Élie Bayol
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Élie Marcel Bayol (28 February 1914 in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
– 25 May 1995 in
La Ciotat La Ciotat (; ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a Communes of France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southern France. It ...
) was a French
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 raced in
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
for the O.S.C.A. and
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) ...
teams. Bayol also raced sports cars, mostly driving DB-Panhards for the Deutsch Bonnet works team including winning the 750cc class and Index of Performance at the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans.


Career


1950

Bayol started his career in 1950 racing 500cc DB-
Panhard Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks#Military vehicles, Re ...
s in races and hillclimbs around France. Having previously used
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
engines, DB found that Panhard were more supportive of their racing endeavours. Panhard decided to take their new 611cc two-cylinder model to the
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 ...
. Bayol shared his car with DB co-founder René Bonnet. On Sunday morning, well in the lead in the Index of Performance category, Bayol's engine broke a conrod. With Bonnet there to instruct him, Bayol was able to repair the engine using tools carried in the car to the extent that he was able to start it and drive with one cylinder to the pits for a full repair. While a great deal of time was lost, they were able to resume and were classified as finishers.


1951

For 1951 Bayol raced DB's Formula 2 car, both he and the car making their debut at the Marseille Grand Prix finishing seventh. He drove the car throughout the year, but as it was based on DB's 500cc car, with an engine of just 750cc, it was greatly underpowered compared with their two-litre Formula 2 opponents, but was fast on very tight and twisty circuits. He also returned to
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
with Bonnet, driving the new 850cc car but were outclassed by
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 ...
in the up to 1100cc class.


1952

For 1952, Bayol ran a modified OSCA MT4 in the ''Grands Prix de France'' races with little success, again due to a relatively underpowered 1.3L engine, but performing better at tighter circuits such as at Pau. He returned again to
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
in a DB but retired early in the race. Bayol debuted the new OSCA 20 Formula 2 car (featuring a full-sized two-litre engine) at the Grand Prix du Comminges where he was running third or fourth when his race was ended by issues in the pits. He then went on to make his World Championship debut at the 1952 Italian Grand Prix at
Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
where he qualified tenth but retired on the first lap with a gearbox failure. A week later he finished sixth in the Modena Grand Prix, best of the privateers.


1953

Bayol stayed with OSCA for the 1953 season, now joined by veteran
Louis Chiron Louis Alexandre Chiron (; 3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix. Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty year ...
in a second OSCA 20. After a second place for Chiron at
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
(a race in which Bayol did not take part), both drivers struggled at Pau (though Bayol was classified in fourth place, a few laps down) and Bordeaux. Bayol qualified on pole at Albi and finished second in his heat, but spun in the final due to a clutch failure. At
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
, Bayol departed from his usual small capacity cars driving one of four 4.5-litre
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 ...
s, partnered with
Louis Rosier Louis Claude Rosier (; 5 November 1905 – 29 October 1956) was a French racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing, Rosier won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in in a privateer Talbot-Lago T26C- ...
. They retired early in the race with transmission failure. At his first World Championship race for the year, at the
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 ...
, Bayol retired with engine trouble. He did however take OSCA's first Formula 2 victory at the Aix-les-Bains Circuit du Lac. Both OSCAs were entered for
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but did not start, and in what would turn out to be OSCA's final World Championship race (as they would instead focus on sports car racing) at the
Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix () is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, 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 held since 1921 ...
, Bayol retired, while Chiron finished tenth.


1954

With the World Championship races returning to Formula One regulations for
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
, Bayol joined the Gordini team alongside lead driver
Jean Behra Jean Marie Behra (16 February 1921 – 1 August 1959) was a French racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Behra contested 54 Formula One Grands Prix across eight seasons for Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari, and Behra-Porsche. ...
. Bayol scored his first and only World Championship points with a fifth place at the first race of the season, the
Argentine Grand Prix The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires. Origins and ...
. In the Buenos Aires Grand Prix Formule Libre race he crashed into the crowd on the first lap, killing a spectator and injuring a police officer. Returning to Europe, Bayol finished well at Pau as well as at Bordeaux, but in the Bordeaux race he had been instructed to give his car to Behra, an order he refused, and so he was fired by the team. At Le Mans, Bayol returned to the DB team, again sharing with Bonnet. In a near perfect race they won the Index of Performance as well as the 750cc class and Biennial Cup, finishing tenth overall. Bayol also drove with Bonnet at the Tourist Trophy in Ulster run under handicap conditions. They were leading the race when Bonnet crashed due to a brake failure, with team-mates Paul Armagnac and Gérard Laureau going on to win in the second DB-Panhard.


1955

As Behra left the Gordini team to drive for
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 ...
, Bayol was brought back as lead driver for
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
. He drove the aging Gordini 16s in five Formula One races in 1955, including the first two World Championship rounds in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, but would retire in all of them. At Le Mans, he was to drive one of the new Gordini T24Ss partnered with Behra. The cars were late to arrive, and in Friday practice as Bayol was pulling into the pits he was clipped by the Mercedes of
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
, causing him to collide with two journalists and Behra who were standing at the pit counter.
Robert Manzon Robert Jean Joseph Manzon (12 April 1917 – 19 January 2015) was a French racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Manzon participated in 29 Grands Prix, debuting at the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix. He achieved two podiums, and sco ...
was brought in to replace the injured Behra, Manzon driving a few laps to become familiar with the car. Bayol then went out again and on his second flying lap encountered two spectators crossing the road and swerved to avoid them. This caused him to have a severe crash, destroying the car and leaving him in hospital with a fractured skull and broken vertebrae, ending his season.


Later career

Bayol stayed with the struggling Gordini team for 1956, without much success, finishing eighth and last in the
Glover Trophy The Glover Trophy was a motor racing trophy awarded at various events at Goodwood Circuit, West Sussex between 1950 and 1963. In the 1962 Glover Trophy, 1962 race, Stirling Moss, who had won the race on two previous occasions and was considered one ...
at Goodwood and making his only World Championship appearance at
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, handing his car over during the race to
André Pilette André Théodore Pilette (6 October 1918 – 27 December 1993), son of former Indy 500 participant Théodore Pilette, was a racing driver from Belgium. He participated in 14 Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide ...
who finished sixth.


Complete Formula One results

( key) :''* Indicates shared drive with
André Pilette André Théodore Pilette (6 October 1918 – 27 December 1993), son of former Indy 500 participant Théodore Pilette, was a racing driver from Belgium. He participated in 14 Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide ...


References


External links


Élie Bayol profile at The 500 Owners Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayol, Elie 1914 births 1995 deaths French racing drivers French Formula One drivers OSCA Formula One drivers Gordini Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 12 Hours of Reims drivers Racing drivers from Marseille