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Willy Mairesse

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Willy Mairesse
Born(1928-10-01)1 October 1928
Momignies, Hainaut, Belgium
Died2 September 1969(1969-09-02) (aged 40)
Ostend, Belgium
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityBelgium Belgian
Active years1960–1963, 1965
TeamsFerrari, ENB, Lotus, Scuderia Centro Sud
Entries13 (12 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums1
Career points7
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1960 Belgian Grand Prix
Last entry1965 Belgian Grand Prix

Willy Mairesse (French pronunciation: [wi.li mɛ.ʁɛs]; 1 October 1928 – 2 September 1969)[1] 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 championship points. He committed suicide (overdose of sleeping pills) in a hotel room in Ostend after a crash at the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans forced an end to his career.[2]

Peter Revson once described the intensity of Mairesse before a race at Spa, Belgium. Revson looked into his car and saw Mairesse's "furrowed" face, beetled brows, and eyes which were almost tilted and their colour changed. "It was almost like looking at the devil."[3]

Sports car driver

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Mairesse won first place in the marathon rally Liege-Rome-Liege in 1956.[4] Mairesse secured third place in the Grand Prix of Monza in June 1959. Driving a Ferrari, he placed behind Alfonso Thiele and Carlo Mario Abate, both also in Ferraris.[5] Mairesse and Mike Parkes of England finished second to Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien at the 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans. Driving a Ferrari 250 TR/61, Mairesse and Parkes also eclipsed the previous Le Mans record, covering 2,758.66 miles.[6] In the 1963 12 Hours of Sebring Mairesse and Nino Vacarella placed second after Ludovico Scarfiotti and John Surtees. Both teams drove Ferraris.[7] Surtees and Mairesse won the 1000 km of the Nurburgring driving a Ferrari 250P. Thereafter, Surtees and Mairesse led for the 15 hours of the first 18 hours of the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans before the car caught fire while Mairesse was driving. Mairesse escaped injury. Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini won on the French circuit where Christian Heins had a fatal accident. Mairesse and Surtees retired after a motor fire.[8] A young German Red Cross worker was killed in August 1963 when the wheel of a Ferrari driven by Mairesse came off as his car overturned. Guenther Schneider, 19, was hit by a flying wheel during the running of the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and died.[9] Mairesse was triumphant in the 1964 Grand Prix of Angola, run at Luanda. His average speed was 80.78 miles per hour.[10] Mairesse piloted a Ferrari 250 LM to first place in the 500 km sportscar race of Spa in May 1965. He completed the race in 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 45.7 seconds. He achieved an average speed of 126.29.[11][clarification needed] Mairesse and Jean Beurlys of France finished third at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ferrari 275 GTB winning the GT category in its debut at Le Mans,[12] while Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt won the race. In April 1966 Surtees and Parkes won the 1,000 kilometer Monza Auto Race. Mairesse and Herbert Mueller of Switzerland came in third in a Ford sports car, two laps behind.[13] In May Mairesse and Mueller drove to victory in the Targa Florio, driving a Porsche Carrera 6. Rain caused considerable attrition as only thirteen of seventy starters finished the race.[14] Mairesse and Beurlys again drove a Ferrari to third place in the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. This event was won by the American team of Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt.[15]

Formula One

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Mairesse was third in the Grand Prix of Europe, 1960 Italian Grand Prix. This was the penultimate race of the 1960 Formula One World Championship. Run at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Phil Hill was victorious, with Richie Ginther second, and Mairesse third, a lap down.[16] Mairesse qualified fifth for the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. The pole was won by Graham Hill in a BRM.[17] During the event Mairesse and the Lotus of Trevor Taylor dueled for more than an hour, passing and repassing a number of times each lap. Mairesse was cheered heartily by an enthusiastic partisan crowd. The two cars came together at more than 100 miles per hour in the long, sweeping, left-hand Blanchimont turn. Mairesse's car went off to the left, careening into a hillside behind a ditch, and caught fire after flipping over. He was thrown out of his Ferrari and his shoes and the legs of his trousers were torn off. He was conscious, despite numerous scrapes, cuts, and burns. Mairesse was loaded into an ambulance and transported to a hospital, where he was reported to be in good spirits and without any serious injuries. Taylor and Mairesse made contact earlier in the season at the Grand Prix of Brussels.[18] In a race in which only twelve of twenty-one starters finished, Mairesse came in fourth in the 1962 Italian Grand Prix. He was only a car length ahead of Giancarlo Baghetti.[19]

Out of Formula One in 1963, Phil Hill predicted a rough future for the Ferrari team. He said there was too much competition between Mairesse and Surtees. Specifically, he commented "they will harry each other so much that they will force each other to make mistakes".[20] Mairesse's car crashed during the 1963 German Grand Prix. The Ferrari turned over multiple times after swerving off the track. He was rushed to the hospital with a broken arm. His teammate, Surtees, won the race, with Jim Clark second in a Lotus.[21]

Mairesse at the Nürburgring in 1963.

Racing record

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Complete Formula One World Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WDC Points
1960 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Dino 246 Ferrari V6 ARG MON 500 NED BEL
Ret 		FRA
Ret 		GBR POR ITA
3 		USA 15th 4
1961 Equipe Nationale Belge Lotus 18 Climax
Straight-4 		MON NED BEL
Ret 		NC 0
Team Lotus Lotus 21 FRA
Ret 		GBR
Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 GER
Ret 		ITA USA
1962 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 NED MON
7 		BEL
Ret 		FRA GBR GER ITA
4 		USA RSA 14th 3
1963 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 MON
Ret 		BEL
Ret 		NED FRA GBR GER
Ret 		ITA USA MEX RSA NC 0
1965 Scuderia Centro Sud BRM P57 BRM V8 RSA MON BEL
DNS 		FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX NC 0

Non-Championship Formula One results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1961 Equipe Nationale Belge Emeryson Mk2 Maserati L4 LOM GLV PAU BRX
8 		VIE AIN
DNA 		SYR
11 		NAP LON SIL SOL
DNA 		KAN DAN MOD FLG OUL LEW VAL RAN NAT RSA
1962 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 CAP BRX
1 		LOM LAV GLV PAU AIN INT NAP
1 		MAL CLP RMS
DNA 		SOL KAN MED DAN OUL MEX RAN NAT
1963 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 LOM GLV PAU IMO
DNA 		SYR AIN INT
Ret 		ROM SOL KAN MED AUT OUL RAN

24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Driver(s) Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1958 Belgium Ecurie Francorchamps Belgium Lucien Bianchi Ferrari 250 TR S 3.0 33 DNF DNF
1960 Italy Scuderia Ferrari United States Richie Ginther Ferrari 250 TRI/60 S 3.0 204 DNF DNF
1961 Italy SEFAC Ferrari United Kingdom Mike Parkes Ferrari 250 TRI/61 S 3.0 330 2nd 2nd
1963 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC United Kingdom John Surtees Ferrari 250P P 3.0 252 DNF DNF
1965 Belgium Ecurie Francorchamps Belgium “Beurlys” (Jean Blaton) Ferrari 275 GTB GT 4.0 340 3rd 1st
1966 Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti Switzerland Herbert Müller Ferrari 365 P2 P 5.0 166 DNF DNF
1967 Belgium Equipe Nationale Belge Belgium “Beurlys” (Jean Blaton) Ferrari 330 P4 P 5.0 377 3rd 3rd
1968 Belgium C. Dubois Belgium “Beurlys” (Jean Blaton) Ford GT40 S 5.0 0 DNF DNF

References

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  1. ^ "Willy Mairesse | Motor Sport Magazine Database". Motor Sport Magazine. 12 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Drivers: Willy Mairesse". Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  3. ^ "What Makes Peter Revson Race". Parade Magazine. 12 March 1972. p. 103.
  4. ^ "Liège-Rome-Liège 1956". Ewrc results. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  5. ^ "2 Drivers Killed In Monza Crash". The New York Times. 29 June 1959. p. 37.
  6. ^ "Ferrari Wins at Le Mans". Evening Standard. Uniontown, Pennsylvania. 12 June 1961. p. 14.
  7. ^ "Red Italian Cars Blast Race Field". News Journal. Mansfield, Ohio. 24 March 1963. p. 29.
  8. ^ "Ferraris Mop-Up at Le Mans, Monopolize First Six Spots". Bennington Banner. 17 June 1963. p. 6.
  9. ^ "Boy, 19, Dies of Injuries Suffered at Grand Prix". The New York Times. 7 August 1963. p. 30.
  10. ^ "Angola Victor". Mansfield News Journal. 30 November 1964. p. 15.
  11. ^ "Belgium Driver Wins Grand Prix of Spa". Mansfield News Journal. 17 May 1965. p. 10.
  12. ^ "Ford Challenges Collapses at Le Mans". Pacific Stars and Stripes. 22 June 1965. p. 11.
  13. ^ "Surtees Comes Back at Monza". Pacific Stars and Stripes. 27 April 1966. p. 20.
  14. ^ "Leader Crash, Porsche Wins". Syracuse Herald Journal. 9 May 1966. p. 18.
  15. ^ "Le Mans Is Won By Foyt". Brownsville Herald. 12 June 1967. p. 7.
  16. ^ "Hill, Driving a Ferrari, Scores By Lap in Grand Prix of Europe". The New York Times. 5 September 1960. p. 20.
  17. ^ "Graham Hill Sets Pace in Grand Prix Trial". The New York Times. 17 June 1962. p. 158.
  18. ^ "Clark First With Lotus in Belgian Grand". The New York Times. 18 June 1962. p. 34.
  19. ^ "Graham Hill Wins At Monza". The New York Times. 17 September 1962. p. 60.
  20. ^ "Even Clark Rates Clark Highly". The New York Times. 26 May 1963. p. 168.
  21. ^ "Surtees Is Victor In German Race". The New York Times. 5 August 1963. p. 44.
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