Olivier Gendebien, 4 victories at Le Mans, 2 podiums in F1,
would have been 100 years old :
the Brussels “amateur” stopped short at the height of his glory “for his daughter”
A few years before Jacky Ickx, another Belgian driver reigned over endurance races and the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. His name ? Olivier Gendebien, an "amateur" (he described himself as such and hated the term "professional") who wrote some of the first pages of the Scuderia Ferrari legend. Just that !
His racing career began with rallying and lasted less than 10 years (he stopped it within minutes of his 4th victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1962, because he almost "killed himself during the night"). " passing very close to colliding with another competitor in slow motion in the Esses of the Tertre Rouge), but that did not prevent him from achieving 13 major victories on the international endurance scene: in addition to his success at Le Mans , he won the Targa Florio, the 12 Hours of Sebring (where the N.15 turn still bears his name today) several times... and competed in 14 F1 Grands Prix between 1956 and 1961.
Dubbed by Enzo Ferrari, who described him as "a gentleman who drives with nobility, elegance, common sense and regularity", Olivier Gendebien was part of 4 of the 10 crews which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Scuderia: three times (1958 , 1961, 1962) with the American Phil Hill, F1 World Champion in 1961, and once (1960) with another great Belgian driver, Paul Frère.
If his career in F1 was "limited" to 14 appearances (not a single full season), he managed to reach the podium twice in 1960, with a Cooper-Climax: on the great circuit of Spa-Francorchamps , on June 19 (3rd behind Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren), and in Reims, during the French Grand Prix, two weeks later (2nd behind Jack Brabham).
His podium in front of his home crowd, Olivier Gendebien was not really able to take advantage of it, two drivers (Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey) having lost their lives in the race that day.
“I lost 49 friends during my career,” he declared to our colleagues at Auto Hebdo during an interview in the 1980s. After coming close to disaster during the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, I said to myself that my daughter, who had been born a few days earlier, was in danger of never knowing her father. I had had enough of motor racing. I announced my decision to the press at the finish line!”
Record holder for victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1962 and 1981, the year of Jacky Ickx's 5th of 6 successes in the Sarthe, Olivier Gendebien, born January 12, 1924, died on October 2, 1998, at the age of 74 years old.
Paul Frère (interviewed on the left) and Olivier Gendebien (on the right) on the podium of the 24 hours of Le Mans 1960 © AFP
The car that won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1958
Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa #0728TR Ferrari Tipo 128 LM Colombo V12/60° 2v SOHC 2953 cc
Driven by Olivier GENDEBIEN (BE) and Phil HILL (USA)
