Octave John Claes (; 11 August 1916 – 3 February 1956) was a British-born

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

who competed for

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Before his fame as a racing driver, Claes was also a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter and successful bandleader in Britain.

Early life and jazz career

Claes was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to a Scottish mother and Belgian father. He was educated in England at Lord Williams's School. In England, he began playing trumpet in a jazz band that included Max Jones on reeds, and another with Billy Mason on piano. In the 1930s he moved to the Netherlands, where he worked with Valaida Snow and

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

. He also worked with Jack Kluger's band in Belgium. Returning to England, he led his own group, the Claepigeons, making a recording in 1942. In the late 1940s he abandoned his jazz career and settled in Belgium as a professional racing driver.

Racing career

Claes was one of several gentlemen drivers who took part in Grand Prix racing of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His first contact with racing was at the 1947 French Grand Prix, where he served as interpreter for British drivers. He made his debut in 1948, in his own

Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside Paris. The company was owned and managed by Antonio Lago, an Italian engineer that acquired rights to the Talbot brand name after the demise of Darracq ...

, raced under the ''Écurie Belge'' banner. Although Claes never scored any points in the World Drivers Championship, he was, like many of his contemporaries, very active in non-Championship Grand Prix races and sports car races. His first win was at the 1950 Grand Prix des Frontières, held at the Chimay race track. In April 1951 Claes crashed into a crowd while practicing at San Remo Grand Prix in Sanremo, Italy. He was uninjured but an observer was killed and three onlookers were seriously injured. In 1952 he exchanged his outdated Talbot for a

Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and Car tuning, performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer) ...

, and later for a Connaught, always with the Écurie Belge colours, but he also raced occasionally for works teams, including Gordini and

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. Ma ...

. He also won the 1953

Liège–Rome–Liège The Marathon de la Route was a series of Rallying#Road rallies, road rallies held in Europe between 1931 and 1971, including Liège–Rome–Liège and Liège–Sofia–Liège rallies held on public roads and closed-circuit races held at the Nürb ...

Rally and took a class win at the 1954

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 ...

. Claes teamed with Pierre Stasse to finish 12th in the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans. They drove a

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

. Together with compatriot Jacques Swaters, Claes finished third in the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans. Later in 1955 Claes's health problems worsened, as he had contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Claes sold his outfit to Swaters, who merged it with his own Écurie Francorchamps to form Écurie Nationale Belge. Claes entered occasional events until the end of the year, but finally succumbed to the disease in Brussels in 1956, aged 39.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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Non-championship Formula One results

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claes, Johnny 1916 births 1956 deaths Belgian racing drivers Belgian Formula One drivers Ecurie Nationale Belge Formula One drivers Gordini Formula One drivers Hersham and Walton Motors Formula One drivers Maserati Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers People educated at Lord Williams's School Scottish jazz trumpeters Male trumpeters Scottish racing drivers English Formula One drivers British jazz bandleaders English people of Belgian descent English people of Scottish descent World Sportscar Championship drivers 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis People from Fulham Sportspeople from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Racing drivers from London 20th-century Scottish male musicians Tuberculosis deaths in Belgium 20th-century trumpeters British male jazz musicians Formula One team owners British emigrants to Belgium Porsche Motorsports drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers