Jo Schlesser

Jo Schlesser

Nation:	France
Automobile world championship
First start:	1966 German Grand Prix
Last start:	1968 French Grand Prix
Constructors
1966–1967  Matra  • 1968  Honda
statistics
World Cup balance:	no World Cup placement
Starts Victories Poles SR 3 - - -
World Cup points :	-
Podiums :	-
Leadership laps :	-

Joseph "Jo" Schlesser (born May 18, 1928 in Liouville , France ; † July 7, 1968 at the French Grand Prix in Rouen-les-Essarts ) was a French racing driver who mainly drove sports and touring car races. He took part in Grand Prix races three times , once in a Formula 1 car.

Career

Schlesser successfully participated in touring car races in the 1950s and was one of the best sports car racing drivers until his death . In February 1968 , he started on a Porsche 907 at the 24 Hours of Daytona and finished with Joe Buzzetta third. In the 1000 km race at Spa-Francorchamps on May 26, 1968 , he drove - also in a Porsche 907 - the fastest race lap with 4: 00.30 minutes and, with Gerhard Mitter, came second in the overall standings.

In 1966 and 1967 he started at the German Grand Prix in the Formula 2 classification. Both times he drove a Matra MS5 - Ford , in 1967 he was the driver of the Ecurie Ford-France team.

At the 1968 French Grand Prix in Rouen , Schlesser drove a Formula 1 car for the first time, the Honda RA302 . John Surtees had previously tested the car and refused to drive it in Rouen. He thought the car was too immature. On the third lap, Schlesser lost control of the car in the last place, slid along an embankment and rolled over. The vehicle caught fire and 200 liters of leaking gasoline ignited. The magnesium chassis gave the fire additional nourishment. Jo Schlesser burned. The Honda RA302 was not tested and was considered dangerous because of its construction and the materials used. After this accident, no further Grand Prix races were held in Rouen.

Others

Schlesser's nephew Jean-Louis Schlesser took part in the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monza in 1988, drove successfully in sports car races for Sauber-Mercedes from 1988 to 1991 and won the Dakar Rally several times . Guy Ligier , racing driver, racing team owner and later a car manufacturer, marked each racing vehicle that was used by the Formula 1 team Équipe Ligier with the initials of Schlesser in the type designation in memory of Schlesser .

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1957	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	DB HBR	Jean-Claude Vidilles	failure	accident
1960	North American Racing Team	Ferrari 250 GT SWB California	William Sturgis	failure	Engine failure
1963	Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.	Aston Martin DP214	William Kimberly	failure	Engine failure
1964	Ford Motor Company	Ford GT40	Richard Attwood	failure	accident
1965	Ford France SA	Shelby Cobra Daytona	Allen Grant	failure	Clutch damage
1966	Matra Sports SARL	Matra MS620	Alan Rees	failure	accident
1967	Ford France SA	Ford GT40 Mk.IIB	Guy Ligier	failure	accident

Sebring results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1964	Ford of France	Shelby Cobra Roadster	Phil Hill	Rank 6
1965	Shelby-American Inc.	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe	Bob Bondurant	4th place and class win

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd
1957	German & Bonnet	DB HBR	BUA	SEB	MIM	ONLY	LEM	KRI	CAR
							DNF
1960	Jo Schlesser North American Racing Team	Ferrari 250 GT	BUA	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM
						11	DNF
1962	Abarth	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	DAY	SEB	SEB	MAY	TAR	BER	ONLY	LEM	TAV	CCA	RTT	ONLY	BRI	BRI	PAR
																	DNF
1963	Aston Martin North American Racing Team	Aston Martin DP214 Ferrari 250 GTO	DAY	SEB	SEB	TAR	SPA	MAY	ONLY	CON	ROS	LEM	MON	WIS	TAV	FRE	CCE	RTT	OVI	ONLY	MON	MON	TDF	BRI
												DNF											DNF
1964	Carroll Shelby International Ford France Ford North American Racing Team	Shelby Cobra Ford GT40 Ferrari 250 GTO	DAY	SEB	TAR	MON	SPA	CON	ONLY	ROS	LEM	REI	FRE	CCE	RTT	SIM	ONLY	MON	TDF	BRI	BRI	PAR
			10	6th			11		23		DNF	DNF				8th						2
1965	Carroll Shelby International Ford France Sasamotors	Shelby Daytona Serenissima	DAY	SEB	BOL	MON	MON	RTT	TAR	SPA	ONLY	MUG	ROS	LEM	REI	BOZ	FRE	CCE	OVI	ONLY	BRI	BRI
			2	4th							12			DNF	5				32
1966	Ford France Matra	Ford GT40 Matra MS620	DAY	SEB	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	MUG	CCE	HOK	SIM	ONLY	ZEL
								5	DNF
1967	North American Racing Team Ford France	Ferrari 365P2 Ford GT40	DAY	SEB	MON	SPA	TAR	ONLY	LEM	HOK	MUG	BRH	CCE	ZEL	OVI	ONLY
			DNF		6th	DNF	DNF	10	DNF		4th
1968	Porsche	Porsche 907	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	ONLY	SPA	WAT	ZEL	LEM
			3						2

See also

• List of fatally injured Formula 1 drivers

Web links

Commons : Jo Schlesser  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• http://sport.rtl.de/formel1/datenbank/fahrer_einzeln.php?pe_nr=620
• http://www.f1total.com/db/drivers/details.php?d=614
• Italian article - with pictures

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Race results at www.Classicscars.com
2. ↑ contribution Motorsportmagazin adrivo.com dated 12 December 2008