Ivor Bueb (original) (raw)

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British racing driver (1923–1959)

Ivor Bueb

Born	(1923-06-06)6 June 1923East Ham, Essex, England, UK
Died	1 August 1959(1959-08-01) (aged 36)Near Clermont-Ferrand, France
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1957–1959
Teams	Connaught,non-works Maserati, Lotus and Cooper
Entries	6 (5 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1957 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1959 British Grand Prix

Ivor Léon John Bueb (;[1] 6 June 1923 – 1 August 1959) was a British professional sports car racing and Formula One driver from England.[2]

Ivor Léon John Bueb was born to Léon Gervase Bueb and Grace Marie Alice Vagnolini in East Ham, Essex. His father was born in Breisach, Germany to French parents and his mother had English, Italian and Welsh grandparents.[3] They divorced in 1926. Bueb spent his childhood in Dulwich, South London, regularly visiting Crystal Palace to watch Prince Bira, Freddie Dixon and Raymond Mays compete.[3]

Bueb started racing seriously in a Formula Three 500cc Cooper in 1953, graduating to the Cooper works team in 1955 when he finished second in the British championship. He made occasional starts in Grands Prix in 1957 with a Connaught and a Maserati run by Gilby Engineering. The following year he raced Bernie Ecclestone's Connaught at Monaco, and drove a Formula Two Lotus at the German Grand Prix.

In 1959 he had two outings for BRP, firstly a non-qualification at Monaco, then another Formula Two entry at the British Grand Prix. He participated in six Formula One World Championship Grands Prix in all, but scored no championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races. With the death of Archie Scott Brown at Spa in May 1958, Brian Lister hired Bueb to fill the now-vacant Lister-Jaguar driver's seat. Bueb did an admirable job, scoring several first places at tracks such as Crystal Palace and Goodwood during the 1958 and 1959 sports car campaigns.

Ivor Bueb's winning car from the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans

Bueb is perhaps best known for sharing the winning works Jaguar D-type with Mike Hawthorn in the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans which was marred by an accident in which 82 spectators were killed; a success he repeated with Ron Flockhart in the ex-works Ecurie Ecosse car in 1957.[4][5][6]

He suffered serious injuries in 1959 when he crashed his BRP Cooper-Borgward Formula Two car at the Charade Circuit near Clermont-Ferrand, France.[2] He crashed at Gravenoire, a multiple apex-section at the very far end of the circuit, and was thrown out of his Cooper.[2] After being carried off the circuit by Gendarmes in a way that probably worsened his injuries, Bueb died six days later at a hospital near the circuit.[2]

It was Ivor Bueb's death, in conjunction with Archie Scott Brown's demise, that finally led Brian Lister to shut down his very successful sports car racing effort. Bueb's funeral was held at Manor Park Cemetery in Newham, London on the 10 August. It was attended by his family, friends, and widowed wife. His father was unable to attend, but arranged a high mass in Clermont-Ferrand at the same time.[3]

Bueb served in the RAF during WW2. After returning he invested money into selling ex-War department vehicles in Newport, Monmouthshire.[3] He obtained his Aviator's Certificate in 1949 in Cardiff, piloting a DH82A Tiger Moth. Upon moving back to Cheltenham in the early 1950s he began his career in motorsport, helped by Geoffrey Turk.[3] Bueb was affectionally called 'Ivor the Driver' by his peers, a play on 'Ivan the Terrible'.[7] After his tragic accident in 1959, fellow racer Jimmy Ebdon paid tribute:[8]

Despite his burly figure, he was indeed a quiet and very sensitive person. He was very modest in success and always most outspoken about his failures.

Bueb was survived by his wife, Florence Ada Bueb (1925-2009) and his son, David Ivor Lee Bueb Thomas, who died in 1988.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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(key)

* Formula 2 entry.

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

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

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	ClassPos.
1955	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Mike Hawthorn	Jaguar D-Type	S5.0	307	1st	1st
1956	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Mike Hawthorn	Jaguar D-Type FI	S5.0	280	6th	3rd
1957	Ecurie Ecosse	Ron Flockhart	Jaguar D-Type	S5.0	327	1st	1st
1958	J. D. Hamilton(private entrant)	Duncan Hamilton	Jaguar D-Type	S3.0	251	DNF(Accident)
1959	Brian Lister Engineering	Bruce Halford	Lister Sport	S3.0	121	DNF(Engine)
Sources:[11][12]

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

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Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	ClassPos.
1956	Jaguar of New York Distributors Inc.	Duncan Hamilton	Jaguar D-Type	S5.0	63	DNF(Brakes)
1957	Jaguar Cars North America	Mike Hawthorn	Jaguar D-Type	S5.0	193	3rd	2nd
1958	Ecurie Ecosse	Ninian Sanderson	Jaguar D-Type	S3.0	22	DNF(Valve springs)
1959	The Lister Corp.	Stirling Moss	Lister-Jaguar	S3.0	98	DSQ(Illegal refuelling)
Source:[13]

1. ^ Weekend at Le Mans (Videotape). Le Mans: Periscope Film. 1957. Event occurs at 17:10. Retrieved 11 January 2025 – via YouTube.
2. ^ a b c d "Ivor Bueb at Motorsport Memorial". motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
3. ^ a b c d e https://bpmc.org.uk/petestowe/Lib/IvorBueb-FocusOn500s.pdf [_bare URL PDF_]
4. ^ "Scots win at Le Mans. Jaguars in First Four Places". The Glasgow Herald. 24 June 1957. p. 7. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
5. ^ "1955 24 Hours of Le Mans results". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
6. ^ "1957 24 Hours of Le Mans results". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
7. ^ "Motorsport Memorial -". motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
8. ^ Sukup, Anton (26 September 2019). "Ivor Bueb | The "forgotten" drivers of F1". www.f1forgottendrivers.com. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
9. ^ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 87. ISBN 0851127029.
10. ^ de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
11. ^ "Ivor Bueb (GB)". 24h-en-piste.com. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
12. ^ "Ivor Bueb". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
13. ^ "Complete Archive of Ivor Bueb". Racing Sports Cars. pp. 2, 3. Retrieved 27 May 2025.

• Ivor Bueb profile at The 500 Owners Association
• Ivor Bueb at IMDb