René Louis Paul Le Bègue (15 January 1914 – 24 February 1946) 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 ...

Driving career

In his first year of top level racing, Le Bègue's best showing came at the 1936

Spa 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

endurance race when he drove a

Delahaye Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation in 1898 with two marriage-related brothers-in-law, George Morane and Le ...

to a 2nd-place finish. In 1937 he and his co-pilot Julio Quinlin won the

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...

driving a Delahaye. That year Le Bègue also won the Coupe de Vitesse at the Autodrome de Montlhéry driving a Talbot-Lago T150 and had several top-three finishes. He then teamed up with

André Morel André Paul Victor Morel (3 August 188417 July 1961) was a French racing driver. Life and career Morel was born on 3 August 1884 in Troyes, France. His father died when he was 11. His parents at that time expected him Morel to become a prie ...

to claim victory in the 1938 12 hours of Paris endurance race for

sports cars A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1910s and ar ...

. In 1939 he finished 3rd in 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 ...

behind the dominant

Auto Union Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm for ...

Silver Arrows Silver Arrows () is a nickname typically given to silver racing cars with a significant connection to a German car manufacturer. Although the term was coined in 1932, it came into popular usage regarding Germany's dominant Mercedes-Benz and ...

then went on to win the Grand Prix du Comminges. The following year, Le Bègue traveled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to compete in the

1940 Indianapolis 500 The 28th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1940. The winner was Wilbur Shaw in the same Maserati 8CTF he had driven to victory in 1939. Shaw became the first driver in the history of ...

alongside fellow Frenchman

René Dreyfus René Albert Dreyfus (6 May 1905 – 16 August 1993) was a French racing driver active during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Dreyfus was born and raised in Nice to a Jewish family. He showed an early interest in automobiles, learning to d ...

. Driving a pair of

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 ...

s for the American/French owner

Lucy O'Reilly Schell Lucy O'Reilly Schell (26 October 1896 – 8 June 1952) was an American racing driver, team owner, and businesswoman. Her racing endeavours focused mainly on Grand Prix and rallying. She was the first American woman to compete in an international ...

, Le Bègue qualified 31st, but Dreyfus was bumped and ended up as the second alternate. On race day, it was decided for the two drivers to split time in the car, and each drove two stints of approximately 50 laps (125 miles) apiece. Le Bègue started the race and ran approximately laps 1–50 and laps 101–150. Dreyfus piloted the car for laps 51–100 and from 151 to the finish. The pair brought the car home in 10th place, flagged 8 laps down. A rainstorm prompted officials to flag the race after only the first three finishers received the checkered flag.''

The Talk of Gasoline Alley Donald C. Davidson (born 1942-43) was the historian of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1998 to 2020, the only person to hold such a position on a full-time basis for any motorsports facility in the world. Davidson started his career as a sta ...

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WFNI WFNI (1070 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by the Emmis Corporation but is usually off the air. WFNI carried a sports radio ...

, May 9, 2009 Le Bègue continued racing until the

German occupation of France during World War II The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

when he joined the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

. With the war over, in 1946 he prepared to return to the racing scene and was elected vice-president of the French Drivers Association (AGACI, ''Association Générale des Amicales et Coureurs Indépendants''). However, early that year before the season started the thirty-two-year-old Le Bègue was accidentally

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

ted by gas leaking from a defective water heater in his bathroom. The 9 June 1946 Grand Prix race at

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

, won by

Raymond Sommer Pierre Raymond Sommer (31 August 1906 – 10 September 1950) was a French racing driver. He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both and , and al ...

, was named the ''René Le Bègue Cup'' in his memory.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

DV3 Limited website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Bègue, René French racing drivers Grand Prix drivers French rally drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Free French military personnel of World War II Racing drivers from Paris 1914 births 1946 deaths Accidental deaths in France Deaths from asphyxiation 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers European Championship drivers