Jean Blaton
Jean Blaton (born November 19, 1929 ) is a former Belgian racing driver , entrepreneur and jazz musician who competed in his car races under the pseudonym Beurlys .
family
Jean Blaton comes from a wealthy Belgian entrepreneurial family. His niece Catherine married racing driver Jacky Ickx in the early 1970s . Their daughter Vanina is his great niece.
Career in motorsport
Jean Blaton began his career in the late 1950s and only competed in sports car races. The financially independent Belgian never had a factory engagement - apart from his engagements for the Ecurie Francorchamps and the Equipe Nationale Belge. These two Belgian racing teams, however, were not factory teams in the classic sense and were also given generous financial support by Blaton in the 1950s and 1960s. His fortune made him independent of many of the constraints of professional motorsport. He only drove the races that were fun without worrying about contracts and championship points.
He celebrated his first international success in 1957 by winning a sports car race in Roskilde, Denmark . In 1958 he competed for the first time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans - a racing event that was of particular importance in the Belgian’s career - and finished sixth in the overall standings with partner Alain de Changy . He finished on the top three podium for the first time three weeks later at the Reims 12-hour race in 1958 . With the then still very young Willy Mairesse as a team-mate - who was on friendly terms with Blaton until his death in 1968 - he achieved second place in the overall ranking. Beat only by the factory - Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa by Olivier Gendebien and Paul Frère . Ferraris were also the preferred racing cars of the Belgian who was behind the wheel of a Ferrari 250 GT in Reims .
1959 saw the first podium finish at Le Mans. After a driving time of 24 hours, Blaton and Léon Dernier's racing ended with third place overall. The victorious Aston Martin DBR1 / 300 of Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori missed out on 26 laps at the finish . In 1960 he won the Coupe de Paris in Montlhéry and was again third overall in Le Mans two years later . As in 1959, the second pilot in the team was his compatriot Leon Dernier. In 1963 he came closest to an overall victory in the French endurance race . He and Gérard Langlois van Ophem finished second overall, ahead of the works Ferrari 250P of Mike Parkes and Umberto Maglioli , who came third. Only the second Scuderia works car, driven by Lorenzo Bandini and Ludovico Scarfiotti , remained unmatched.
After finishing fifth overall in 1964 , he finished third again on the podium at Le Mans in 1965 . He also finished third in the 12-hour race in Reims that year. At this point in time the support of Willy Mairesse, his long-time friend, with whom he had achieved the two third places, also began. Mairesse had lost his contract with Ferrari after many serious accidents and was also supported financially by Blaton. Other racing drivers were also lucky enough to be supported by Blaton. He enabled Bertrand Gachot to enter the Formula 1 World Championship in 1989 with 5,000,000 Belgian francs .
Mairesse became a regular team partner with whom he drove a Ferrari 330P4 to the winners' podium at Le Mans for the fifth time in his career in 1967 . This makes him the most successful Le Mans starter without an overall victory, after Bob Wollek - who also has five more podium places. In 1967 he also achieved second place overall in the 1000 km race in Paris with Lucien Bianchi in a Ferrari 412P .
After the sports car season in 1968, the Belgian withdrew from active motorsport and devoted himself to his business activities. In 1975 he returned to Le Mans as team principal and driver, where he had a second career until 1979 . In 1979 - twenty years after his first appearance - he was honored by the ACO and finally resigned.
Career as a musician
In addition to his interest in motorsport, Blaton had a second passion - jazz . He played guitar, performed at concerts and took part in six recording sessions between 1943 and 1980, including a. 1972 with the Belgian Big Band of drummer and vibraphonist Johnny Peret .
Vehicle collection
Blaton had a large vehicle collection that included more than 30 cars, including his Le Mans racing cars, as well as some Formula 1 , Champ Car and NASCAR cars. The collection was dissolved in 2005 and gradually sold.
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1958 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Ferrari 250TR | Alain de Changy | Rank 6 | |||
1959 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Ferrari 250 GT LWB Coupe | Léon Dernier | Rank 3 | |||
1960 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Ferrari 250 GT SWB | Lucien Bianchi | failure | accident | ||
1962 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Ferrari 250 GTO | Léon Dernier | Rank 3 | |||
1963 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Ferrari 250 GTO | Gérard Langlois van Ophem | Rank 2 and class win | |||
1964 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Ferrari 250 GTO | Lucien Bianchi | 5th place and class win | |||
1965 | Ecurie Francorchamps | Ferrari 275 GTB | Willy Mairesse | 3rd place and class win | |||
1966 | Ecurie Francorchamps | Ferrari 365P2 | Pierre Dumay | failure | Engine failure | ||
1967 | Equipe Nationale Belge | Ferrari 330P4 | Willy Mairesse | Rank 3 | |||
1968 | Claude Dubois | Ford GT40 Mk.I | Willy Mairesse | failure | accident | ||
1975 | Jean Blaton | Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Nick Faure | John Cooper | Rank 6 | ||
1976 | Jean Blaton | Porsche 934 | Nick Faure | John Goss | not classified | ||
1978 | Ecurie Francorchamps | Ferrari 512 BB | Teddy Pilette | Raymond Touroul | failure | Gearbox damage | |
1979 | Jean Blaton | Ferrari 512 BB LM | Nick Faure | Steve O'Rourke | Bernard de Dryver | Rank 12 |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
literature
- Christophe A. Gaascht: Willy Mairesse. Le Chevalier Meurtri. Nostalgia, Verviers 2003, ISBN 2-930277-09-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ see the references
- ↑ 1958 Reims 12-hour race
- ^ 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1959
- ^ 24 Hours of Le Mans 1963
- ^ Paris 1000 km race in 1967
- ↑ Tom Lord Discography
- ↑ Jean Blaton as guitarist in the Belgian Big Band
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Blaton, Jean |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian racing driver, entrepreneur and musician |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 19, 1929 |