1959 Dutch Grand Prix at
Zandvoort
Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...
, when the notoriously unreliable car worked well for once (
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...
and
Hans Herrmann
Hans Herrmann (born 23 February 1928) is a retired Formula One and sports car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany.
In F1, he participated in 19 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 August 1953. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a ...
had bad crashes after brake failures). He also won the 1960 German Grand Prix with a
Porsche 718
The Porsche 718 is a series of one- or two-seat sports-racing cars built by Porsche from 1957 to 1962. An open-wheel single-seat model was developed for Formula racing.
Details
The 718 was a development of the successful Porsche 550A with impr ...
, a race held for
Formula Two
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...
in preparation for the rule change of 1961. Bonnier was one of the driving forces behind the
Grand Prix Drivers' Association
The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) is the trade union of Formula One drivers.
History
The GPDA was founded in May 1961 and, following an election by members, its inaugural Chairman was Stirling Moss.
Its initial aims of this organisat ...
.
Despite his win for BRM, Bonnier did not drive for many works teams throughout his career, with only one-offs as a replacement driver for
Lotus,
Brabham
Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...
and
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
. After his debut in a works Maserati, he then drove for his own ''Joakim Bonnier Racing Team'' and for Mimmo Dei's
Scuderia Centro Sud
Scuderia Centro Sud was a privateer racing team founded in Modena by Guglielmo "Mimmo" Dei and active in Formula One and sports car racing between 1956 and 1965.
Dei had been an amateur driver in the 1930s. In the early 1950s he opened a Maser ...
in the late 50s, before finding a spot in the BRM and
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
teams.
![Joakim Bonnier, Cooper Maserati (1966-08-05 Sp)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Joakim_Bonnier%2C_Cooper_Maserati_%281966-08-05_Sp%29.jpg)
After Porsche quit Grand Prix racing at the end of the
1962 season, Bonnier switched to
Rob Walker Racing Team
Rob Walker Racing Team was a privateer team in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by Johnnie Walker heir Rob Walker (1917–2002) in 1953, the team became F1's most successful privateer in history, being the first and (along with ...
, the only privateer to have scored wins in World Championship events, where he drove
Coopers and Brabhams, scoring few points.
In 1966, he reformed his own team as Anglo-Suisse Racing Team (later to be renamed Ecurie Bonnier), but his interest in Formula One gradually diminished. His last full season was 1968, in which he traded his old Cooper T86 for an old
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
. He raced occasionally in Formula One until 1971.
In 1966, along with American racing drivers
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...
,
Richie Ginther and
Carroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified duri ...
, he was racing advisor to the 1966 motor racing epic ''
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 ...
'' starring
James Garner
James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...
. All the aforementioned (including Garner, who did all his own driving) were employed as drivers for the racing scenes. While filming the
1966 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1966 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 12 June 1966. It was race 2 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the 26 ...
at the notorious and extremely fast Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Bonnier, along with more than half the field including
Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...
,
Bob Bondurant
Robert L. Bondurant (April 27, 1933 – November 12, 2021) was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. Bondurant was one of the most famous drivers to emerge from the Southern California road rac ...
,
Graham Hill
Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...
and
Denny Hulme
Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his ...
, crashed out on the first lap of the race. According to Phil Hill, Bonnier went through an upstairs window at a house next to the track and could not take part in the later filming on the circuit.
Sports car racer
![Bonnier, Chaparral 2D, 1966-06-03 (Sp)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Bonnier%2C_Chaparral_2D%2C_1966-06-03_%28Sp%29.jpg)
Alongside Formula One, Bonnier also took part in many sports car races. He won the 1960
Targa Florio
The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...
, co-driving a works Porsche 718 with
Hans Herrmann
Hans Herrmann (born 23 February 1928) is a retired Formula One and sports car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany.
In F1, he participated in 19 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 August 1953. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a ...
, and in 1962 took a
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
250 TRI entered by
Count Giovanni Volpi to top honours in the
12 Hours of Sebring, sharing the car with
Lucien Bianchi
Lucien Bianchi (10 November 1934 – 30 March 1969), born Luciano Bianchi, was an Italian-born Belgian racing driver who raced for the Cooper, ENB, UDT Laystall and Scuderia Centro Sud teams in Formula One. He entered a total of 19 Formula One ...
. In 1963 he was once again winner at the Targa Florio, with
Carlo Mario Abate
Carlo Maria Abate (10 July 1932 – 29 April 2019) was an Italian auto racing driver. He was one of the best Ferrari 250 GTO specialists. Abate preferred to be addressed as "Carlo Mario Abate" instead of his christened name.
Abate raced mostly fo ...
in another works Porsche 718.
1964 was his best year in
sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...
, where he co-drove a
Ferrari P entered by ''Maranello Concessionaires'' with
Graham Hill
Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...
, taking a 330P to second place 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 ...
and to a win at
Montlhéry
Montlhéry () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris.
History
Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. Under the Merovingians, it was owned by the ...
, while a 12-hour race in
Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
also gave him a first place in a 250LM.
He then won the
1000km Nürburgring
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
in a
Chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
in 1966 (with
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...
), his last win in a major sports car event, but still managed to snatch victories in the minor 1000 km of Barcelona at
Montjuïc
Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Etymology
Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...
in 1971 (with
Ronnie Peterson
Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.
Peterson began his motor racing car ...
), and the 4 Hours of
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 1972 (with Hughes de Fierlant).
Bonnier purchased a McLaren M6B to campaign in the 1968
Can-Am
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987.
History
Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...
series. In the first outing at the Karlskoga Sweden GP, Bonnier had the pole but an off course excursion on the first lap caused him to finish second to David Piper in a Ferrari 330P3/4. He then ran his McLaren in five of the six
Can-Am
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987.
History
Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...
races with his best finish an eighth at Las Vegas. He was plagued with mechanical problems most of the season. However, he finished 3rd in the M6B at the Mt Fuji 200-mile race.
In 1970, he drove a
Lola T210
The Lola T210, and its evolution, the Lola T212, are Group 6 sports prototype race cars, designed, developed and built by British manufacturer Lola, for the newly created European 2-Litre sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of moto ...
to victory in the
European 2-Litre Sports Car Championship, securing the drivers title at the end of the season with 48 points.
Team management, safety campaigning and death
![Joakim Bonnier (1965) by Erling Mandelmann](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Joakim_Bonnier_%281965%29_by_Erling_Mandelmann.jpg)
By the early seventies, he had taken to managing his team, entering several cars in
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and No ...
events, and taking a backseat to driving. He had also taken a lead in the fight for track safety, which had started around that time. Nevertheless, he was killed in a crash during the
1972 24 Hours of Le Mans. On the straight between Mulsanne Corner and Indianapolis, his open-top
Lola T280-
Cosworth
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
collided with a
Ferrari Daytona
The Ferrari Daytona, officially designated the Ferrari 365 GTB/4, is a two-seat grand tourer by Ferrari from 1968 to 1973. It was introduced at the Paris Auto Salon in 1968 to replace the 275 GTB/4, and featured the 275's Colombo V12 bored ...
driven by a Swiss amateur driver Florian Vetsch. His car was catapulted over the Armco barriers and into the trees next to the track and he was killed instantly. According to
Vic Elford
Victor Henry Elford (10 June 1935 – 13 March 2022) was an English sports car racing, rallying, and Formula One driver. He participated in 13 World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1968. He scored a total of 8 championship poin ...
, who was driving a factory-entered
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 was a sports racing prototype raced by the Alfa Romeo factory-backed team between 1967 and 1977. These cars took part for Sport Cars World Championship, Nordic Challenge Cup, Interserie and CanAm series. A small number o ...
and who had stopped to assist Vetsch escape from his burning Ferrari, the last he had seen of Bonnier's Lola was that it was "spinning into the trees like a helicopter".
Racing record
Complete Formula One World 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)
;Notes
* – Bonnier was 6th at
1967 German Grand Prix
The 1967 German Grand Prix was a motor race for both Formula One and Formula Two cars held at the Nürburgring on 6 August 1967. It was race 7 of 11 in both the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for Formula One ...
but he was given points for the 5th place because F2-drivers who competed in the same race were ineligible to score points.
Complete Formula One Non-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)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup 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)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnier, Joakim
1930 births
1972 deaths
Sportspeople from Stockholm
Swedish racing drivers
Formula One race winners
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
12 Hours of Reims drivers
Swedish Formula One drivers
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sport deaths in France
Maserati Formula One drivers
Scuderia Centro Sud Formula One drivers
Ecurie Bonnier Formula One drivers
Giorgio Scarlatti Formula One drivers
BRM Formula One drivers
Porsche Formula One drivers
Rob Walker Racing Team Formula One drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
Joakim
Joakim or Joacim is a male given name primarily used in Scandinavian languages and Finnish. It is derived from a transliteration of the Hebrew יהוֹיָקִים, and literally means "lifted by Jehovah".
In the Old Testament, Jehoiakim was a ...
12 Hours of Sebring drivers
Formula One team owners
Porsche Motorsports drivers