John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (26 April 1958 – 22 March 2021), styled Earl of Dumfries before 1993, was a
Scottish peer and a
racing driver, most notably winning the
1988 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 56th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 11 and 12 June 1988. It was also the fifth round of the World Sports-Prototype Championship season.
Race
The Porsches were able to turn up the turbo boost in q ...
. He did not use his title and preferred to be known solely as John Bute, although he had previously been called Johnny Dumfries before his accession to the Marquessate.
The family home is
Mount Stuart House on the
Isle of Bute
The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.
Formerly a constituent is ...
. He attended
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...
, as had his father and most male members of the Crichton-Stuart family, but did not finish the normal five years of study.
Life
Bute was born in
Rothesay, Argyll and Bute, into one of Scotland's oldest aristocratic families, the son of Beatrice Nicola Grace Weld-Forester and
John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute, (27 February 1933 – 21 July 1993) was a Scottish peer, benefactor and patron of the arts. He was largely known either as Lord Bute or simply John Bute.
Life
John Crichton-Stuart was born in Mayfair ...
, and the descendant of the 18th-century Prime Minister, the
3rd Earl of Bute. Bute was heir to a large fortune, and turned his back on an expensive education at
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...
and set about pursuing a career in motor racing.
In 1984, Bute, then known as Johnny Dumfries, was the sensation of the F3 season, scoring 14 race victories on his way to winning, and completely dominating, the
British Formula 3 Championship
The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single seat ...
for Team BP (Dave Price Racing). He also finished runner-up to
Ivan Capelli
Ivan Franco Capelli (born 24 May 1963) is an Italian former Formula One driver. He participated in 98 Grands Prix, debuting on 6 October 1985. He achieved three podiums, and scored a total of 31 championship points. From 1998 until 2017 he was a ...
in the
European Formula Three Championship that year. In 1985, he graduated to the newly created
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backs ...
International Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become ...
Championship, initially competing for Onyx Race Engineering before switching to Lola Motorsport. It was a disappointing season, with a sixth-place finish in Vallelunga being the highlight of the year.
In , he made his breakthrough into F1, and raced a single season for the JPS
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. Mor ...
. He was a late addition to the team, apparently as a result of
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...
not wanting
Derek Warwick
Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick (born 27 August 1954) is a British former professional racing driver from England, who lives in Jersey. He raced for many years in Formula One, collecting four podiums but never winning a Grand Prix. He did, however, ...
as a teammate.
[ He competed in 15 Grands Prix for Lotus (not qualifying at ]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 ...
), which used the turbocharged Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
engines and scored 3 championship points. During most of the season he was usually one of the midfield drivers, on par with the Tyrrell drivers Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012.
Brundle contested the 1 ...
and Philippe Streiff
Philippe Streiff (26 June 1955 – 23 December 2022) was a French racing driver. He participated in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 21 October 1984. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 11 championship points.
A pre-season tes ...
. He was replaced for by the Japanese driver Satoru Nakajima
is a Japanese former racing driver. He is a five-time Japanese Top Formula champion, and was the first full-time Japanese Formula One driver. Accordingly, he is responsible for several firsts for Japanese drivers in Formula One, including bei ...
as part of Lotus's deal to use 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 producti ...
engines from that season onwards.
In 1988, Bute scored the biggest racing victory of his career when he won the Le Mans 24 Hours, driving a Jaguar XJR-9
The Jaguar XJR-9 is a sports-prototype race car built by Jaguar for both FIA Group C and IMSA Camel GTP racing, debuting at the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona.
Development
An evolution of the design for the XJR-8, the XJR-9 was designed by Ton ...
for Tom Walkinshaw
Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw (14 August 1946 – 12 December 2010) was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of ...
's Silk Cut
Silk Cut is a British brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Gallaher Group, a division of Japan Tobacco. The packaging is characterised by a distinctive stark white packet with the brand name in a purple, blue, red, silver, wh ...
Jaguar Team alongside Dutchman Jan Lammers
Jan Lammers (Johannes Antonius Lammers, Zandvoort, 2 June 1956) is a racing driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing h ...
and Englishman Andy Wallace.
Bute also participated in the 1-hour endurance race in the 1988 British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park with fellow ex-F1 Briton Guy Edwards
Guy Richard Goronwy Edwards, QGM (born 30 December 1942) is a former racing driver from England. Best known for his sportscar and British Formula One career, as well as for brokering sponsorship deals, Edwards participated in 17 World Champion ...
for Andy Rouse's Kaliber Racing team in Ford Sierra RS500
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...
, finishing third overall and in Class A.
He died of cancer in March 2021.
Wealth
Bute ranked 616th in the ''Sunday Times Rich List 2008
The ''Sunday Times'' Rich List 2008 was published on 27 April 2008.
Since 1989 the UK national Sunday newspaper ''The Sunday Times'' (sister paper to ''The Times'') has published an annual magazine supplement to the newspaper called the ''Sunda ...
'', with an estimated wealth of £125m. In the 2006 list, he ranked 26th in Scotland with £122m.
He lived with his family in London and at the ancestral seat Mount Stuart House, south of Rothesay
Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...
on the Isle of Bute
The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.
Formerly a constituent is ...
. In December 2020 he was charged with breaching COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
restrictions for allegedly travelling to his Isle of Bute home from London.
In 2007, the other family home Dumfries House
Dumfries House (Scottish Gaelic: ''Taigh Dhùn Phris'') is a Palladian country house located in the town of Cumnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is within a large estate, around west of Cumnock. Noted for being one of the few such houses with ...
in Cumnock
Cumnock (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cumnag'') is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie just ...
, Ayrshire, was sold to the nation for £45 million.
Marriages and children
In 1984, he married Carolyn E. R. Margaret "Freddy" Waddell, they were divorced in 1993. They had three children:
* Lady Caroline Crichton-Stuart (b. 26 September 1984)
* Lady Cathleen Crichton-Stuart (b. 14 September 1986)
* John Bryson Crichton-Stuart, 8th Marquess of Bute (b. 21 December 1989)
On the Isle of Bute in February 1999, he married his second wife, fashion designer Serena Solitaire Wendell, they had one child:
* Lady Lola Affrica Crichton-Stuart (b. 23 June 1999)
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
( key)
Complete Formula One results
( key)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap in class - 1 point awarded all races)
‡ Endurance driver.
References
* "Burke's Peerage and Baronetage"
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crichton-Stuart, John
1958 births
2021 deaths
7
Scottish racing drivers
Scottish Formula One drivers
Team Lotus Formula One drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers
People from Rothesay, Bute
People educated at Ampleforth College
International Formula 3000 drivers
British Touring Car Championship drivers
British Roman Catholics
20th-century Roman Catholics
21st-century Roman Catholics
Scottish Roman Catholics
World Sportscar Championship drivers
British people of American descent
British people of Dutch descent
Livingston family
Schuyler family
Deaths from cancer in Scotland
Porsche Motorsports drivers
TOM'S drivers
Jaguar Racing drivers
David Price Racing drivers
Ecurie Ecosse drivers