Max Cohen-Olivar

Max Cohen-Olivar, Antoine Salamin and Marcel Tarrès (from left to right) at Le Mans in 1991

Max Cohen-Olivar (left with cap) in Jarama in 1988

Max Cohen-Olivar (born April 30, 1945 in Casablanca ; † May 21, 2018 in Paris ) was a Moroccan racing car driver .

Career

Max Cohen-Olivar began his racing career in Morocco in the late 1960s . In contrast to South Africa and Rhodesia , where an independent motorsport scene developed in different variants in the 1960s, racing remained piecemeal in almost all other African countries. The situation in Cohen-Olivar's homeland was not much different. In the absence of suitable development opportunities, he therefore came to Europe in the early 1970s.

The talented young pilot got a contract with the Swiss racing driver and team owner André Wicky in 1970 , which enabled him to enter professional sport. After his first time in Switzerland, Cohen-Olivar became one of the busiest sports car drivers in international motorsport. Until the mid-1990s, he competed several times in all major sports car races.

The name Cohen-Olivar is also closely associated with the Le Mans 24-hour race . In three decades he has competed 20 times in this endurance race. He made his debut in 1971 for the Wicky Racing team with the team owner himself as a racing partner. His best placings were the two twelfth places overall in 1982 and 2001. He came closest to a top placement in 1986, when he was in the top field for a long time with the Porsche 962 of the German Kremer team . However, after the fatal accident of Jo Gartner - who also drove a Kremer Porsche - the team withdrew the vehicle from the race.

In 2001 Cohen-Olivar was honored for 30 years of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest - the organizer of the 24-hour race - and is still the African with the most races at the Sarthe.

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1971	André Wicky Racing Team	Porsche 908/2	André Wicky		failure	Gearbox damage
1973	André Wicky Racing Team	Porsche 908/2	André Wicky	Philippe Carron	Rank 21
1974	Wicky Racing Team	De Tomaso Pantera	Philippe Carron		failure	Gearbox damage
1975	Wicky Racing Team	Porsche 908/2	Philippe Carron	Joël Brachet	failure	Clutch damage
1977	Racing Organization Course	Chevron B36	Alain Flotard	Michel Dubois	failure	Engine failure
1978	ROC La Pierre du Nord	Chevron B36	Jacques Henry	Albert Dufrene	failure	Piston damage
1979	Lambretta SAFD,	Lola T298	Pierre Yver	Michel Elkoubi	Rank 21
1981	Jean-Marie Lemerle	Lola T298	Jean-Marie Lemerle	Alain Levié	failure	Electrics
1982	Jean-Marie Lemerle	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo	Jean-Marie Lemerle	Joe Castellano	Rank 12
1983	Scuderia Sivama engine	Lancia LC1	Oscar Larrauri	Massimo Sigala	not classified
1985	Bartlett Chevron Racing	Chevron B62	Richard Jones	Robin Smith	failure	Engine failure
1986	Porsche Kremer Racing	Porsche 956	Pierre Yver	Hubert Striebig	withdrawn	fatal accident by Jo Gartner
1987	Charles Ivy Racing	Tiga GC287	John Cooper	Tom Dodd-Noble	failure	crankshaft
1988	Primagaz Compétition	Cougar C12	Patrick de Radiguès		not classified
1989	Tiga Race Team	Tiga GC289	Robin Donovan	John Sheldon	failure	Power transmission
1990	Team Davey	Porsche 962C	Giovanni Lavaggi	Tim Lee-Davey	Rank 19
1991	Team Salamin Primagaz	Porsche 962C	Antoine Salamin	Marcel Tarrès	failure	Motor overheated
1992	Alméras Chotard team	Porsche 962C	Jacques Alméras	Jean-Marie Alméras	failure	accident
2000	Seikel Motorsport	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Michel Neugarten	Tony Burgess	Rank 18
2001	Seikel Motorsport	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Andrew Bagnall	Tony Burgess	Rank 12

literature

• Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissedre: 24 hours of mans . 1923-1992. 2 volumes. Édition d'Art JB Barthelemy, Besançon 1992, ISBN 2-909-413-06-3 .

Web links

Commons : Max Cohen-Olivar  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Max Cohen-Olivar at Racing Sports Cars
• Max Cohen-Olivar beu 24-hour piste

Individual evidence

1. ↑ LE PILOTE MAROCAIN, MAX COHEN OLIVAR EST MORT CE 21 MAY 2018, À 73 ANS! In: autonewsinfo.com. May 21, 2018, accessed July 2, 2018 (French).