Robert Sénéchal
Robert Marie Georges Sénéchal (born May 5, 1892 in Rocquencourt , † July 30, 1985 in Sanary-sur-Mer ) was a French entrepreneur and racing driver .
Entrepreneur
Robert Sénéchal was an automobile pioneer . He was one of the founders of Lebeau-Cordier , a Courbevoie- based manufacturer of cycle cars . Between 1920 and 1923, under the name Éclair cyclecars with two-cylinder engines of Anzani produced. In 1921 he left Lebeau-Cordier to go his own way with the Sénéchal company . At Sénéchal, small open two-seaters were built with Ruby engines. After the company was taken over by Chenard & Walcker in 1925, it was renamed Société Industrielle et Commerciale . Production stopped in 1929.
Racing career
The racing career began by accident. Since the works driver from Chenard & Walcker André Lagache fell ill before a hill climb, the completely inexperienced Robert Sénéchal jumped in and immediately won his first car race. In the following 55 missions he won 50 times.
Sports car racing
In the 1920s he competed in sports car races , either with a self-made Sénéchal or as a works driver for Chenard & Walcker. He won the Bol d'Or twice, in 1924 and 1926 . His most significant success was the overall victory at the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race in 1927 , as a partner of Nicolas Caerels on an Excelsior .
He competed twice in the Le Mans 24-hour race . After a failure in 1924 he reached 13th place overall in 1925 .
Monopostor racing
Another coincidence made him a Grand Prix driver. Sénéchal was registered in a supporting race for the Gran Premio de San Sebastián in 1926 . Delage factory driver Edmond Bourlier already had major problems with the exhaust gases of the Type 15 S 8 during training . Because of poor seals in the exhaust manifold , exhaust gases flowed directly into the cockpit and stunned the driver. Sénéchal was hired to take over from Bourlier a few times in the race. Six minutes behind the winner Jules Goux in the Bugatti T39A , the duo took second place overall.
The good lap times on the Circuito Lasarte resulted in a works contract with Delage. As a partner of Louis Wagner , he won the first British Grand Prix in motorsport history in Brooklands . The race was part of the 1926 Grand Prix season . After a racing accident in 1931, he ended his driving career.
After the racing career
In both the First and in the Second World War, Robert Sénéchal fought as pilots for the Aéronautique Militaire and the Armée de l'air . After the end of his driving career, he became an aerial photographer and opened a grocery store in Saint-Ay after the end of World War II . Robert Sénéchal, whose grandson is the journalist and organizer of the Dakar Rally Patrick Zaniroli , died in the south of France at the age of 93 . He is buried in the Père Lachaise park cemetery in Paris .
statistics
Le Mans results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 |
 Chenard & Walcker
|
Chenard-Walcker Type Y 9CV |
Raymond Glaszmann
|
failure | Engine failure |
| 1925 |
Chenard & Walcker
|
Chenard-Walcker Z1 Spéciale |
Albéric Loqueheux
|
Rank 13 |
literature
- Moity / Teissedre: 24 Hours of Le Mans 1923–1992 . Edition D'Art JP Barthelemy, ISBN 2-909-413-06-3 .
Web links
- Robert Sénéchal at Motorsport Magazine (English)
- Article about Robert Sénéchal from 1924 (French)
- About Robert Sénéchal (French)
- Robert Sénéchal at Racing Sports Cars (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ About Sénéchal
- ↑ Bol d'Or 1924
- ↑ Bol d'Or 1926
- ↑ 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps 1927
- ↑ Grand Prix season 1926 ( Memento of the original from May 4, 2009 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sénéchal, Robert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sénéchal, Robert Marie Georges (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French entrepreneur and racing car driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 5, 1892 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rocquencourt |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 30, 1985 |
| Place of death | Sanary-sur-Mer |