Joakim Bonnier

Jo Bonnier

Born	31 January 1930 Djurgården, Sweden
Died	11 June 1972 (aged 42) Le Mans, France
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Swedish
Active years	1956–1971
Teams	Maserati, Scuderia Centro Sud, Joakim Bonnier Racing Team, BRM, Porsche, Rob Walker Racing Team, Lotus, Brabham, Anglo-Suisse Racing/Ecurie Bonnier and Honda
Entries	108 (104 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	1
Career points	39
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1956 Italian Grand Prix
First win	1959 Dutch Grand Prix
Last win	1959 Dutch Grand Prix
Last entry	1971 United States Grand Prix

Joakim "Jo" Bonnier (31 January 1930 – 11 June 1972) was a Swedish sportscar racing and Formula One driver who raced for various teams.

Early life

Jo Bonnier was born in Djurgården, Stockholm, to the wealthy Bonnier family. His father, Gert, was a professor of genetics at the University of Stockholm, while many members of his extensive family were in the publishing business. He spoke six languages and, although his parents hoped that he would become a doctor, for a while it was his aspiration to enter the family publishing business. He attended Oxford University for a year, studying languages, then went to Paris, France, planning to learn about publishing.

First competition

Bonnier began competitive racing in Sweden at age 17, on an old Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He returned home to Sweden in 1951 after his Paris trip, and later took part in several rallies as the proud owner of a Simca.^[1]

Formula One

Bonnier at 1962 German Grand Prix driving a Porsche 804.

Bonnier entered Formula One in 1956, driving a Maserati. His racing career almost ended in September 1958 in a race at Imola, near Modena. He debuted a 1500cc Maserati and moved up through the field following a bad start, passing Luigi Musso, and was gaining on leader Eugenio Castellotti at around two seconds per lap when he lost control after another car pulled directly into his path as they negotiated a fast corner. His Maserati struck a large rock at the edge of the road and catapulted. The other driver went underneath him as he turned over and over in the air and, while he was upside down, the crash helmet of his competitor made contact with his. Bonnier's Maserati landed on its side before skidding 75 feet and heading into a ditch, where it came to a stop against a pole. Bonnier was thrown out of the car and suffered concussion, several cracked ribs, and a broken vertebra. His car was completely written off.

His greatest achievement in F1 was taking victory for BRM in the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, when the notoriously unreliable car worked well for once (Dan Gurney and Hans Herrmann had bad crashes after brake failures). He also won the 1960 German Grand Prix with a Porsche 718, a race held for Formula Two in preparation for the rule change of 1961. Bonnier was one of the driving forces behind the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. Despite his win for BRM, Bonnier did not drive for many works teams throughout his career, with only one-offs as a replacement driver for Lotus, Brabham and Honda. After his debut in a works Maserati, he then drove for his own Joakim Bonnier Racing Team and for Mimmo Dei's Scuderia Centro Sud in the late 50s, before finding a spot in the BRM and Porsche teams.

Bonnier in 1966.

After Porsche quit Grand Prix racing at the end of the 1962 season, Bonnier switched to Rob Walker Racing Team, the only privateer to have scored wins in World Championship events, where he drove Coopers and Brabhams, scoring few points. In 1966 he reformed his own team as Anglo-Suisse Racing Team (later to be renamed Ecurie Bonnier), but his interest in F1 gradually diminished. His last full season was 1968, in which he traded his old Cooper T86 for an old McLaren. He raced occasionally in F1 until 1971. In 1966, along with American racing drivers Phil Hill, Richie Ginther and Carroll Shelby, he was racing advisor to the 1966 motor racing epic Grand Prix starring James Garner. All the aforementioned (including Garner, who did all his own driving) were employed as drivers for the racing scenes. While filming the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix at the notorious and extremely fast Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Bonnier, along with more than half the field including Jackie Stewart, Bob Bondurant, Graham Hill and Denny Hulme, crashed out on the first lap of the race. According to Phil Hill, Bonnier went through an upstairs window at a house next to the track and could not take part in the later filming on the circuit.

Sports car racer

Bonnier in a Chaparral, during practice at the Nürburgring in 1966

Alongside F1, Bonnier also took part in many sports car races. He won the 1960 Targa Florio, co-driving a works Porsche 718 with Hans Herrmann, and in 1962 took a Ferrari 250 TRI entered by Count Giovanni Volpi to top honours in the 12 Hours of Sebring, sharing the car with Lucien Bianchi. In 1963 he was once again winner at the Targa Florio, with Carlo Mario Abate in another works Porsche 718.

1964 was his best year in sports car racing, where he co-drove a Ferrari P entered by Maranello Concessionaires with Graham Hill, taking a 330P to second place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and to a win at Montlhéry, while a 12-hour race in Reims also gave him a first place in a 250LM. He then won the 1000km Nürburgring in a Chaparral in 1966 (with Phil Hill), his last win in a major sports car event, but still managed to snatch victories in the minor 1000 km of Barcelona at Montjuïc in 1971 (with Ronnie Peterson), and the 4 Hours of Le Mans in 1972 (with Hughes de Fierlant).

Bonnier purchased a McLaren M6B to campaign in the 1968 Can-Am series. In the first outing at the Karlskoga Sweden GP, Bonnier had the pole but an off course excursion on the first lap caused him to finish second to David Piper in a Ferrari 330P3/4. He then ran his McLaren in five of the six Can-Am races with his best finish an eighth at Las Vegas.^[2] He was plagued with mechanical problems most of the season. However, he finished 3rd in the M6B at the Mt Fuji 200-mile race.^[3]

In 1970 he drove a Lola T210 to victory in the European 2-Litre Sports Car Championship, securing the drivers title at the end of the season with 48 points.^[4]

Team management, safety campaigning and death

1965

By the early seventies, he had taken to managing his team, entering several cars in World Sportscar Championship events, and taking a backseat to driving. He had also taken a lead in the fight for track safety, which had started around that time. Nevertheless, he was involved in a hideous accident on the straight between Mulsanne Corner and Indianapolis at Le Mans in 1972 when his open-top Lola-Cosworth T280 collided with a Ferrari Daytona driven by a Swiss amateur driver Florian Vetsch. His car was catapulted over the Armco barriers and into the trees next to the track and he was killed instantly. Fellow racer Vic Elford saw Vetch's Ferrari burning furiously and pulled his Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 over to the right side of the track, ran across to the Ferrari on the other side and opening its door, attempting to rescue Vetsch. But Vetsch had already vacated the car and was on the side of the track where Elford had parked his Alfa. Elford spotted Vetsch and then saw the wreckage of Bonnier's yellow Lola in the woods next to the track. According to Elford, the last he had seen of Bonnier's Lola was that it was "spinning into the trees like a helicopter". Elford later handed his Alfa over to Helmut Marko, but the gearbox froze solid and they dropped out of the race. Elford later said, "It was the first time in my racing career I'm glad my car broke."

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Pts
1956	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	ARG	MON	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA Ret						NC	0
1957	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	ARG 7						PES Ret	ITA Ret						NC	0
	Jo Bonnier				MON DNA	500	FRA	GBR Ret	GER
1958	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	ARG DNA							GER Ret						20th	3
	Jo Bonnier				MON Ret	NED 10	500	BEL 9		GBR Ret		POR Ret
	Giorgio Scarlatti								FRA 8
	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4										ITA Ret	MOR 4
1959	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4	MON Ret	500	NED 1	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 5	POR Ret	ITA 8	USA					8th	10
1960	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4	ARG 7													18th	4
		BRM P48			MON 5	500	NED Ret	BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	POR Ret	ITA	USA 5
1961	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 787	Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4	MON Ret	NED 11												15th	3
		Porsche 718				BEL 7	FRA 7	GBR 5	GER Ret	ITA Ret	USA 6
1962	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 804	Porsche 753 1.5 F8	NED 7			FRA 10	GBR Ret	GER 7	ITA 6	USA 13	RSA					15th	3
		Porsche 718	Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4		MON 5	BEL WD
1963	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T60	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	MON 7	BEL 5	NED 11	FRA NC										11th	6
		Cooper T66						GBR Ret	GER 6	ITA 7	USA 8	MEX 5	RSA 6
1964	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T66	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	MON 5													15th	3
		Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8		NED 9	BEL Ret	FRA	GBR Ret	GER Ret
		Brabham BT7	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8							AUT 6	ITA 12	USA Ret	MEX Ret
1965	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT7	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	RSA Ret	MON 7	BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 7	NED Ret	GER 7	ITA 7	USA 8	MEX Ret				NC	0
1966	Anglo-Suisse Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	MON NC	BEL Ret			NED 7	GER Ret	ITA Ret	USA NC	MEX 6					17th	1
		Brabham BT22	Climax FPF 2.8 L4			FRA NC
		Brabham BT7	Climax FWMV 2.0 V8				GBR Ret
1967	Joakim Bonnier Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	RSA Ret	MON	NED	BEL Ret	FRA	GBR Ret	GER 6*	CAN 8	ITA Ret	USA 6	MEX 10			15th	3
1968	Joakim Bonnier Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	RSA Ret	ESP												22nd	3
		McLaren M5A	BRM P142 3.0 V12			MON DNQ	BEL Ret	NED 8	FRA	GBR Ret	GER DNA	ITA 6	CAN Ret	USA NC
		Honda RA301	Honda RA301E 3.0 V12												MEX 5
1969	Ecurie Bonnier	Lotus 63	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR Ret								NC	0
		Lotus 49B								GER Ret	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX
1970	Ecurie Bonnier	McLaren M7C	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA DNQ	CAN	USA Ret	MEX	NC	0
1971	Ecurie Bonnier	McLaren M7C	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA Ret	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER DNQ	AUT DNS	ITA 10	CAN	USA 16			NC	0

• Bonnier was 6th at 1967 German Grand Prix but he was given points for the 5th place because F2-drivers who competed in the same race were ineligible to score points.

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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
1957	Jo Bonnier	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	SYR	PAU	GLV	NAP	RMS Ret	CAE 4
	Scuderia Centro Sud									INT 4
	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4								MOD 6	MOR
1958	Jo Bonnier	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	GLV	SYR 2	AIN	INT Ret	CAE 2
1959	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4	GLV 4	AIN Ret	INT	OUL DNA	SIL
1960	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4	GLV 6
		BRM P48			INT NC	SIL	LOM 3	OUL 5
1961	Scuderia Colonia	Lotus 18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	LOM	GLV	PAU 2		VIE WD	AIN
	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 718	Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4				BRX Ret			SYR 3	NAP	LON		SOL 2	KAN 2	DAN	MOD 2	FLG 3	OUL WD	LEW	VAL	RAN 3	NAT 3	RSA 3
	UDT-Laystall Racing	Lotus 18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4										SIL 11
1962	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 718	Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4	CAP 3
	Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia				BRX 2	LOM 3	LAV	GLV	PAU Ret	AIN	INT 12	NAP	MAL 6	CLP	RMS 8
	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 804	Porsche 753 1.5 F8													SOL 2	KAN 3	MED	DAN		MEX DNA	RAN	NAT
	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Lotus 24	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8																	OUL Ret
1963	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T60	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	LOM	GLV	PAU Ret	IMO Ret			INT 5	ROM	SOL 9		MED 4	AUT Ret
		Lotus 24						SYR 5	AIN
		Cooper T66											KAN 5			OUL Ret	RAN
1964	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T66	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	DMT 2	NWT Ret	SYR 4	AIN 4	INT NC
		Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8						SOL 5	MED	RAN
1965	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT7	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	ROC 3	SYR 4	SMT 5	INT 5	MED Ret
		Lotus 25							RAN Ret
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Lotus 25	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	RSA Ret
		Brabham BT11	BRM P56 2.0 V8		SYR 5
	Anglo-Suisse Racing	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12			INT 3	OUL
1967	Joakim Bonnier Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	ROC	SPR	INT Ret	SYR 5	OUL	ESP
1968	Joakim Bonnier Racing Team	McLaren M5A	BRM P142 3.0 V12	ROC Ret	INT Ret	OUL Ret
1969	Ecurie Bonnier	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC	INT	MAD	OUL DNS
1971	Ecurie Bonnier	Lola T190	Chevrolet 5.0 V8	ARG NC	ROC	QUE	SPR	INT	RIN	OUL	VIC

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1957	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Giorgio Scarlatti	Maserati 300S	S 3.0	73	DNF	DNF
1958	Francisco Godia	Francisco Godia-Sales	Maserati 300S	S 3.0	142	DNF	DNF
1959	Porsche KG	Wolfgang von Trips	Porsche 718 RSK	S 2.0	182	DNF	DNF
1960	Porsche KG	Graham Hill	Porsche 718/4 RS	S 2.0	191	DNF	DNF
1961	Porsche System Engineering	Dan Gurney	Porsche 718/4 RS Coupe	S 2.0	262	DNF	DNF
1962	Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia	Dan Gurney	Ferrari 250 TRI/61	E 3.0	30	DNF	DNF
1963	Porsche System Engineering	Tony Maggs	Porsche 718/8 GTR Coupe	P 3.0	109	DNF	DNF
1964	Maranello Concessionaires	Graham Hill	Ferrari 330P	P 5.0	344	2nd	2nd
1965	Maranello Concessionaires Ltd.	David Piper	Ferrari 365 P2	P 5.0	101	DNF	DNF
1966	Chaparral Cars Inc.	Phil Hill	Chaparral 2D-Chevrolet	P+5.0	111	DNF	DNF
1969	Scuderia Filipinetti	Masten Gregory	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB-Chevrolet	S 5.0	134	DNF	DNF
1970	Scuderia Filipinetti	Reine Wisell	Ferrari 512S	S 5.0	36	DNF	DNF
1972	Ecurie Bonnier Switzerland	Gérard Larrousse Gijs van Lennep	Lola T280-Ford Cosworth	S 3.0	213	DNF	DNF

References

1. Bonnier Seeks Grand Prix Win, Los Angeles Times, October 9, 1962, Page B2.
2. 1968 Can-Am Stardust Grand Prix, Las Vegas Archived May 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
3. 1968 Fuji 200 World Challenge Cup Archived September 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
4. "World Sports Racing Prototypes Results website". Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.