Pierre "Pagnibon" Boncompagni (19 May 1913 – 7 June 1953) was a French racing driver, best remembered for winning the 1951

Tour de France Automobile Tour de France Automobile was a sports car race held on roads around France regularly (mostly annually) between 1899 and 1986. History The first edition in 1899 was won by René de Knyff driving a Panhard et Levassor at 30 mph (50&nbs ...

Career

Early races

In 1947, Boncompagni took part in the

Circuito di Pescara The Coppa Acerbo was an automobile race held in Italy, named after Tito Acerbo, the brother of Giacomo Acerbo, a prominent fascist politician. Following Italy's defeat in World War II, and the consequent demise of fascism, the race was renamed th ...

in a Stanguellini 1100 but retired. In 1949, he finished second in a race for cars over 2000cc in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionMt. Ventoux. Although his biggest successes would be in sportscars, he also drove a DB in some 500cc

Formula Three Formula Three (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 drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

races: in 1950 he retired from a race at

Montlhéry Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. U ...

, and in 1951 he raced at

Draguignan Draguignan (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" an ...

, finishing runner-up in the second heat.

1950

In 1950, he purchased a

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 ...

T150C SS, chassis number 90120, and would drive it under the entry Ecurie Nice to considerable success over the next two years. He returned to the event in Nice, driving a

Cisitalia Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand named after "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 by industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio. One of the most memorable cars manufactured by ...

to second in the 1100cc race and winning the race for cars over three litres in the Talbot-Lago. Later that year, he finished fourth in the Coupes du Salon at Montlhéry.

1951

1951 saw Boncompagni's sportscar career gain strong momentum. The year began at the , where he won the S1.1 and S1.5 races in his Cisitalia and the S+3.0 race in his Talbot-Lago. He repeated his victory at Nice in the Talbot-Lago, and took a further three wins in the , the Circuit de

Bressuire Bressuire (; ; Poitevin: ''Beurseure'') is a commune in the French department of Deux-Sèvres, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton. Notable buildings Bressuire ha ...

and at

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

. He also won hillclimb events at Mt. Ventoux and Draguignan. He came within minutes of winning the , only for mechanical failure to strike within touching distance of the finish. The same year, the reinstated the

, one of the world's oldest motorsport events. The road rally was to be held over six stages and . Boncompagni hired a

Ferrari 212 Export :''See also the Ferrari 212 Inter, 212 Inter grand tourer'' The Ferrari 212 Export was a sports racing car produced by Ferrari in 1951–1952. The 212 Exports won Tour de France automobile, Giro di Sicilia, Coppa della Toscana, 10 Hours of Messina ...

(serial number 0078E) from

Luigi Chinetti Luigi Chinetti (July 17, 1901 – August 17, 1994) was an Italian-born racecar driver, who emigrated to the United States during World War II. He drove in 12 consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans races, taking three outright wins there and taking two ...

and won the first edition of this revived event alongside navigator Alfred Barraquet. It would rank among his most famous victories. Chinetti later exported the car to the United States in order to support his young protégé

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and won three Grands Prix across eight seas ...

in club racing events.

1952

In 1952, Boncompagni returned to the Agadir Grand Prix and won the S+2.0 race in his Talbot-Lago. He then entered several races in a Ferrari 212 Export purchased from Chinetti, serial number 0141T. At Montlhéry, he placed second in the Coupes de Vitesse and won the supporting race for production cars. He finished first in class at the Circuit de

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, won the (a hillclimb in

Salon-de-Provence Salon-de-Provence (, ; or , ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department (Metropolis of Aix-Marseille Provence), region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It ...

), and was third in class in the hillclimb at Mt. Ventoux. He returned to Montlhéry for the Spring Cup, where he won the production race and finished second in the

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppo ...

race. In his final outing in the car, he won the S3.0 race at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. For the remainder of the season, Boncompagni loaned a

Ferrari 225 S The Ferrari 225 S was a sport car produced by Ferrari in 1952. It was an evolution over the preceding Ferrari 212 Export with important engine upgrades that greatly improved power output. The model was extensively used in competition, winning many ...

, serial number 0152EL. He drove it to fifth in 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 ...

, held that year as a sportscar race. His success that season had caught the attention of

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; ; 18 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari in Grand Prix motor racing, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. Under h ...

, who offered Boncompagni an entry to 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 ...

under the official

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 ...

banner. He entered his car to the race with

Tom Cole Thomas Jeffery Cole (born April 28, 1949) is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party and serves as the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Before serving in the House of Representati ...

as a second driver, but retired with electrical issues. He entered the Grand Prix of

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

but retired with rear axle failure. He returned to the Tour de France with navigator Adolfo Macchieraldo and finished second overall. He raced in the Autumn cup at Montlhéry but did not finish, won his class and placed second overall at

, and round out the year with a class victory in the production car race at the Coupes du Salon.

1953

In 1953, Boncompagni purchased a Ferrari 340 MM, serial number 0236MM. He took it to the Agadir Grand Prix where he finished second in the S+2.0 race, and to the Circuit de Nîmes where he finished second in the S+1.5 race. In this car, Boncompagni won the Rallye Soleil-Cannes, an eight-day road rally across France. He drove it to second in the Coupes de Vitesse, and won the 3 Hours of Algeria under the Ecurie Côte d'Azur banner. Boncompagni purchased a 340 MM Touring Spyder, serial number 0268AM, and drove it to victory in the Spring Cup at Montlhéry.

Death at Hyères

Boncompagni took his 340 MM Touring Spyder to the on 7 June 1953. The race began at 6 a.m. and was held in pouring rain. Boncompagni was leading and had just set the fastest lap, which would stand until the end of the race. On the 34th lap, shortly before 8 a.m., he lost control of his car at a high-speed bend near the hippodrome on the easternmost part of the street circuit. The car hit a telegraph pole and overturned, fatally injuring him. A one-minute silence was held after the race's conclusion in remembrance of Boncompagni and of Jean Heurtaux, the winner of the 1952 edition who had been killed four weeks earlier in a hillclimb near

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

. A monument was installed near the scene of his accident, situated on the D197 at the northwest corner of the Hippodrome du Var. Prior to his fatal accident, Boncompagni had been entered for the

in a Talbot-Lago T26 GS.

Personal

Boncompagni raced under the ''nom de course'' "Pagnibon", a slight modification of his surname. It has been suggested that the surname Boncompagni was notorious in France after he had acted as a

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...

during 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 ...

, which led him to avoid using it for his racing exploits. His family hailed from Italy and his wife was from

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. He operated a mechanics business in

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

with help from Alfred Barraquet, his navigator in the 1951 Tour de France.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Tour de France Automobile results

External links

*
"Pagnibon"
at ''racingsportscars.com''.
Pierre "Pagnibon" Boncompagni
at ''ewrc-results.com''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boncompagni, Pierre 1913 births 1953 deaths French racing drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Racing drivers from Nice