Ecurie Francorchamps was a Belgian motor racing team. They are principally known for running

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

cars in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

and sports car racing during the 1950s and 1970s. The team was founded by racing driver

Jacques Swaters Jacques Swaters (30 October 1926 – 10 December 2010) was a racing driver from Belgium and former team owner of Ecurie Francorchamps and Ecurie Nationale Belge. Racing career Swaters made his debut in the 24 Hours of Spa in an MG co-drive ...

. Between 1952 and 1954 Ecurie Francorchamps raced in Formula One, and raced in sports cars into the 1970s.

Formula One

Ecurie Francorchamps raced in Formula One between 1952 and 1954, and campaigned

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

cars. They won one race. Ecurie Francorchamps made their début at the

1952 Belgian Grand Prix The 1952 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 22 June 1952 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 3 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula O ...

with Charles de Tornaco as their driver. De Tornaco finished seventh at that event, retired from the

1952 Dutch Grand Prix The 1952 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 17 August 1952 at the Circuit Zandvoort. It was race 7 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula One regu ...

, and failed to qualify for the

1952 Italian Grand Prix The 1952 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 7 September 1952 at Monza. It was the eighth and final round of the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula One re ...

Roger Laurent Roger Laurent (21 February 1913 – 6 February 1997) was a racing driver and motorcycle racer from Belgium. He was born in Liège and died in Uccle. Laurent competed aboard a Moto Guzzi in the 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, entering ...

drove the team's Ferrari in the

1952 German Grand Prix The 1952 German Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 3 August 1952 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was race 6 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula ...

, where he finished sixth. In 1953 Swaters and de Tornaco both entered the 1953 Belgian Grand Prix but neither started the race. Swaters finished seventh in the 1953 German Grand Prix, and retired from the 1953 Swiss Grand Prix because he spun off during the first lap. In

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

Swaters retired in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

because his engine failed. He finished eighth in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and failed to finish in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, when his engine failed again. The team's single victory came when owner Jacques Swaters won the non-Championship

Avusrennen The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS, is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern par ...

in 1953.

Sports car racing

Ecurie Francorchamps raced in sports car racing from the 1950s until the 1970s. Ecurie Francorchamps first started in Le Mans in 1953 with a

Jaguar C-Type The Jaguar C-Type (officially called the Jaguar XK120-C) is a racing sports car built by Jaguar and sold from 1951 to 1953. The "C" stands for "competition". The car combined the running gear of the contemporary, road-proven XK120, with a li ...

finishing ninth; Charles de Tornaco and

were the drivers. In

they finished fourth with Laurent and team owner

as the drivers. Ecurie Francorchamps had their best Le Mans finish in

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 ...

coming home in third place in a

Jaguar D-Type The Jaguar D-Type is a sports racing car that was produced by Jaguar Cars Ltd. between 1954 and 1957. Designed specifically to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, it shared the straight-6 XK engine and many mechanical components with its C-Type ...

. In 1956 Ecurie Francorchamps prepared the Ferrari 250 GT Europa of Olivier Gendebien and Pierre Stasse who finished in third place of the Liège–Rome–Liège Rally. In

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

they returned at Le Mans with

Lucien Bianchi Lucien Bianchi (10 November 1934 – 30 March 1969), born Luciano Bianchi, was an Italian-born Belgian racing driver who raced for the Cooper, ENB, UDT Laystall and Scuderia Centro Sud teams in Formula One. He entered a total of 19 Formula One ...

and Georges Harris finishing seventh in a Ferrari 500 TRC and winning the S2000 class. Ecurie Francorchamps would keep returning in Ferraris every single time. Jean Blaton and Alain de Changy finished sixth in 1958. In

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

Leon Dernier and Pierre Noblet finished sixth overall and third in their GT category. Lucien Bianchi and

Georges Berger Georges Berger (14 September 1918 in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, near Brussels – 23 August 1967 at the Nürburgring) was a racing driver who raced a Gordini in his two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He initially competed during the 195 ...

didn't finish in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

. Pierre Dumay and Leon Dernier finished in a fine fourth place in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

also finishing second in their class. In the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans Ecurie Francorchamps finished in third place with

Willy Mairesse Willy Mairesse (1 October 1928 – 2 September 1969) was a Formula One and sports-car driver from Belgium. He participated in 13 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 19 June 1960. He achieved one podium and scored a total of seven champio ...

and Jean Blaton at the wheel of a

Ferrari 275 The Ferrari 275 is a series of front-engined V12-powered grand touring automobiles with two-seater coupé and spider bodies produced by Ferrari between 1964 and 1968. The first 275 series cars were powered by a 3.3 L (3286 cc) overh ...

GTB, equalling their best result of

and also winning their GT class. Pierre Noblet and Claude Dubois finished tenth in 1966. Ecurie Francorchamps would not return to Le Mans until

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

where Hughes de Fierlandt and Alistair Walker finished in fifth place in a Ferrari 512S. Hughes de Fierlandt and Alain de Cadenet retired in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

Derek Bell,

Teddy Pilette Theodore "Teddy" Pilette (born 26 July 1942, in Brussels) is a former racing driver from Belgium. He participated in 4 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, the first on 12 May 1974 with Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team. Son of André ...

and Richard Bond brought the

home in eighth position. The following year Richard Bond and

Jean-Claude Andruet Jean-Claude Andruet (born 13 August 1940 in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, Montreuil) is a retired French professional Rallying, rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship. Andruet took three WRC event wins during his career; 1973 M ...

only could finish 20th. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

Hughes de Fierlandt and Richard Bond retired from the race driving a

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...

Carrera RSR.

and Hughes de Fierlandt finished 12th in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. In the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ecurie Francorchamps' last Le Mans,

, Jean Blaton and Raymond Touroul failed to finish at the wheel of a Ferrari 512BB.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{reflist

External links

* http://www.autosport.nl/news/4203/racing_shows_ecurie_francorchamps_hoogtepunt_tijdens_25e_brussels_retro_festival.html * http://www.autosportvision.nl/?page=news&cat=17&item=3032 Formula One entrants Belgian auto racing teams Sport in Stavelot Auto racing teams established in 1952 Auto racing teams disestablished in 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans teams