Jo Schlesser

Joseph Théodule Marie Schlesser (18 May 1928 – 7 July 1968) was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed. He scored no championship points. He was the uncle of Jean-Louis Schlesser who himself became a Formula One driver in the 1980s.

Early career Schlesser began his motor sport career in 1952, when he rallied a Panhard before, in 1954, trying the then popular French class of racing known as Monomill. His career was then interrupted for three years whilst he was working in Mozambique In 1966, he finished tenth in the overall classification and third in the Formula Two classification. In 1967, he was forced to retire with a clutch problem after two laps.

Formula One and death An opportunity for a Formula One seat came for Schlesser in the 1968 French Grand Prix with Honda. The Honda team had completed an experimental air-cooled Formula One car (the RA302) which had been tested by their works driver John Surtees. Surtees pronounced it as not ready for racing, and a potential deathtrap. Undaunted, and with the financial help of Honda France, Honda entered it for the French Grand Prix at Rouen. Being the local hero, Schlesser was hired to drive it. After two laps, the car slid wide at the Six Frères corner and crashed sideways into a bank. The magnesium-bodied Honda and 58 laps' worth of fuel ignited instantly, leaving Schlesser no chance of survival. As a result, Honda withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 1968 season after Surtees had again refused to drive the car in the Italian Grand Prix.

Legacy

Guy Ligier, a close friend, former teammate and business partner, established his company Ligier Cars shortly after Schlesser's death, in fulfillment of the dream that they had shared, to build a "good car". Ligier cars would receive type designators beginning with "JS" as a tribute to Schlesser. This tradition is being continued by Onroak, the current owner of Ligier Cars. Italian company Dallara would later adopt this style of nomenclature for their 2012 IndyCar entry by naming it after the new car's test driver Dan Wheldon, who had died in the final race of the new car's predecessor.

His nephew, Jean-Louis Schlesser, would also become a successful racing driver. He started in one Formula One Grand Prix, won the World Sportscar Championship and the Paris–Dakar Rally twice (1999 and 2000).

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1957 Automobiles D. B. Jean-Claude Vidilles DB HBR-Panhard S750 126 DNF DNF 1960 North American Racing Team Bill Sturgis Ferrari 250 GT California GT3.0 253 DNF DNF 1963 David Brown Racing Dept. William Kimberly Aston Martin DP214 P+3.0 139 DNF DNF 1964 Ford Motor Company Richard Attwood Ford GT40 Mk.I P5.0 58 DNF DNF 1965 Ford France S.A. Allen Grant AC Cobra Daytona Coupé-Ford GT5.0 111 DNF DNF 1966 Matra Sport Alan Rees Matra MS620-BRM P2.0 100 DNF DNF 1967 Ford France S.A. Guy Ligier Ford Mk IIB P+5.0 183 DNF DNF

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series NASCAR Grand National Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 Pts Ref 1964 Bondy Long 77 Ford CON AUG JSP SVH RSD DAY DAY DAY RCH BRI GPS BGS ATL AWS HBO PIF CLB NWS MAR SVH DAR LGY HCY SBO CLT GPS ASH ATL CON NSV CHT BIR VAL PIF DAY ODS OBS BRR ISP GLN LIN BRI NSV MBS AWS DTS ONA CLB BGS STR DAR HCY RCH ODS HBO MAR SVH NWS CLT HAR AUG JAC NA 0

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 1964 Bondy Long Ford 18 13

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts 1966 Matra Sports Matra MS5 F2 Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX NC 0 1967 Écurie Ford-France Matra MS5 F2 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 RSA MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER CAN ITA USA MEX NC 0 1968 Honda France Honda RA302 Honda RA302E 3.0 V8 RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER ITA CAN USA MEX NC 0

Non-championship Formula One results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1961 Equipe Lausanne Cooper T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 LOM GLV PAU BRX VIE AIN SYR NAP LON SIL SOL KAN DAN MOD Inter-Autocourse FLG OUL LEW VAL RAN NAT RSA 1962 Equipe Lausanne Cooper T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 CAP BRX LOM LAV GLV PAU AIN INT NAP MAL CLP RMS SOL KAN MED DAN OUL MEX RAN NAT 1963 Inter-Autocourse Brabham BT2 Ford 105E 1.5 L4 LOM GLV PAU IMO SYR AIN INT ROM SOL KAN Jo Schlesser MED AUT OUL RAN 1965 John Willment Automobiles Lola T55 F2 Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 ROC SYR SMT INT MED RAN 1967 Écurie Ford-France Matra MS5 F2 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 ROC SPR INT SYR OUL ESP

Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts Ford France Matra MS5 Ford SNE SIL NÜR HOC TUL JAR ZAN PER BRH VAL 8th 13 Ecurie Inter-Sport McLaren M4A Ford HOC THR JAR PAL TUL ZAN PER HOC VAL 11th 5