Ivor Léon John Bueb (6 June 1923 – 1 August 1959) was a British professional

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...

and

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

driver from England.

Career

Born in

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the hundred of B ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

east of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Bueb started racing seriously in a

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dr ...

500cc

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ' ...

in 1953, graduating to the Cooper works team in 1955 when he finished second in the British championship. He made occasional starts in Grands Prix in 1957 with a Connaught and a

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. ...

run by

Gilby Engineering Gilby Engineering was a British general engineering company owned by Syd Greene. Greene had lost an arm in a bicycle accident at 16 but went on to compete in many UK speed trials very successfully in the early 1950s. After he stopped competin ...

. The following year he raced

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns D ...

's Connaught at Monaco, and drove a

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...

Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

at the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...

. In 1959 he had two outings for BRP, firstly a non-qualification at

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...

, then another Formula Two entry at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...

. He participated in six Formula One World Championship Grands Prix in all, but scored no championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races. With the death of Archie Scott Brown at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

in May 1958, Brian Lister hired Bueb to fill the now-vacant Lister-

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

driver's seat. Bueb did an admirable job, scoring several first places at tracks such as Crystal Palace and Goodwood during the 1958 and 1959 sports car campaigns. Bueb is perhaps best known for sharing the winning works

Jaguar D-type The Jaguar D-Type is a sports racing car that was produced by Jaguar Cars Ltd. between 1954 and 1957. Designed specifically to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, it shared the straight-6 XK engine and many mechanical components with its C-Type ...

with

Mike Hawthorn John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver. He became the United Kingdom's first Formula One World Champion driver in 1958, whereupon he announced his retirement, having been profoundly affected by the ...

in the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans which was marred by an accident in which 82 spectators were killed; a success he repeated with Ron Flockhart in the ex-works

Ecurie Ecosse Ecurie Ecosse (French: "Scotland Stable") was a motor racing team from Edinburgh, Scotland. The team was founded in November 1951 by Edinburgh businessman and racing driver David Murray and mechanic Wilkie Wilkinson. Its most notable achieveme ...

car in

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

. He suffered serious injuries in 1959 when he crashed his BRP

Borgward The former Borgward car manufacturing company, based in Bremen, Germany, was founded by Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963). It produced cars of four brands, which were sold to a diversified international customer base: Borgward, Hansa, Go ...

Formula Two car at the Charade Circuit near

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attra ...

, France. He crashed at Gravenoire, a multiple apex-section at the very far end of the circuit, and was thrown out of his Cooper. After being carried off the circuit by Gendarmes in a way that probably worsened his injuries, Bueb died six days later at a hospital near the circuit. It was Ivor Bueb's death, in conjunction with Archie Scott Brown's demise, that finally led Brian Lister to shut down his very successful sports car racing effort.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) ''*''

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...

entry.

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

References

External links

Ivor Bueb profile at The 500 Owners Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bueb, Ivor 1923 births 1959 deaths People from East Ham English racing drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers English Formula One drivers Connaught Formula One drivers Gilby Engineering Formula One drivers British Racing Partnership Formula One drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in France British Touring Car Championship drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Sportspeople from Essex 12 Hours of Reims drivers Ecurie Ecosse drivers