André Testut (13 April 1926,
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
– 24 September 2005,
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
) was a French-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 ...
and team owner from
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, ...
.
Career
Testut's debut in racing took place at the beginning of September 1956 at the Course de Cote de Vuillafans-Echevanne in France, driving an
O.S.C.A. MT4 roadster where he finished second. This was followed up with a 3rd-place finish at the wheel of 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 ...
356 at the Coupe d’Automne toward the end of September.
In 1957 Testut partnered with his compatriot
Louis Chiron for the 24th edition of the
Mille Miglia
The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...
. The two raced a
Citroen DS19 under the monicker Montecarlo Team and finished in 103rd place.
Testut's victory at the Vuillafans-Echevannes sport car event in 1957 earned him a congratulatory letter from the
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 ...
brothers, who had formed OSCA after being forced out of their company bearing their name.
Testut entered 2
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 ...
World Championship Grands Prix, both in
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, ...
, in
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
and
1959
Events
January
* January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
. On both occasions he drove his
Maserati 250F and both times he failed to qualify. In 1958 he also entered a car for Chiron. For both drivers it would be their last attempt to race in Monaco. Testut performed better at the
1958 Syracuse Grand Prix when he retired with engine failure when he was running seventh with ten laps to go.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key)
Complete Formula One Non-Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
(Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
References
External links
Profile on OldRacingCars.com
Monegasque racing drivers
Monegasque Formula One drivers
Formula One team owners
Formula One team principals
French racing drivers
1926 births
2005 deaths
Racing drivers from Lyon
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
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