Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (; 30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a French racing driver and winemaker, who competed 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 ...

from to . Trintignant won two Formula One Grands Prix across 15 seasons. In endurance racing, Trintignant won 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 with

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

. Trintignant competed in Formula One for 11 teams, winning two Grands Prix across 15 seasons. He finished fourth in the and World Drivers' Championships with

. He entered 15 editions of the

from to , winning in alongside José Froilán González, driving the Ferrari 375 Plus, and finished runner-up in . After retiring from motor racing, Trintignant moved into the

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

trade, owning a

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; ; ) is a former regions of France, administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It comprised five departments o ...

, where he named his vintage ''Le Petoulet''. Trintignant's nephew, Jean-Louis, was a highly successful actor in 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 ...

France.

Racing career

He began racing in 1938, and won the 1939 Grand Prix des Frontières, but his career was interrupted by the

Second World War 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 ...

, during which his own Bugatti was stored in a barn. When he rebuilt it for an event of 1945, the '' Coupé de la Liberation'', he overlooked a clogged fuel filter, which caused him to drop out of the race. It transpired that the filter was plugged with rat droppings, earning him the unenviable nickname, from another celebrated racer, Jean-Pierre Wimille, of 'Le Petoulet'', "the rat-droppings man".Michael Kettlewell, ''World of Automobiles'' (Orbis, 1974), Volume 20, p.2368 In 1948, Trintignant suffered a very serious accident during a support race for the Swiss Grand Prix. He was thrown in the air, and landed in the middle of the race track. His heart stopped beating for one minute and 15 seconds at the hospital, and he was pronounced dead. However, he survived, and woke up after a week-long coma. He kept a very peculiar looking abdomen scar, as the surgeon stitching a large wound did it at a very irregular pace while his heart had stopped beating. For six months, he suffered from amnesia and a loss of motor skills, but he eventually made a near complete recovery. The corner at which he crashed was later named after him. His wife offered him a stuffed teddy bear during his recovery, and as a superstition, Trintignant kept it in his pocket while he was racing for the rest of his career. He returned to racing in 1949 and won a

Formula Two Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...

race at the Circuit des Remparts that year. By 1950 ''Le Petoulet'' was successful enough to be offered a works drive for the Gordini team, in the newly formed

World Championship racing series. He competed in Formula One every year until his retirement after the 1964 season. During this long career Trintignant scored two victories, both at the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

, in 1955 and 1958. Unusually for Monaco, both victories came from relatively far down the field, as Trintignant started those races from 9th and 5th respectively.

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

and 1955 were his best Championship years and he finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship in both. Trintignant won the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans with José Froilán González in a Ferrari 375 Plus, despite a seven minutes pitstop with one and a half hour to go, due to a faulty ignition wiring caused by the torrential rain. Known for his conservative and reliable driving style, Trintignant drove a huge variety of cars, for many different teams: both works and privateer. Unusually, at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix Trintignant shared both second and third places, a product of the

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

policy of passing cars to their top drivers, should their original car break down. In 1956 he drove the Bugatti Type 251 in the French Grand Prix, becoming the last driver to represent the famed marque at a Grand Prix race. Even in his final season, driving his own BRM P57, he scored points, taking fifth place at the 1964 German Grand Prix on the intimidating

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

. Between 1959 and 1966, Trintignant held the record for most World Championship Grand Prix starts. Following his retirement from racing, Maurice Trintignant returned to a quiet life as a wine-grower (naming his vintage ''Le Petoulet''), near the town of Vergèze, in the

wine growing region. Trintignant competed in the 2000 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, reunited with the Cooper T45 he had driven to victory there in 1958. Trintignant died, aged 87, in 2005.

Major career wins

* Rheinland-Pfalz Preis – 1950 * Mont Ventoux Hill Climb – 1949, 1960, 1964 * Buenos Aires Grand Prix – 1954, 1960 * Swedish Grand Prix – 1956 * RAC Tourist Trophy – 1954 * Circuit des Nations – 1950 * Moroccan Grand Prix – 1956 * Grand Prix Avignon – 1947 * Albi Grand Prix – 1951 * Grand Prix de Caen – 1952, 1954 * Grand Prix de Cadours – 1952, 1953 * Pau Grand Prix – 1958, 1959 ( F2),

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

(F1) * Grand Prix de Rouen-les-Essarts – 1954 * Grand Prix de Roubaix – 1952 * Grand Prix des Frontières – 1938, 1939, 1953 * 2 Hours of Dakar – 1956 * 12 Hours of Hyères – 1954 * 10 Hours of Messina – 1955 *

– 1955, 1958 *

– 1953, 1954

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) :''* Indicates shared drive with Harry Schell'' :''† Indicates shared drives with José Froilán González and Giuseppe Farina (2nd place) & Giuseppe Farina and Umberto Maglioli (3rd place)'' :''‡ Indicates shared drive with Peter Collins''

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

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

Trivia

* He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur in 1960 * Was the mayor of Vergèze between 1958 and 1964. * Was married to Louise on 10 December 1938 * Took over his father's

* On 10 October 2010 a bronze statue of a Bugatti Type 51 was unveiled in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes in his honour

Notes

References

External links