Octave John Claes (; 11 August 1916 – 3 February 1956) was a British-born

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

who competed for

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Before his fame as a racing driver, Claes was also a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter and successful bandleader in Britain.

Early life and jazz career

Claes was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to a Scottish mother and Belgian father. He was educated in England at

Lord Williams's School Lord Williams's School is a co-educational secondary school with academy status in Thame, Oxfordshire, England. The school takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school has approximately 2,200 pupils. In September 2001 ...

. In England, he began playing trumpet in a jazz band that included Max Jones on reeds, and another with Billy Mason on piano. In the 1930s he moved to the Netherlands, where he worked with

Valaida Snow Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904. Other presumed birth years are 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907 – May 30, 1956) was an American jazz musician and entertainer who performed internationally. She was also known as "Little Louis" and "Queen of the Tru ...

and

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

. He also worked with

Jack Kluger Jacob "Jack" Kluger (January 23, 1912, Antwerp - May 26, 1963, Brussels) was a Belgian jazz bandleader. In the early 1930s he led a group called the Collegians, and also worked with Maurice Pinto later in the decade. He then put together his own e ...

's band in Belgium. Returning to England, he led his own group, the Claepigeons, making a recording in 1942. In the late 1940s he abandoned his jazz career and settled in Belgium as a professional racing driver.

Racing career

Claes was one of several gentlemen drivers who took part in Grand Prix racing of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His first contact with racing was at the 1947

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (), 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 Championship. It is one of the oldest ...

, where he served as interpreter for British drivers. He made his debut in 1948, in his own

Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside Paris. The company was owned and managed by Antonio Lago, an Italian engineer that acquired rights to the Talbot brand name after the demise of Darracq ...

, raced under the ''Écurie Belge'' banner. Although Claes never scored any points in the World Drivers Championship, he was, like many of his contemporaries, very active in non-Championship Grand Prix races and sports car races. His first win was at the 1950 Grand Prix des Frontières, held at the

Chimay Chimay (, ) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a population density ...

race track. In April 1951 Claes crashed into a crowd while practicing at

San Remo Grand Prix The Gran Premio Automobilistico di San Remo, commonly known as the San Remo Grand Prix, was a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix / Formula One and Motorcycle racing, motorcycle race held in the north-western coastal town of Sanremo, San Remo (I ...

Sanremo, Italy Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

. He was uninjured but an observer was killed and three onlookers were seriously injured. In 1952 he exchanged his outdated Talbot for a

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

, and later for a

Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...

, always with the Écurie Belge colours, but he also raced occasionally for works teams, including Gordini and

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 ...

. He also won the 1953

Liège–Rome–Liège The Marathon de la Route was a series of Rallying#Road rallies, road rallies held in Europe between 1931 and 1971, including Liège–Rome–Liège and Liège–Sofia–Liège rallies held on public roads and closed-circuit races held at the Nürb ...

Rally and took a class win at the 1954

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

. Claes teamed with

Pierre Stasse Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

to finish 12th in the

1954 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans was a race for Sports car racing, Sports Cars which took place on 12 and 13 June 1954, at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France. It was the 22nd 24 Hours of Le Mans and also the fourth race of the 1954 World Sport ...

. They drove a

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

. Together with compatriot

Jacques Swaters Jacques Swaters (; 30 October 1926 – 10 December 2010) was a racing driver from Belgium and former team owner of Ecurie Belgique, Ecurie Francorchamps, and Ecurie Nationale Belge. Racing career Swaters made his debut in the 24 Hours of S ...

, Claes finished third in the

1955 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 23rd 24 Hours of Le Mans and took place on 11 and 12 June 1955 on Circuit de la Sarthe. It was also the fourth round of the 1955 World Sportscar Championship, F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. During the r ...

. Later in 1955 Claes's health problems worsened, as he had contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Claes sold his outfit to Swaters, who merged it with his own

Écurie Francorchamps Écurie Francorchamps was a Belgian motor racing team. They are principally known for running Privateer (motorsport), privateer cars in Formula One and sports car racing during the 1950s and 1970s. The team was founded by racing driver Jacques Swa ...

to form

Écurie Nationale Belge Écurie Nationale Belge (the accurate name being Équipe Nationale Belge or ENB) was a Formula One and sportscar racing team in the 1950s and 1960s, which was formed through a merger of Jacques Swaters' Écurie Francorchamps and Johnny Claes' � ...

. Claes entered occasional events until the end of the year, but finally succumbed to the disease in Brussels in 1956, aged 39.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Non-championship Formula One results

( key)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claes, Johnny 1916 births 1956 deaths Belgian racing drivers Belgian Formula One drivers Ecurie Nationale Belge Formula One drivers Gordini Formula One drivers Hersham and Walton Motors Formula One drivers Maserati Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers People educated at Lord Williams's School Scottish jazz trumpeters Male trumpeters Scottish racing drivers English Formula One drivers British jazz bandleaders English people of Belgian descent English people of Scottish descent World Sportscar Championship drivers 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis People from Fulham Sportspeople from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Racing drivers from London 20th-century Scottish male musicians Tuberculosis deaths in Belgium 20th-century trumpeters British male jazz musicians Formula One team owners British emigrants to Belgium Porsche Motorsports drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers