Juan Jover Sañes (23 November 1903 – 28 June 1960) was a Spanish

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 ...

, born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. With

Paco Godia Francisco Godia Sales (21 March 1921 – 28 November 1990), better known as Paco Godia, was a Spanish racing driver. He drove intermittently in Formula One between and , participating in 14 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Champ ...

, Jover was the first Spanish driver to compete in

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 ...

. Jover raced for

Scuderia Milano Scuderia Milano was an Italian Formula One motor racing team founded in Milan by Arialdo and Emilio Ruggeri, two brothers who had raced Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 i ...

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 ...

in the 1947 Bari Grand Prix, where he finished sixth, and in the 1948 Albi Grand Prix, where he came seventh. He then finished second in the

1949 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 17th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 25 and 26 June 1949. Luigi Chinetti won the race for a third time in the first Ferrari barchetta by driving 22.5 hours. This race also saw the death of British d ...

with

Henri Louveau Henri Louveau (25 January 1910 – 7 January 1991) was a French racing driver. Louveau began his racing career in cycling, and later transitioned into cars. He served in the French Army during World War II, and was deployed in Africa. Louvea ...

. In

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

he participated in the

1951 Spanish Grand Prix, qualifying 18th, but he did not start the race after blowing his engine. Jover then switched to

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

, and also endurance racing with Scuderia Pegaso. He suffered serious injuries to his left leg when he crashed his Pegaso Z-102 during trials for the

1953 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 21st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 13 and 14 June 1953, at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans (France). It was also the third round of the 1953 World Sportscar Championship season, F.I.A. World Sp ...

, but returned to hillclimbing in June 1954. In 1957, he won the Gran Premio de Barajas in a

Maserati 200S The Maserati 200S (Tipo 52) is a racing car made by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati as a successor to the Maserati A6GCS. 28 cars were made in total. The development of the 200S, codenamed Tipo 52 started in 1952, led by Vittorio Bellen ...

, and the following year he won the La Rabassada hillclimb, driving a

Mercedes-Benz 300SL The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car that was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1954 to 1957 as a gullwinged coupé and from 1957 to 1963 as a roadster. The 300 SL traces its origins to the company's 1952 racin ...

. Jover died in a road accident in 1960, when his

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...

left the road and fell off a cliff near

Sitges ; , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, renowned worldwide for Sitges Film Festival, its film festival, Carnival, and LGBTQ culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is know ...

in Catalonia.

Complete Formula One results

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jover, Juan 1903 births 1960 deaths Spanish racing drivers Spanish Formula One drivers Catalan Formula One drivers Scuderia Milano Formula One drivers Road incident deaths in Spain 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Catalan racing drivers Racing drivers from Barcelona