André Wicky (22 May 1928 – 14 May 2016) was a
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
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* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
racing driver, active from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. He was mainly involved in
sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...
, as an entrant and team owner as well as a driver, but also took part in several non-championship
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
races during the 1960s.
Career
Wicky entered the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
in
1960 and
1961 with an
AC Ace, winning the 2.0 GT class in 1960. He returned to Le Mans in 1966, and raced every year until 1975, campaigning
Porsches. From 1969, he drove for his own team, the Wicky Racing Team, and his best overall result was 17th in
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
, driving a
Porsche 908. The same year,
Walter Brun finished seventh in a Wicky Porsche. Occasionally Wicky campaigned other marques besides Porsche; in 1974 he entered a
BMW 3.0CSL for Brun, although it retired after one lap, and a
De Tomaso Pantera for Max Cohen-Olivar and Philippe Carron, which retired after 16 laps.
From 1961, he participated in occasional Formula One races, first with a
Cooper T53, but this car suffered engine failures in every race that Wicky entered. At the
1963 Mediterranean Grand Prix, he drove a
Lotus 24 for
Scuderia Filipinetti
Scuderia Filipinetti (also French name ''Ecurie Filipinetti'') was a Switzerland, Swiss motor racing team that competed in sports car racing and occasionally in Formula One between 1962 and 1973. It was founded by Georges Filipinetti (1907-1973) t ...
, and achieved his best Formula One result of ninth from 11th on the grid. He subsequently bought the Lotus and entered it in the next two
Syracuse Grands Prix, but found little success with the car, only able to repeat his ninth-place finish in the 1965 race, albeit a distant last.
[John Thompson, "The Formula One Record Book", Frewin, 1974, pp.214-215.]
Racing record
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete Formula One non-championship results
(
key)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wicky, Andre
1928 births
2016 deaths
Swiss racing drivers
Swiss Formula One drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
Sportspeople from Lausanne
Racing drivers from the canton of Vaud
12 Hours of Reims drivers