Philippe Étancelin

Philippe Jean Armand Étancelin (; 28 December 1896 – 13 October 1981) was a French racing driver, and a winner of the 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans. He competed primarily on the Grand Prix circuit, and was an early Formula One driver.

Biography

Born in Rouen, Seine-Inférieure, in Normandy, Étancelin worked as a merchant in the winter and raced cars during the summer."World's Best Drivers Vie For $60,000 In Cup Race", ''Washington Post'', October 12, 1936, p.X15.

Étancelin's wife, Suzanne, served as his crew chief. Their three children were placed in a school in Rouen while the couple traveled to races around the world. Suzanne communicated with Étancelin through French sign language as he raced around the speedway. Suzanne told a reporter Étancelin bought a racing car to celebrate the birth of their second child, Jeanne Alice. He did not intend to race the car but merely use it for pleasure driving around the countryside. The couple once drove it up to a speed of . After two years of recreational motoring, Étancelin decided to enter a race.

Étancelin began racing a privateer Bugatti in 1926, entering local events and hillclimbs.Twite, Mike. "Etancelin: Twenty Years Behind the Wheel", in Northey, Tom, general editor. ''The World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 6, p616. His first victory was the '' Grand Prix de la Marne'' at Reims in 1927, the same year he recorded a third at the '' Coppa Florio'' in Saint-Brieuc. He repeated his victory at Reims in 1929, ahead of Zenelli and friend Marcel Lehoux, making a Bugatti sweep of the podium. Étancelin took a victory at the '' Grand Prix de la Baule'' and the Antibes '' Prix de Conseil General''.

Nicknamed "Phi Phi", Étancelin also earned Bugatti a win at the 1930 Algerian Grand Prix, followed home by Lehoux. At the '' Formula Libre'' French Grand Prix, he defeated Henry Birkin's Bentley, and won the Grenoble '' Circuit de Dauphine'', with a third at Lyons.

Étancelin began the 1931 season in a Bugatti, placing behind Czaykowski at the Casablanca Grand Prix at Anfa. He won the ''Circuit d'Esterel Plage'' at Saint-Raphaël. For major events, run to ''Formula Libre'' rules to a 10-hour duration, he shared with Lehoux. They dropped out of both the Italian and French ''Grands Prix''. After Étancelin switched to Alfa later in the year, he came fourth in the Marne ''Grand Prix'' and won the four-hour Dieppe Grand Prix, ahead of Czaykowski's Bugatti and Earl Howe's Delage. He added wins at Grenoble and the Comminges Grand Prix at St. Gaudens.

While Étancelin was a top privateer, he was consistently beaten by works teams in 1932, earning only one win, the Picardy Grand Prix at Peronne.

In 1933, Étancelin's Alfa narrowly lost the 19th annual"Campari Wins Paris Auto Race", ''The New York Times'', June 12, 1933, p.22. French ''Grand Prix'' (organized by the French Automobile Club at the Montlhery Autodrome near Paris) following a "furious" contest with Giuseppe Campari's Maserati, losing the lead on the final lap of the event. Nevertheless, Étancelin won a second consecutive Picardy ''Grand Prix'', over a "formidable" Raymond Sommer, and placed second to an equally formidable Tazio Nuvolari at the Nîmes Grand Prix, with win over Jean-Pierre Wimille at the Marne ''Grand Prix''.

The new 750 kilogram formula brought the conquering Silver Arrows of Mercedes and Auto Union. Étancelin switched to a Maserati 8CM, earning second places at Casablanca, Montreux, and Nice

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