 Bianchi in 1968 | |
| Born | Luciano Bianchi (1934-11-10)10 November 1934 Milan, Italy |
|---|---|
| Died | 30 March 1969(1969-03-30) (aged 34) Circuit de la Sarthe,Le Mans, France |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Belgian |
| Active years | 1959–1963,1965,1968 |
| Teams | ENB,UDT Laystall,Reg Parnell,Scuderia Centro Sud,Cooper |
| Entries | 19 (17 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Careerpoints | 6 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1959 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1968 Mexican Grand Prix |
Luciano "Lucien"Bianchi (Italian:[luˈtʃaːnoˈbjaŋki],French:[lysjɛ̃bjɑ̃ki]; 10 November 1934 – 30 March 1969) was an Italian-born Belgianracing driver who raced for theCooper,ENB,UDT Laystall andScuderia Centro Sud teams inFormula One. He entered a total of 19 Formula One World Championship races, scoring six points and had a best finish of third at the1968 Monaco Grand Prix.
He also drove in 13 consecutive24 Hours of Le Mans (1956–1968), finishing 1st in Class three times, including the 1st overall win at the1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, with co-driverPedro Rodríguez. Bianchi died in a crash while testing for the1969 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Bianchi was born inMilan, Italy, but moved to Belgium in 1946 with his father, who, before theSecond World War, was a race mechanic working in theAlfa Romeo competition department.[1] His brother,Mauro Bianchi, also became a racing driver. They drove to victory together in the 1965 Nürburgring 500 km. Mauro later won the P1.6 class at the1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. His grandnephew,Jules Bianchi, who made hisFormula One debut with theMarussia team for the2013 season competing under the French flag, died in 2015, having never regained consciousness after a crash during the2014 Japanese Grand Prix.[2]
Lucien Bianchi's first race event was at theAlpine Rally in 1951. He won the 1957, 1958 and 1959Tour de France as well as the Paris 1000 sports car race in the latter two years.
He entered Formula One in 1959, although only with sporadic appearances at first. He drove various cars under the banner of theENB team, including a Cooper T51, aLotus 18 and anEmeryson. After a couple of races for the UDT Laystall team in 1961, driving another Lotus, he returned to ENB for whom he drove their ENB-Maserati. He finally secured a more regular drive in Formula One in 1968, with the Cooper-BRM team, although success was elusive despite a bright start. Bianchi managed his best Formula One performance, finishing third at the1968 Monaco Grand Prix, in his first race for Cooper.[3]
Bianchi also racedtouring cars,sports cars andrally cars, being successful in all disciplines, his biggest victories coming in the1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, behind the wheel of aFord GT40 withPedro Rodríguez and atSebring in 1962 withJo Bonnier. He was also leading the1968 London–Sydney Marathon when hisCitroën DS collided with a non-competing car on the closed course nearNowra, 100 km south ofSydney.
He was killed when hisAlfa Romeo T33 spun into a telegraph pole duringLe Mans testing in 1969.
AtCircuit Zolder, the fourth turn of the circuit, entering the back stretch, is named Lucien Bianchibocht in his memory.
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| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Alain de Changy | Ferrari 500 TR | S 2.0 | 76 | DNF | DNF |
| 1957 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Georges Harris | Ferrari 500 TRC | S 2.0 | 288 | 7th | 1st |
| 1958 | Ecurie Francorchamps | Willy Mairesse | Ferrari 250 TR | S 3.0 | 33 | DNF | DNF |
| 1959 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Alain de Changy | Ferrari 250 TR | S 3.0 | 47 | DNF | DNF |
| 1960 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Jean Blaton | Ferrari 250 GT | GT 3.0 | 29 | DNF | DNF |
| 1961 | Ecurie Francorchamps | Georges Berger | Ferrari 250 GT | GT 3.0 | 60 | DNF | DNF |
| 1962 |  Maserati France | Maurice Trintignant | Maserati Tipo 151 | E +3.0 | 152 | DNF | DNF |
| 1963 |  David Brown |  Phil Hill | Aston Martin DP215 | P+3.0 | 29 | DNF | DNF |
| 1964 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Jean Blaton | Ferrari 250 GTO | GT 3.0 | 333 | 5th | 1st |
| 1965 | Maranello Concessionaires Ltd. | Michael Salmon | Ferrari 250LM | P 5.0 | 99 | DNF | DNF |
| 1966 | Holman & Moody | Mario Andretti | Ford GT40 Mk.II | P +5.0 | 97 | DNF | DNF |
| 1967 | Holman & Moody | Mario Andretti | Ford GT40 Mk.IV | P +5.0 | 188 | DNF | DNF |
| 1968 | J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. |  Pedro Rodriguez | Ford GT40 | S 5.0 | 331 | 1st | 1st |
Source:[4] | |||||||
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Equipe National Belge | CooperT51 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | MON DNQ | 500 | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | USA | NC | 0 | |||
| 1960 | Equipe National Belge | CooperT51 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | ARG | MON | 500 | NED | BEL 6 | 24th | 1 | |||||||
| Fred Tuck Cars | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | POR | ITA | USA | ||||||||||||
| 1961 | Equipe National Belge | Emeryson61 | Maserati Tipo 6 1.5L4 | MON DNQ | NED | NC | 0 | ||||||||||
| Lotus18 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | BEL Ret | |||||||||||||||
| UDT Laystall Racing Team | Lotus18/21 | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER | ITA | USA | |||||||||||
| 1962 | Equipe National Belge | Lotus18/21 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | NED | MON | BEL 9 | FRA | GBR | NC | 0 | |||||||
| ENBF1 | Maserati Tipo 6 1.5L4 | GER 16 | ITA | USA | RSA | ||||||||||||
| 1963 | Reg Parnell Racing | LolaMk4 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | MON | BEL Ret | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | USA | MEX | RSA | NC | 0 | ||
| 1965 | Scuderia Centro Sud | BRMP57 | BRM P56 1.5V8 | RSA | MON | BEL 12 | FRA | GBR | NED | GER | ITA | USA | MEX | NC | 0 | ||
| 1968 | Cooper Car Company | CooperT86B | BRM P101 3.0V12 | RSA | ESP | MON 3 | BEL 6 | NED Ret | FRA | GBR | GER Ret | ITA | CAN NC | USA NC | MEX Ret | 17th | 5 |
Source:[5] | |||||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 |  Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A | Fernando Masoero | Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super | C5 | 265 | 4th | 1st |
| 1966 | Autodelta S.p.A. | Giancarlo Baghetti | Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA | T 1.6 | DNF | DNF | |
| 1968 |  Alfa Romeo Benelux | Jean-Marie Lagae | Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina | Gr. 1 2.5 | 250 | 17th | 13th |
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Jim Robbins | PHX DNQ | TRE 17 | INDY DNQ | MIL | LAN | PIP | MOS | MOS | IRP | LAN | MTR | MTR | SPR | MIL | DUQ | ISF | TRE | SAC | HAN | PHX | RIV | - | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Team Lotus | Ford Cortina Lotus | C | BRH | SNE | SIL | SIL | MAL | SIL | SIL Ret | BRH | OUL | BRH | NC | 0 | NC |
Source:[6] | ||||||||||||||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1968 With:Pedro Rodríguez | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
