Maurice Trintignant

Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a French racing driver and winemaker, who competed in Formula One from Template:F1 to Template:F1. Trintignant won two Formula One Grands Prix across 15 seasons. In endurance racing, Trintignant won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Template:24hLM with Ferrari.

Trintignant competed in Formula One for 11 teams, winning two Grands Prix across 15 seasons. He finished fourth in the Template:F1 and Template:F1 World Drivers' Championships with Ferrari. He entered 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from Template:24hLM to Template:24hLM, winning in Template:24hLM alongside José Froilán González, driving the Ferrari 375 Plus, and finished runner-up in Template:24hLM.

After retiring from motor racing, Trintignant moved into the winemaking trade, owning a vineyard in Languedoc-Roussillon, where he named his vintage Le Petoulet.Template:Efn Trintignant's nephew, Jean-Louis, was a highly successful actor in post-World War II France.

Racing career

He began racing in 1938, and won the 1939 Grand Prix des Frontières, but his career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which his own Bugatti was stored in a barn. When he rebuilt it for an event of 1945, the Coupé de la Liberation, he overlooked a clogged fuel filter, which caused him to drop out of the race. It transpired that the filter was plugged with rat droppings, earning him the unenviable nickname, from another celebrated racer, Jean-Pierre Wimille, of 'Le Petoulet, "the rat-droppings man".<ref name="LP">Michael Kettlewell, World of Automobiles (Orbis, 1974), Volume 20, p.2368</ref>

In 1948, Trintignant suffered a very serious accident during a support race for the Swiss Grand Prix. He was thrown in the air, and landed in the middle of the race track. His heart stopped beating for one minute and 15 seconds at the hospital, and he was pronounced dead. However, he survived, and woke up after a week-long coma. He kept a very peculiar looking abdomen scar, as the surgeon stitching a large wound did it at a very irregular pace while his heart had stopped beating. For six months, he suffered from amnesia and a loss of motor skills, but he eventually made a near complete recovery.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The corner at which he crashed was later named after him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His wife offered him a stuffed teddy bear during his recovery, and as a superstition, Trintignant kept it in his pocket while he was racing for the rest of his career. He returned to racing in 1949 and won a Formula Two race at the Circuit des Remparts that year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

By 1950 Le Petoulet was successful enough to be offered a works drive for the Gordini team, in the newly formed Formula One World Championship racing series. He competed in Formula One every year until his retirement after the 1964 season. During this long career Trintignant scored two victories, both at the Monaco Grand Prix, in 1955 and 1958.<ref>Daily Express page 9 Monday 19 May 1958</ref> Unusually for Monaco, both victories came from relatively far down the field, as Trintignant started those races from 9th and 5th respectively. 1954 and 1955 were his best Championship years and he finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship in both.

Trintignant won the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans with José Froilán González in a Ferrari 375 Plus, despite a seven minutes pitstop with one and a half hour to go, due to a faulty ignition wiring caused by the torrential rain.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Known for his conservative and reliable driving style,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Trintignant drove a huge variety of cars, for many different teams: both works and privateer. Unusually, at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix Trintignant shared both second and third places, a product of the Scuderia Ferrari policy of passing cars to their top drivers, should their original car break down. In 1956 he drove the Bugatti Type 251 in the French Grand Prix, becoming the last driver to represent the famed marque at a Grand Prix race.<ref>Mattijs Diepraam, Colombo's flawed brilliance, 8W, October 1998.</ref> Even in his final season, driving his own BRM P57, he scored points, taking fifth place at the 1964 German Grand Prix on the intimidating Nürburgring. Between 1959 and 1966, Trintignant held the record for most World Championship Grand Prix starts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following his retirement from racing, Maurice Trintignant returned to a quiet life as a wine-grower (naming his vintage Le Petoulet),<ref>ibid.</ref> near the town of Vergèze, in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine growing region.

Trintignant competed in the 2000 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, reunited with the Cooper T45 he had driven to victory there in 1958.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Trintignant died, aged 87, in 2005.

Major career wins

• Rheinland-Pfalz Preis – 1950
• Mont Ventoux Hill Climb – 1949, 1960, 1964
• Buenos Aires Grand Prix – 1954, 1960
• Swedish Grand Prix – 1956
• RAC Tourist Trophy – 1954
• Circuit des Nations – 1950
• Moroccan Grand Prix – 1956
• Grand Prix Avignon – 1947
• Albi Grand Prix – 1951
• Grand Prix de Caen – 1952, 1954
• Grand Prix de Cadours – 1952, 1953
• Pau Grand Prix – 1958, 1959 (F2), 1962 (F1)
• Grand Prix de Rouen-les-Essarts – 1954
• Grand Prix de Roubaix – 1952
• Grand Prix des Frontières – 1938, 1939, 1953
• 2 Hours of Dakar – 1956
• 12 Hours of Hyères – 1954
• 10 Hours of Messina – 1955
• Monaco Grand Prix – 1955, 1958
• 24 Hours of Le Mans – 1953, 1954

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(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	Template:Tooltip	Pts
Template:F1	Equipe Gordini	Simca-Gordini T15	Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s	GBR	MON Template:Small	500	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA Template:Small					NC	0
Template:F1	Equipe Gordini	Simca-Gordini T15	Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s	SUI DNA	500	BEL	FRA Template:Small	GBR	GER Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	ESP Template:Small				NC	0
Template:F1	Ecurie Rosier	Ferrari 166 F2	Ferrari 166 2.0 V12	SUI Template:Small	500	BEL									16th	2
	Equipe Gordini	Simca-Gordini T15	Gordini 1500 1.5 L4				FRA Template:Small
		Gordini T16	Gordini 20 2.0 L6					GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small
Template:F1	Equipe Gordini	Gordini T16	Gordini 20 2.0 L6	ARG Template:Small	500	NED Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	SUI Template:Small	ITA Template:Small			12th	4
Template:F1	Ecurie Rosier	Ferrari 625	Ferrari 625 2.5 L4	ARG Template:Small	500										4th	17
	Scuderia Ferrari					BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	SUI Template:Small	ITA Template:Small
		Ferrari 553	Ferrari 554 2.5 L4									ESP Template:Small
Template:F1	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 625	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4	ARG 2+3†	MON Template:Small	500			GBR Template:Small						4th	11 Template:Frac
		Ferrari 555					BEL Template:Small	NED Template:Small		ITA Template:Small
Template:F1	Vandervell Products Ltd	Vanwall VW 2	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4	ARG	MON Template:Small	500	BEL Template:Small		GBR Template:Small	GER	ITA Template:Small				NC	0
	Automobiles Bugatti	Bugatti T251	Bugatti 2.5 L8					FRA Template:Small
Template:F1	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 801	Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8	ARG	MON Template:Small	500	FRA Template:Small	GBR 4‡	GER	PES	ITA				13th	5
Template:F1	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T45	Climax FPF 2.0 L4	ARG	MON Template:Small	NED Template:Small	500				GER Template:Small		ITA Template:Small	MOR Template:Small	7th	12
	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6					BEL Template:Small
	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4						FRA Template:Small
	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T43	Climax FPF 2.0 L4							GBR Template:Small		POR Template:Small
Template:F1	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T51	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	MON Template:Small	500	NED Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	POR Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small			5th	19
Template:F1	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T51	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	ARG 3<ref>No points awarded for shared drive with Stirling Moss in the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix</ref>											NC	0
	Scuderia Centro Sud		Maserati 250S 2.5 L4		MON Template:Small	500	NED Template:Small	BEL	FRA Template:Small				USA Template:Small
	David Brown Corporation	Aston Martin DBR5	Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6							GBR Template:Small	POR	ITA
Template:F1	Scuderia Serenissima	Cooper T51	Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4	MON Template:Small	NED	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR	GER Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA				NC	0
Template:F1	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Lotus 24	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	NED Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	RSA			NC	0
Template:F1	Reg Parnell Racing	Lola Mk4A	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	MON Template:Small	BEL	NED									NC	0
		Lotus 24					FRA Template:Small	GBR	GER
	Scuderia Centro Sud	BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8							ITA Template:Small	USA	MEX	RSA
Template:F1	Maurice Trintignant	BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON Template:Small	NED	BEL	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT DNA	ITA Template:Small	USA	MEX		16th	2
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* Indicates shared drive with Harry Schell

† Indicates shared drives with José Froilán González and Giuseppe Farina (2nd place) & Giuseppe Farina and Umberto Maglioli (3rd place)

‡ Indicates shared drive with Peter Collins

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Automobiles Gordini	Template:Flagicon Robert Manzon	Gordini T15S Coupé	S 3.0	34	DNF (Water radiator)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Equipe Gordini	Template:Flagicon Jean Behra	Gordini T15S	S 1.5	49	DNF (Ignition)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Ecurie Rosier	Template:Flagicon Louis Rosier	Ferrari 340 America Spyder	S 5.0		DNF (Clutch)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Automobiles Gordini	Template:Flagicon Harry Schell	Gordini T26S	S 3.0	293	6th	1st
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Scuderia Ferrari	Template:Flagicon José Froilán González	Ferrari 375 Plus	S 5.0	302	1st	1st
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Scuderia Ferrari	Template:Flagicon Harry Schell	Ferrari 735 LM	S 5.0	107	DNF (Clutch)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Scuderia Ferrari	Template:Flagicon Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari 625 LM Touring	S 3.0	293	3rd	2nd
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Scuderia Ferrari	Template:Flagicon Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari 250 TR	S 5.0	109	DNF (Piston)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon David Brown Racing Dept.	Template:Flagicon Tony Brooks	Aston Martin DBR1/300	S 3.0	173	DNF (Gearbox)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon David Brown Racing Dept.	Template:Flagicon Paul Frère	Aston Martin DBR1/300	S 3.0	322	2nd	2nd
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Porsche KG	Template:Flagicon Hans Herrmann	Porsche 718 RS 60	S 2.0	57	DNF (Piston)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Scuderia Serenissima	Template:Flagicon Carlo Maria Abate	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	GT 3.0	162	DNF (Transmission)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Maserati France	Template:Flagicon Lucien Bianchi	Maserati Tipo 151/1	E +3.0	152	DNF (Suspension)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Maserati France	Template:Flagicon André Simon	Maserati Tipo 151/3	P 5.0	99	DNF (Electrical)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Ford France S.A.	Template:Flagicon Guy Ligier	Ford GT40 Roadster	P 5.0	11	DNF (Gearbox)
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Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
1957	Template:Flagicon Ferrari Factory	Template:Flagicon Peter Collins	Ferrari 315 S	S5.0	187	6th	5th
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Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

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

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Template:Tooltip	Pts	Class
1962	Ford Motor Company	Ford Zodiac Mk 3	Template:Tooltip	SNE	GOO	AIN	SIL ?	CRY	AIN	BRH	OUL	22nd	6	3rd
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Trivia

• He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur in 1960
• Was the mayor of Vergèze between 1958 and 1964.
• Was married to Louise on 10 December 1938
• Took over his father's vineyard
• On 10 October 2010 a bronze statue of a Bugatti Type 51 was unveiled in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes in his honour

External links

• Mattijs Diepraam, Colombo's flawed brilliance, 8W, October 1998.