Raymond Sommer
Sommer in 1932
Born	Pierre Raymond Sommer (1906-08-31)31 August 1906 Mouzon,Ardennes, France
Died	10 September 1950(1950-09-10) (aged 44) Cadours,Haute-Garonne, France
Championship titles
Major victories 24 Hours of Le Mans (1932,1933)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	French
Active years	1950
Teams	Ferrari,Talbot-Lago (works and non-works)
Entries	5
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	3
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1950 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1950 Italian Grand Prix
Champ Car career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	10th (1936)
First race	1936Vanderbilt Cup (Westbury)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1931–1935,1937–1939,1950
Teams	de Costier,privateer,Chinetti
Best finish	1st(1932,1933)
Class wins	2(1932,1933)

Pierre Raymond Sommer (31 August 1906 – 10 September 1950)^[1] was a Frenchracing driver.^[2] He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both1932 and1933, 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 inGrand Prix motor racing, but did not win a race. He won theFrench 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 the1950 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 theCircuit de Cadours.

Sommer was born inMouzon inFrance, to a wealthySedan carpet-making family. His father,Roger Sommer, broke theWright 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 privateerChrysler Imperial. The following year, he won the24 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 anAlfa Romeo alongsideTazio Nuvolari. He also led every race until 1938, only to suffer a mechanical failure, once when 12 laps in the lead. Sommer traveled toLong Island, New York, to compete in the1936 Vanderbilt Cup where he finished fourth behind the winner, Nuvolari.^[3]

Although a regular top-10 finisher inGrands Épreuves Sommer never won a race. At the time, the German manufacturersMercedes-Benz andAuto Union were the dominant force in Grand Prix racing, together with the FrenchBugatti team. Sommer turned to sports cars once more, and in 1936 he won theFrench Grand Prix withJean-Pierre Wimille, and theSpa 24 Hours endurance race with co-driverFrancesco Severi. More wins came his way including at the "Marseilles Three Hours" atMiramas, theGrand Prix de Tunisie andLa Turbie hill climb competition in 1938 and 1939 withAlfa Romeo 308 until the outbreak ofWorld War II, where he played an active part in theFrench Resistance movement.

Following the war, Sommer claimed victory in the 1946René Le Bègue Cup race atSaint-Cloud. At the 1947Turin Grand Prix in Valentino Park he won the first ever Grand Prix forEnzo Ferrari as an independent constructor. The following season, Sommer switched from theFerrari team, again for a privately owned car, this time aTalbot-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 theAix les Bains Circuit du Lac Grand Prix with a Ferrari 166.

In September 1950, he entered theHaute-Garonne Grand Prix^[4] inCadours, France, where the steering failed on his 1100 ccCooper and the car overturned at a corner. Sommer, wearing his traditional canvas helmet, was instantly killed.

• 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

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)(Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1931	H. de Costier (private entrant)	Jean Delemer	Chrysler 80	5.0	14	DNF (Radiator)
1932	Raymond Sommer	Luigi Chinetti	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300LM	3.0	218	1st	1st
1933	Raymond Sommer	Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300MM	3.0	233	1st	1st
1934	Raymond Sommer	Dr. Pierre Félix	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300	3.0	14	DNF
1935	Raymond Sommer	Raymond de Saugé Desttrez	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300	3.0	69	DNF
1937	Raymond Sommer	Giovanni Battista Guidotti	Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A Spider	5.0	11	DNF
1938	Raymond Sommer	Clemente Biondetti	Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring	5.0	219	DNF
1939	Raymond Sommer	Prince Bira	Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS	3.0	173	DNF (Engine)
1950	Luigi Chinetti	Dorino Serafini	Ferrari 195S Coupé	S 3.0	82	DNF (Electrics)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRaymond Sommer.

• Raymond Sommer profile at Grand Prix encyclopedia

• 1906 births
• 1950 deaths
• Sportspeople from Ardennes (department)
• French Formula One drivers
• Ferrari Formula One drivers
• Talbot Formula One drivers
• Racing drivers who died while racing
• Grand Prix drivers
• French Resistance members
• French racing drivers
• 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
• 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers
• 24 Hours of Spa drivers
• Sport deaths in France
• European Championship drivers

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2024
• Commons category link from Wikidata