René Le Bègue, au Grand Prix de l'ACF 1939

René Le Bègue (15 January 1914 – 24 February 1946) was a

Paris 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 ...

ian-born French race car driver in

Rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...

and Grand Prix motor racing. In his first year of top level racing, his best showing came at the 1936

Spa 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their ...

endurance race when he drove a

Delahaye Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation with two unrelated brothers-in-law as equal partners in 1898. The compa ...

to a 2nd-place finish. In 1937 he and his co-pilot Julio Quinlin won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Delahaye. That year Le Bègue also won the Coupe de Vitesse at the

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 ...

driving a Talbot-Lago T150 and had several top-three finishes. He then teamed up with André Morel to claim victory in the 1938 12 hours of Paris endurance race for

sports cars A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

. In 1939 he finished 3rd in the

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 ...

behind the dominant

Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm fo ...

Silver Arrows Silver Arrows (german: link=no, Silberpfeil) was the nickname given by the press to Germany's dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing cars between 1934 and 1939. The name was later applied to the Mercedes-Benz Formula ...

then went on to win the

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 ...

. The following year, Le Bègue traveled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to compete in the

1940 Indianapolis 500 The 28th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1940. The winner was Wilbur Shaw in the same Maserati 8CTF he had driven to victory in 1939. Shaw became the first driver in the history of th ...

alongside fellow Frenchman

René Dreyfus René Dreyfus (6 May 1905 – 16 August 1993) was a French driver who raced automobiles for 14 years in the 1920s and 1930s, the Golden Era of Grand Prix motor racing. Early life Dreyfus was born and raised in Nice to a Jewish family. He show ...

. Driving a pair of Maseratis for the American/French owner

Lucy O'Reilly Schell Lucy O'Reilly Schell (26 October 1896 – 8 June 1952) was an American racing driver, team owner, and businesswoman. Her racing endeavours focused mainly on Grand Prix and rallying. She was the first American woman to compete in an internationa ...

, Le Bègue qualified 31st, but Dreyfus was bumped and ended up as the second alternate. On race day, it was decided for the two drivers to split time in the car, and each drove two stints of approximately 50 laps (125 miles) apiece. Le Bègue started the race and ran approximately laps 1–50 and laps 101–150. Dreyfus piloted the car for laps 51–100 and from 151 to the finish. The pair brought the car home in 10th place, flagged 8 laps down. A rainstorm prompted officials to flag the race after only the first three finishers received the checkered flag.'' The Talk of Gasoline Alley'' -

WFNI WFNI (1070 AM) is a commercial radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by locally based Emmis Communications and carries a sports radio format, featuring ESPN Radio programming. The studios and offices are located at 40 Monu ...

, May 9, 2009 René Le Bègue continued racing until the German occupation of France during World War II when he joined the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

. With the war over, in 1946 he prepared to return to the racing scene and was elected vice-president of the French Drivers Association (AGACI, ''Association Générale des Amicales et Coureurs Indépendants''). However, early that year before the season started the thirty-two-year-old Le Bègue was accidentally

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that ca ...

ted by gas leaking from a defective water heater in his bathroom. The 9 June 1946 Grand Prix race at

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest tow ...

, won by

Raymond Sommer Raymond Sommer (31 August 1906 – 10 September 1950) was a French motor racing driver. He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both and , and altho ...

, was named the ''René Le Bègue Cup'' in his memory.

Indianapolis 500 results

References

DV3 Limited website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begue, Rene Le French racing drivers Grand Prix drivers French rally drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Free French military personnel of World War II Racing drivers from Paris 1914 births 1946 deaths Accidental deaths in France Deaths from asphyxiation 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers European Championship drivers