Raymond Sommer

Pierre Raymond Sommer (31 August 1906 – 10 September 1950)<ref name=mem>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was a French racing driver.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 Template:24hLM and Template:24hLM, and although he did not reach the finishing line in any subsequent appearance at the Le Mans, he did lead each event until 1938. Sommer was also competitive at the highest level in Grand Prix motor racing, but did not win a race. He won the French Grand Prix in 1936, but the event that year was run as a sports car race.

After European racing resumed in the late 1940s, Sommer again won a number of sports car and minor Grand Prix events, and finished in fourth place in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, the second round of the newly-instituted Formula One World Drivers' Championship. He was killed toward the end of 1950, when his car overturned during a race at the Circuit de Cadours.

Biography

Sommer was born in Mouzon in France, to a wealthy Sedan carpet-making family. His father, Roger Sommer, broke the Wright Brothers' record for the longest flight in 1909. It was not until 1931 that Raymond started to display daredevil tendencies of his own, entering motor races in a privateer Chrysler Imperial. The following year, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, despite having to drive over 20 hours solo after his teammate, Luigi Chinetti, retired ill. During the 1930s, Sommer was to dominate the French endurance classic, winning again in 1933 driving an Alfa Romeo alongside Tazio Nuvolari. He also led every race until 1938, only to suffer a mechanical failure, once when 12 laps in the lead. Sommer traveled to Long Island, New York, to compete in the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup where he finished fourth behind the winner, Nuvolari.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Although a regular top-10 finisher in Grands Épreuves Sommer never won a race. At the time, the German manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union were the dominant force in Grand Prix racing, together with the French Bugatti team. Sommer turned to sports cars once more, and in 1936 he won the French Grand Prix with Jean-Pierre Wimille, and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race with co-driver Francesco Severi. More wins came his way including at the "Marseilles Three Hours" at Miramas, the Grand Prix de Tunisie and La Turbie hill climb competition in 1938 and 1939 with Alfa Romeo 308 until the outbreak of World War II, where he played an active part in the French Resistance movement.

Following the war, Sommer claimed victory in the 1946 René Le Bègue Cup race at Saint-Cloud. At the 1947 Turin Grand Prix in Valentino Park he won the first ever Grand Prix for Enzo Ferrari as an independent constructor. The following season, Sommer switched from the Ferrari team, again for a privately owned car, this time a Talbot-Lago. In 1950, the Formula One World Championship began and Sommer drove in two Grand Prix races for Ferrari and three in a privately entered Talbot-Lago, retiring in all but one.

In July 1950 he won the Aix les Bains Circuit du Lac Grand Prix with a Ferrari 166.

In September 1950, he entered the Haute-Garonne Grand Prix<ref>Motor Sport, October 1950, Page 525: Obituary.</ref> in Cadours, France, where the steering failed on his 1100 cc Cooper and the car overturned at a corner. Sommer, wearing his traditional canvas helmet, was instantly killed.

Motorsports career results

Notable career wins

• French Grand Prix 1936
• Grand Prix de Marseilles 1932, 1937, 1946
• Grand Prix de Tunisie 1937
• Grand Prix de L'U.M.F. 1935
• Gran Premio del Valentino 1947
• Madrid Grand Prix 1949
• Spa 24 Hours 1936
• Turin Grand Prix 1947
• 24 Hours of Le Mans 1932, 1933

European 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	Template:Tooltip	Pts
1935	R. Sommer	Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3	Alfa Romeo 2.9 L8	MON Template:Small		BEL Template:Small	GER				7th	39
	Scuderia Subalpina	Maserati 6C-34	Maserati 3.7 L8		FRA Template:Small
	R. Sommer	Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3	Alfa Romeo 3.2 L8					SUI Template:Small	ITA	ESP Template:Small
1936	R. Sommer	Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3	Alfa Romeo 3.2 L8	MON Template:Small	GER Template:Small	SUI Template:Small	ITA				5th	21
1937	Scuderia Ferrari	Alfa Romeo 12C-36	Alfa Romeo 4.1 V12	BEL Template:Small			SUI Template:Small	ITA			6th	27
	R. Sommer	Alfa Romeo 8C-35	Alfa Romeo 3.8 L8		GER Template:Small	MON Template:Small
1939	R. Sommer	Alfa Romeo Tipo 308	Alfa Romeo 3.0 L8	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GER Template:Small	SUI				9th	23
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Post-WWII Grandes Épreuves results

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5
1947	Scuderia Milano	Maserati 4CL	Maserati 4CL 1.5 L4s	SUI Template:Small
	Raymond Sommer	Maserati 4CM			BEL Template:Small
		Maserati 4CL				ITA Template:Small
		CTA-Arsenal	CTA-Arsenal 1.5 V8s				FRA Template:Small
1948	Equipe Gordini	Simca Gordini T15	Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s	MON Template:Small	SUI Template:Small
	Centre d'Etudes T.A.	Maserati 4CM	Maserati 4CL 1.5 L4s			FRA Template:Small
	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 125	Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12s				ITA Template:Small
1949	Raymond Sommer	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6	GBR	BEL	SUI Template:Small	FRA Template:Small
	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 125	Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12s					ITA Template:Small
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FIA World Drivers' 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	Template:Tooltip	Pts
Template:F1	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 125	Ferrari 125 1.5 V12s	GBR	MON Template:Small	500					16th	3
		Ferrari 166 F2	Ferrari 166 2.0 V12				SUI Template:Small
	Raymond Sommer	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6					BEL Template:Small		ITA Template:Small
	Automobiles Talbot-Darracq SA	Talbot-Lago T26C-GS							FRA Template:Small
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Formula One non-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	12	13	14	15	16	17
Template:F1	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 125	Ferrari 125 1.5 V12s	PAU Template:Small	RIC	SRM Template:Small
	Raymond Sommer	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6				PAR Template:Small	EMP	BAR	JER	ALB Template:Small		NAT Template:Small	NOT	ULS	PES	STT
	Automobiles Talbot-Darracq SA	Talbot-Lago T26C-DA										NED Template:Small
	BRM Ltd	BRM P15	BRM P15 1.5 V16s															INT Template:Small	GOO	PEN
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24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon H. de Costier (private entrant)	Template:Flagicon Jean Delemer	Chrysler 80	5.0	14	DNF (Radiator)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Raymond Sommer	Template:Flagicon Luigi Chinetti	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300LM	3.0	218	1st	1st
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Raymond Sommer	Template:Flagicon Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300MM	3.0	233	1st	1st
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Raymond Sommer	Template:Flagicon Dr. Pierre Félix	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300	3.0	14	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Raymond Sommer	Template:Flagicon Raymond de Saugé Desttrez	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300	3.0	69	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Raymond Sommer	Template:Flagicon Giovanni Battista Guidotti	Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A Spider	5.0	11	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Raymond Sommer	Template:Flagicon Clemente Biondetti	Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring	5.0	219	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Raymond Sommer	Template:Flagicon Prince Bira	Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS	3.0	173	DNF (Engine)
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Luigi Chinetti	Template:Flagicon Dorino Serafini	Ferrari 195S Coupé	S 3.0	82	DNF (Electrics)
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External links

• Raymond Sommer profile at Grand Prix encyclopedia