- René Le Bègue
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René Le Bégue (
January 15 ,1914 -February 24 ,1946 ) was aParis ian-born French race car driver in Rally andGrand Prix motor racing . In his first year of top level racing, his best showing came at the 1936Spa 24 Hours endurance race when he drove aDelahaye to a 2nd place finish. In 1937 he and his co-pilotJulio Quinlin won theMonte Carlo Rally driving a Delahaye. That year Le Bègue also won the Coupe de Vitesse at theAutodrome de Montlhéry driving a Talbot-Lago T150 and had several top-three finishes. He then teamed up withAndré Morel to claim victory in the 193812 hours of Paris endurance race forsports cars . In 1939 he finished 3rd in theFrench Grand Prix behind the dominantAuto Union Silver Arrows then went on to win theGrand Prix du Comminges . The following year, Le Bègue traveled to theUnited States to compete in the1940 Indianapolis 500 . Driving aMaserati for the American/French ownerLucy O'Reilly Schell , he started in the last row in 31st position but drove to a 10th place finish.René Le Bègue continued racing until the
German occupation of France during World War II when he joined theFree French Forces . With the war over, in 1946 he prepared to return to the racing scene and was elected vice-president of the French Drivers Association (AGACI). However, early that year before the season started the thirty-two-year-old Le Bègue was accidentallyasphyxia ted by gas leaking from a defective water heater in his bathroom. The June 9, 1946 Grand Prix race atSaint-Cloud , won byRaymond Sommer , was named the "René Le Bègue Cup" in his memory.Indy 500 results
References
* [http://www.historicracing.com/bizzare.cfm?start=1&page_no=1&otd=2095 DV3 Limited website]
* [http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/dl.htm The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing]
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