Ed Hugus
Edward James "Ed" Hugus (born June 30, 1923 in Pittsburgh , † June 29, 2006 in Pebble Beach ) was an American automobile racing driver . According to his own statements, he also drove as a substitute driver in the winning car of the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1965, without being recorded in the results lists.
The Le Mans story
One of the greatest curiosities in international motorsport is around the racing driver Ed Hugus. In 1965, the American came to the 24-hour race of Le Mans as a reserve driver for the North American Racing Team . According to the regulations at the time, each racing team was allowed to nominate a substitute driver for all vehicles used. This could then be used if it was clear before the race that one of the drivers was not allowed or could not start for health reasons. However, like so many in motorsport, these regulations were not formulated precisely enough. So it remained unclear whether the substitute driver could also be used during the ongoing race. The only thing that was clearly regulated was that a driver who had left in an accident could not be replaced. So much for history.
Just before 4 a.m. Masten Gregory , who was sharing a Ferrari 250LM with Jochen Rindt , pitted completely unexpectedly. Gregory, who was very nearsighted and also wore his glasses in the cockpit, had got smoke in the car and in his eyes. Like every year, hundreds of barbecues were going on around the track all night long. The resulting smoke moved like fog over the route and often hindered the drivers. Gregory came to the pits because he could no longer drive. Unfortunately, Jochen Rindt was not at the pits - his next assignment was only two hours later - and nobody knew where he was. But Ed Hugus was present, who quickly put on Gregory's helmet and drove it to the end. This remained hidden from a broad sports public for decades. Hugus himself first made the story known in a letter in 2005. Hugus was present at the award ceremony, but was not honored and is not in the official result list. Pictures from 1965 show Hugus standing in front of the grandstand. There is also a rumor that the American, hindered by the crowds, did not make it to the ceremony in time, despite the help of two gendarmes. Years after the race, Luigi Chinetti , the owner and team principal of the North American Racing Team, told Hugus that although he had reported the incident to the ACO officials , they were not very interested in the situation. The French journalist Christian Moity, editor of various books on the 24-hour race, contradicts this view in a publication. Chinetti would have had every reason to keep quiet about the driver change, as the risk of disqualification would have been relatively high., Only in recent years has his name been included in the winners' lists of recent Le Mans publications. The official result from 1965 has not been changed until today.
Career and life
Ed Hugus grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania and served as a paratrooper in the Pacific during World War II . After the war he got into the car trade and began a career as a racing driver in 1952. He sold primarily European sports cars, but also had a VW -Representation and was one of the first distributors of the AC Cobras of Carroll Shelby drove. In the 1950s, he became one of the most famous American sports car and long-distance drivers. In 1956 he made his debut at Le Mans, where two seventh places (1958 and 1960) were his best placings in the overall standings. In 1960 he and Augie Pabst finished second in the Sebring 12-hour race .
“Big business” often prevented Hugus from participating in races , so in 1958 he turned down an offer from Duane Carter to start the 500-mile race in Indianapolis . He always remained a wealthy amateur. In 1968 he sold his Pittsburgh operations and moved to sunny Jacksonville . There he opened a BMW agency. He also had his last racing appearance on a BMW in 1969.
Ed Hugus, who retired from business in 1974, died in June 2006 at the age of 83.
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1956 | Cooper Car Company | Cooper T39 | John Bentley | Rank 8 | ||
1957 | Ed Hugus | Porsche 550A RS | Carel Godin de Beaufort | Rank 8 and class win | ||
1958 | Ed Hugus | Ferrari 250TR | Ray Erickson | Rank 7 | ||
1959 | Ed Hugus | Porsche 718RSK | Ray Erickson | failure | Engine failure | |
1960 | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 250 GT SWB | Augie Pabst | Rank 7 | ||
1961 | North American Racing Team | Osca Sport 1000 | David Cunningham | failure | malfunction | |
1962 | Ed Hugus | Ferrari 250GT SWB Bertone | George Reed | Rank 9 | ||
1963 | Ed Hugus | AC Cobra 289 Mk. II | Peter Jopp | Disqualified | ||
1964 | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 250GTO | José Rosinski | failure | malfunction |
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1956 | Cooper Car Co. | Cooper T39 | John Bentley | failure | battery | ||
1957 | Chester Flynn | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL | Chester Flynn | Rank 33 | |||
1958 | Harry Kuller | Ferrari 250TR | John Fitch | failure | Engine failure | ||
1959 | Chester Flynn | Porsche 718 RSK | Ernie Erickson | Rank 10 | |||
1960 | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 250 GT SWB | Augie Pabst | Rank 4 | |||
1961 | NART | Ferrari Dino 246S | Alan Connell | failure | Power transmission | ||
1962 | Scuderia Bear | Ferrari 250 GT SWB EXP | George Reed | Rank 8 | |||
1964 | William McLaughlin | Iso Grifo A3C | William McLaughlin | Enus Wilson | Rank 33 | ||
1965 | Ed Hugus | Ferrari 275P | Tom O'Brien | Charlie Hayes | Paul Richards | Rank 12 | |
1966 | Ed Hugus | Porsche 906 | Lake Underwood | Rank 8 | |||
1967 | Ed Hugus | Porsche 906 | John Cannon | failure | Engine failure | ||
1969 | Elsco Corporation | BMW 2002 | Chuck Dietrich | Eugene Nearburg | failure | Oil pump |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Jochen Rindt website ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Sportsmarket ( Memento from October 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissedre, Alain Bienvenu: 24 heures du Mans. 1923-1992. Volume 2: 1963-1992. Édition d'Art JB Barthelemy, Besançon 1992, ISBN 2-909413-06-3 .
- ↑ Results Le Mans 1965
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Hugus, Ed |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hugus, Edward James |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing car driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | June 30, 1923 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Pittsburgh |
DATE OF DEATH | June 29, 2006 |
Place of death | Pebble Beach |