The Marquess of Bute | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | John Colum Crichton-Stuart (1958-04-26)26 April 1958 Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland |
| Died | 22 March 2021(2021-03-22) (aged 62) |
| Other names | Johnny Dumfries John Bute |
| Education | Ampleforth College |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 including John Bryson Crichton-Stuart, 8thMarquess of Bute |
| Parent(s) | John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute Nicola Weld-Forester |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Active years | 1986 |
| Teams | Lotus |
| Entries | 16 (15 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 3 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1986 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1986 Australian Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1987 –1991 |
| Teams | Kouros Racing Silk CutJaguar/TWR ToyotaTeam Tom's Courage Compétition |
| Best finish | 1st(1988) |
| Class wins | 1(1988) |
John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (26 April 1958 – 22 March 2021),[1] was aScottish peer andracing driver, best known for winning the24 Hours of Le Mans in1988. He was known asJohnny Dumfries, or, after he succeeded his father as marquess in 1993,John Bute.[2][3] He attendedAmpleforth College, as had his father and most male members of the Crichton-Stuart family, but did not finish the normal five years of study.
Bute was born inRothesay into one of Scotland's oldest families, the son ofJohn, 6th Marquess of Bute, and Nicola Weld-Forester. He was a descendant of the3rd Earl of Bute, an 18th-century prime minister.[4] Hiscourtesy title as heir to his father's peerage was "Earl of Dumfries".[2]
He had two older sisters, Sophia, who later married the musicianJimmy Bain, and Caroline, who died in a car accident in 1984. He also had a younger brother, Anthony, who became an art dealer in the United States.[2]
The children's nanny was Helen Lightbody, who had served as nanny toPrince Charles andPrincess Anne, and they were brought up inMount Stuart House on theIsle of Bute. Bute later recalled how easy it was for a child to hide in the house.[2]
Heir to a large fortune, the young Dumfries was educated atAmpleforth College, which he left at the age of sixteen and set about pursuing a career in motor racing.[4]
In 1984, Bute, then known as Johnny Dumfries, was the sensation of the F3 season, scoring 14 race victories on his way to winning, and completely dominating, theBritish Formula 3 Championship for Team BP (Dave Price Racing). He also finished runner-up toIvan Capelli in theEuropean Formula Three Championship that year. In 1985, he graduated to the newly createdFIAInternational Formula 3000 Championship, initially competing for Onyx Race Engineering before switching to Lola Motorsport. It was a disappointing season, with a sixth-place finish in Vallelunga being the highlight of the year.[5]
In1986, he made his breakthrough into F1, and raced a single season for the JPSTeam Lotus. He was a late addition to the team, apparently as a result ofAyrton Senna not wantingDerek Warwick as a teammate.[4] He competed in 15 Grands Prix for Lotus (not qualifying atMonaco), which used the turbochargedRenault engines and scored 3 championship points.[6] During most of the1986 season he was usually one of the midfield drivers, on par with theTyrrell driversMartin Brundle andPhilippe Streiff.[7][8] He was replaced for1987 by theJapanese driverSatoru Nakajima as part of Lotus's deal to useHonda engines from that season onwards.
In 1988, Bute scored the biggest racing victory of his career when he won theLe Mans 24 Hours, driving aJaguar XJR-9 forTom Walkinshaw'sSilk CutJaguar Team alongside DutchmanJan Lammers and EnglishmanAndy Wallace.[9]
Bute also participated in the 1-hour endurance race in the1988 British Touring Car Championship atDonington Park with fellow ex-F1 BritonGuy Edwards forAndy Rouse's Kaliber Racing team inFord Sierra RS500, finishing third overall and in Class A.
Bute ranked 616th in theSunday Times Rich List 2008, with an estimated wealth of £125m. In the2006 list, he ranked 26th in Scotland with £122m.
He lived with his family in London and at his ancestral seat, Mount Stuart House, 5 miles (8 km) south of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. In December 2020 he was charged with breachingCOVID-19 restrictions for allegedly travelling to his Bute home from London.[10][11]
In 2007, another family country house,Dumfries House inCumnock,Ayrshire, was sold to a trust, now calledThe King's Foundation, for £45 million.[12][13] The house is now the headquarters of the foundation.[14]
In 1984, Bute married Carolyn Waddell; they were divorced in 1993. They had three children:
On the Isle of Bute in February 1999, he married his second wife,fashion designerSerena Wendell.[15] They had one child:
Bute died of cancer in March 2021.[16]
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Team BP | Volkswagen | SIL 1 | THR 1 | SIL 1 | ZOL 2 | THR 1 | THR 1 | DON 1 | SIL 4 | SNE 1 | DON 9 | OUL | SIL 1 | SPA 7 | ZAN | BRH 18 | THR 1 | SIL 1 | 1st | 106 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Onyx Racing | SIL Ret | THR 7 | EST Ret | NÜR C | VAL 6 | PAU | 16th | 1 | ||||||
| Lola Motorsport | SPA Ret | DIJ 10 | PER | ÖST | ZAN | DON | |||||||||
| 1988 | GEM Motorsport | JER | VAL | PAU | SIL | MNZ | PER | BRH | BIR | BUG | ZOL Ret | DIJ 13 | NC | 0 | |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | John Player SpecialTeam Lotus | Lotus98T | RenaultV6t | BRA 9 | ESP Ret | SMR Ret | MON DNQ | BEL Ret | CAN Ret | DET 7 | FRA Ret | GBR 7 | GER Ret | HUN 5 | AUT Ret | ITA Ret | POR 9 | MEX Ret | AUS 6 | 13th | 3 |
Source:[17] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Class | No | Tyres | Car | Team | Co-drivers | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | C1 | 62 | M | Sauber C9 Mercedes-Benz M117 5.0L Turbo V8 |  Kouros Racing |  Chip Ganassi Mike Thackwell | 37 | DNF | DNF |
| 1988 | C1 | 2 | D | Jaguar XJR-9LM Jaguar 7.0L V12 | Silk CutJaguar |  Jan LammersAndy Wallace | 394 | 1st | 1st |
| 1989 | C1 | 37 | B | Toyota 89C-V Toyota R32V 3.2L Turbo V8 |  Toyota Team Tom's | Geoff LeesJohn Watson | 58 | DNF | DNF |
| 1990 | C1 | 37 | B | Toyota 90C-V Toyota R32V 3.2L Turbo V8 | Toyota Team Tom's | Aguri Suzuki Roberto Ravaglia | 64 | DNF | DNF |
| 1991 | C2 | 13 | G | Courage C26S Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6 |  Courage Compétition |  Anders Olofsson Thomas Danielsson | 45 | DNF | DNF |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position in class) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap in class - 1 point awarded all races)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | DC | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Kaliber Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | A | SIL | OUL | THR | DON ovr:3‡ cls:3‡ | THR | SIL | SIL | BRH | SNE | BRH | BIR | DON | SIL | 43rd | 4 | 16th |
| 1989 | Kaliber Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | A | OUL | SIL | THR | DON DNS | THR | SIL | SIL | BRH | SNE | BRH | BIR | DON | SIL | NC | 0 | NC |
Source:[18] | |||||||||||||||||||
‡ Endurance driver.
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Marquess of Bute 1993–2021 | Succeeded by John Crichton-Stuart |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | British Formula Three Champion 1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1988 With:Jan Lammers &Andy Wallace | Succeeded by |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | Autosport National Racing Driver of the Year 1984 | Succeeded by |
