Jean Chassagne

Jean Chassagne at the 1921 French Grand Prix

Jean Chassagne at the wheel of a Sunbeam; before the start of the 1922 French Grand Prix

Jean Chassagne (* 26. July 1881 in La Croisille-sur-Briance ; † 13. April 1947 ) was a French racing driver and a fighter pilot in the First World War .

Career

Jean Chassagne was one of the French automobile pioneers. In 1913 he was third behind Georges Boillot and Jules Goux in the French Grand Prix . In 1914 he started from pole position in the fourth Indianapolis 500-mile race in motorsport history, but was unable to finish the race after an accident on the 20th lap.

The racing career was interrupted by the First World War. For four years - from 1914 to 1918 - he served as a fighter pilot in the French Army . In the 1920s he resumed his racing activities. In 1920 he was again at the start of the Indianapolis 500 mile race. He started the race from fourth on the grid and finished seventh. A year later, he left Indianapolis due to a technical defect.

He also achieved success in sports car racing. In 1922 he won the RAC Tourist Trophy together with Robert Laly . In 1925 he made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished the endurance race in second overall; Teammate was the Briton Sammy Davis . In 1928 he became a works driver at Bentley and thus one of the Bentley Boys . At Le Mans, he finished fifth in the 1928 races and fourth in the overall standings in 1929 . After the end of the racing year 1930, he ended his racing career.

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1925	Sunbeam Motor Company	Sunbeam 3 Liter Super Sports	Sammy Davis	Rank 2 and class win
1926	Société des Automobile Ariès	Ariès Type S GP2 Surbaissée	Robert Laly	failure	battery
1927	Société des Automobile Ariès	Ariès Type S GP2 Surbaisée	Robert Laly	failure	Ignition damage
1928	Bentley Motors Ltd.	Bentley 4½ liter	Henry Birkin	Rank 5
1929	Bentley Motors Ltd.	Bentley 4½ liter	Frank Clement	Rank 4
1930	Hon. Dorothy Paget	Bentley Blower C.	Henry Birkin	failure	Engine failure

literature

• RM Clarke: Le Mans. The Bentley & Alfa Years 1923–1939. Brocklands Books, Cobham 1999, ISBN 1-85520-465-7 .

Web links

Commons : Jean Chassagne  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Race results at Racing Sports Cars