Maurice Trintignant

Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (; 30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a French racing driver and winemaker, who competed in Formula One from to . Trintignant won two Formula One Grands Prix across 15 seasons. In endurance racing, Trintignant won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with Ferrari.

Trintignant competed in Formula One in 11 different makes of car (a record), winning two Grands Prix across 15 seasons. He finished fourth in the and World Drivers' Championships with Ferrari. He entered 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from to , winning in alongside José Froilán González, driving the Ferrari 375 Plus, and finished runner-up in .

After retiring from motor racing, Trintignant moved into the winemaking trade, owning a vineyard in Languedoc-Roussillon, where he named his vintage Le Petoulet. (In French, Le Petoulet means "The Rat-Droppings Man", a popular nickname given to Trintignant by Jean-Pierre Wimille.)

In 1948, Trintignant suffered a very serious accident during a support race for the Swiss Grand Prix. He was thrown in the air, and landed in the middle of the race track. His heart stopped beating for one minute and 15 seconds at the hospital, and he was pronounced dead. However, he survived, and woke up after a week-long coma. He kept a very peculiar looking abdomen scar, as the surgeon stitching a large wound did it at a very irregular pace while his heart had stopped beating. For six months, he suffered from amnesia and a loss of motor skills, but he eventually made a near complete recovery. The corner at which he crashed was later named after him. His wife offered him a stuffed teddy bear during his recovery, and as a superstition, Trintignant kept it in his pocket while he was racing for the rest of his career. He returned to racing in 1949 and won a Formula Two race at the Circuit des Remparts that year.

By 1950 Le Petoulet was successful enough to be offered a works drive for the Gordini team, in the newly formed Formula One World Championship racing series. He competed in Formula One every year until his retirement after the 1964 season. During this long career Trintignant scored two victories, both at the Monaco Grand Prix, in 1955 and 1958. Unusually for Monaco, both victories came from relatively far down the field, as Trintignant started those races from 9th and 5th respectively. 1954 and 1955 were his best Championship years and he finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship in both.

Trintignant won the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans with José Froilán González in a Ferrari 375 Plus, despite a seven minutes pitstop with one and a half hour to go, due to a faulty ignition wiring caused by the torrential rain.

Known for his conservative and reliable driving style, Trintignant drove a huge variety of cars, for many different teams: both works and privateer. Unusually, at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix Trintignant shared both second and third places, a product of the Scuderia Ferrari policy of passing cars to their top drivers, should their original car break down. In 1956 he drove the Bugatti Type 251 in the French Grand Prix, becoming the last driver to represent the famed marque at a Grand Prix race. Even in his final season, driving his own BRM P57, he scored points, taking fifth place at the 1964 German Grand Prix on the intimidating Nürburgring. Between 1959 and 1966, Trintignant held the record for most World Championship Grand Prix starts. Following his retirement from racing, Maurice Trintignant returned to a quiet life as a wine-grower (naming his vintage Le Petoulet), near the town of Vergèze, in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine growing region.

Trintignant competed in the 2000 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, reunited with the Cooper T45 he had driven to victory there in 1958.

Trintignant died, aged 87, in 2005.

Major career wins Rheinland-Pfalz Preis – 1950 Mont Ventoux Hill Climb – 1949, 1960, 1964 Buenos Aires Grand Prix – 1954, 1960 Swedish Grand Prix – 1956 RAC Tourist Trophy – 1954 Circuit des Nations – 1950 Moroccan Grand Prix – 1956 Grand Prix Avignon – 1947 Albi Grand Prix – 1951 Grand Prix de Caen – 1952, 1954 Grand Prix de Cadours – 1952, 1953 Pau Grand Prix – 1958, 1959 (F2), 1962 (F1) Grand Prix de Rouen-les-Essarts – 1954 Grand Prix de Roubaix – 1952 Grand Prix des Frontières – 1938, 1939, 1953 2 Hours of Dakar – 1956 12 Hours of Hyères – 1954 10 Hours of Messina – 1955 Monaco Grand Prix – 1955, 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans – 1953, 1954

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Indicates shared drive with Harry Schell Indicates shared drives with José Froilán González and Giuseppe Farina (2nd place) & Giuseppe Farina and Umberto Maglioli (3rd place) Indicates shared drive with Peter Collins

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1957 Ferrari Factory Peter Collins Ferrari 315 SS5.0187 6th 5th

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts Class 1962 Ford Motor Company Ford Zodiac Mk 3 SNE GOO AIN SIL? CRY AIN BRH OUL 22nd 6 3rd

Trivia He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur in 1960 Was the mayor of Vergèze between 1958 and 1964. Was married to Louise on 10 December 1938 Took over his father's vineyard On 10 October 2010 a bronze statue of a Bugatti Type 51 was unveiled in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes in his honour