Élie Bayol
Élie Bayol ( born February 28, 1914 in Marseille, † 25 May 1995 La Ciotat, Bouches- du- Rhône) was a French racing driver.
The South of France is one of the great circle of those drivers whose talent indeed flashed again and again, but where lack of competitive material never achieved his great breakthrough.
Life
In the early 1950s Bayol was active on DB Panhard on mountain and Formula 2 race in France. For the Formula 1 seasons 1952 and 1953, which was held by Formula 2 rules, he earned a private car of the brand OSCA. These Italian cars were neither fast nor reliable, so that he thus crossed the finish line in any world championship race. The highlight of this time was undoubtedly a victory for a non- World Cup scoring race in Aix -les- Bains.
In the 1954 season, he joined the inferior Gordini racing team, which put him sporadically at races. At the GP of Argentina he could reach his only championship points with a fifth place. Like most drivers of this era Bayol also tried his hand at endurance races and was in the 24- hour race at Le Mans tenth. In 1955 he suffered severe head injuries in a training accident at Le Mans.
In the season of 1956 he reached on Gordini together with André Pilette a sixth place in Monaco, but there were at that time still no championship points. Frustrated by his inferior material, but also in memory of his heavy accident in 1955, he retired the end of 1956 back from active racing. He died in 1995 at the age of 81 years.
Grand Prix Results
Le Mans results
- Formula 1 racing driver (France)
- Drivers in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- Frenchman
- Born in 1914
- Died in 1995
- Man
- World Sports Car Championship racer