André Simon (racing driver)
André Simon ( born January 5, 1920 in Paris, † July 11, 2012 in Evian- les- Bains ) was a French Formula 1 and sports car racing driver.
Life
André was born the son of a car workshop owner, who also operated a factory representative for Mathis in La Varenne. The age of nine, his father died, so his uncle raised him. Only four years later, Simon worked in the family workshop.
After the Second World War, he borrowed money to buy a Talbot Lago sports car in order to meet with him in 1948 in Montlhery a sports car race. A friend lent him his own Delahaye for use at the Grand Prix of Comminges only a few months later.
1949 asked the more experienced Eugène Chaboud if he wanted to share the use of the 24- hour race at Le Mans with him. His dortiger use made Amadée Gordini attention to him, for he was a great success in the years 1950 and 1951 in Formula 2 go. In 1951, he was also on Gordini, his first start at Formula 1 World Championship races, the GP of Italy, he reached it a sixth.
During the 1952 Formula 1 season, he was invited as a guest driver from Ferrari to launch for the red racer in France. But he did not have the desired effect and a serious illness at the end of the year interrupted his career for a full year. So he went back in 1954 for Gordini and as Hans Herrmann injured himself during practice for the Monaco Grand Prix in 1955, he jumped as a guest driver in a Mercedes. Again, he had no luck and had to give up with a technical defect. Later that year he joined Maserati. He celebrated his biggest success with a victory at the World Cup not counted GP in Albi. At World Championship races him no successes were granted, he had his last mission at the GP of Italy 1957.
Later he moved to the sports car team Scuderia Ferrari, where he imports several victories 1960-1964. He then took his leave of the actual motor sports, but was killed in 1966 in a traffic accident so severe that he was two weeks in a coma.
Recovered from that, he led his workshop continued until his retirement in 1984.