Louis Klemantaski

Louis Klemantaski (born February 12, 1907 in Harbin ; † June 24, 2001 ) was a British photographer and racing car driver .

Klemantaski grew up as the son of wealthy parents in Manchuria . His mother was Russian and his father was Dutch with Polish roots, who had spent his youth in Hull . His parents moved to Asia and made prosperity by importing Overland vehicles into Manchuria. At the age of eight, Klemantaski came to Europe to begin his schooling and learned to drive and take photos at the same age. In the late 1920s he started working in the British racing scene. He was a mechanic at Singer and started racing himself. He competed in sports car races until the early 1930s, before his racing career came to an end after a serious accident in 1933. He suffered a leg injury that prevented him from further racing.

He then switched to photography and became one of the most innovative motorsport photographers before World War II . He followed the racing circuit across Europe and photographed a different race every weekend. He tried to get as close as possible to the moving racing car and took a large number of shots.

During the Second World War he served in a British special unit that photographed the damage caused by aerial bombs from the air.

After the war he worked as a portrait photographer and created masterpieces by Margot Fonteyn and Igor Stravinsky . But his passion for motorsport did not let go of him and he started taking photos in the scene again. His excellent work made him a wealthy man, as more and more team owners commissioned entire photo books from him.

In the 1950s, he became a sought-after co-driver who also took photos while driving. He competed three times in the Monte Carlo Rally and was Peter Collins' co-driver in the Mille Miglia in 1956 and 1957 . In 1956 the duo took second place and a year later a technical defect prevented victory. As early as 1953 he had achieved fifth place as the co-driver of Reg Parnell in an Aston Martin DB3 .

Klemantaski was a great wine connoisseur and foodie who had his favorite restaurant at every major race. In 1997 he was Scuderia Ferrari's guest of honor at the Mille Miglia, which was revived in the 1990s as an event for historic racing vehicles. He spent the last years of his life with his wife in the small town of Coombe Hay, near Bath .

Web links

• The Klemantaski Collection