Benoît Nicolas Musy (December 13, 1917 – October 7, 1956) was a Swiss

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

road racer Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

and Maserati

race car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

driver.

Biography

Musy was born on December 13, 1917 in Bern, Switzerland, the son of the Swiss president

Jean-Marie Musy Jean-Marie Musy (10 April 1876 – 19 April 1952) was a Swiss politician. Affiliated with the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland, he was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 11 December 1919 served until 30 April 193 ...

. He received an

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

engineering degree from L'institut agricole de l'État de Fribourg in Grangeneuve / FR - Switzerland, and served in the air force during the Swiss military mobilisation

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. During 1944 he rescued a large number (1,200) of Jews from the

concentration camp Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ...

with his father. He also received one of the first Swiss parachute jumper licenses in 1947.

Motorcycle racing

He acquired further fame as a motorcycle racer, winning six Swiss championships with

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling m ...

motorcycles. He also competed in the

1949 Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix The 1949 Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix was the second race of the 1949 Motorcycle Grand Prix season. It took place on the weekend of 3 July 1949 at the Bremgarten circuit. British rider Leslie Graham won the 500 cc race riding an AJS from Arciso ...

, part of the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. He competed in three more Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix races, finishing as high as fourth place.

Automobile racing

Later he moved to racing cars. He had various ones, all

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. ...

. Musy started in May 1954, with a 1953

Maserati A6 Maserati A6 were a series of grand tourers, racing sports cars and single seaters made by Maserati of Italy between 1947 and 1956. They were named for Alfieri Maserati (one of the Maserati brothers, founders of Maserati) and for their straight-s ...

or A6GCS (#2040), a Maserati factory race car, formerly used by Giletti, the official Maserati pilot. With this car he has won several races, including some record laps, on different tracks. He sold the car in 1955 to

Pietro Pagliarini Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II C ...

. At that time, Musy was already part of the semi-official Maserati racing team. He took part of several races, with very little success, in a

150 150 may refer to: *150 (number), a natural number * AD 150, a year in the 2nd century AD *150 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *150 Regiment RLC * Combined Task Force 150 See also * List of highways numbered 150 The following highways are number ...

200S 200s may refer to: * The period from 200 to 299, almost synonymous with the 3rd century The 3rd century was the period from 201 ( CCI) to 300 (CCC) Anno Domini (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar.. In this century, the Roman Emp ...

, and 200Si. He even participated at a race in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in ...

in a

250 __NOTOC__ Year 250 ( CCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Gratus (or, less frequently, year 1003 ''Ab u ...

; he failed to finish. After a test drive in the

Swedish Grand Prix The Swedish Grand Prix (Swedish: Sveriges Grand Prix) was a round of the Formula One World Championship from 1973 to 1978. It took place at the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp (Gislaved Municipality), about from Jönköping, in Småland, Sw ...

, he bought a

Maserati 300S The Maserati 300S was a racing car produced by Maserati of Italy between 1955 and 1958 to compete in the FIA's World Sportscar Championship. Twenty-six examples were produced. Background The 3.0-litre (approx at 6200 rpm) engine was based on t ...

(#3057) in 1955, with which he earned several podium results. Musy died in a racing event at Autodrome de Montlhéry, France, on October 7, 1956, crashing a factory Maserati 200S (#2047) over an embankment, after a steering column breakdown. Ejected from the car, he died immediately. In total, he attended eleven mid-1950s European sports car championships, of which he won five.

Auto racing results

References

External links

Benoît Musy biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musy, Benoit 1917 births 1956 deaths People from Fribourg Swiss motorcycle racers 250cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Swiss racing drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in France Sportspeople from the canton of Fribourg