- Georges Boillot
Georges Boillot (
August 3 ,1884 –May 19 ,1916 ) was a FrenchGrand Prix motor racing driver andWorld War I fighter pilot.Born in
Valentigney , Doubs, Boillot was a mechanic by training who began automobile racing in 1908. He went on to join driversPaul Zuccarelli andJules Goux to help create a novel range of racing cars as part of thePeugeot team. He debuted with them in 1909 in the "Coupe de l'Auto" atRambouillet and in 1910, went to Italy to compete in theTarga Florio .At
Dieppe, France , onJune 26 ,1912 , Georges Boillot won the French Grand Prix, in his Peugeot L76, a vehicle designed by the young Swiss engineer Ernest Henry in association with Zuccarelli, Goux and Boillot. This was the first motorcar in the world to have an engine with two overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. Boillot won the "Coupe de l'Auto" in 1913 and became the darling of French racing fans when he won his second straight French Grand Prix atAmiens , becoming the first driver to win theFrench Grand Prix twice.That same year, his Peugeot teammate, Jules Goux became the first Frenchman to win the
Indianapolis 500 . The following year, France sent a number of competitors to theIndiana speedway where onMay 27 , during qualifying, Boillot came tantalizing close to breaking the 100 mile-an-hour (161 km/h) barrier when he set a new speed record of 99.86 mph (160.70 km/h). Much faster than any other driver, Boillot would most likely have won the race with ease had it not been for repeated tire trouble. He ended up finishing 14th while his fellow Frenchmen finished in the top four positions with René Thomas getting the win.In what would turn out to be his last race, the
1914 French Grand Prix atLyon , his Peugeot was literally falling apart at the end. After demonstrating his tremendous skills by keeping the vehicle running and near the lead, it finally overheated on the last lap and he was forced to retire.With the outbreak of
World War I , Boillot joined the new French Air Force. OnApril 21 ,1916 his plane was shot down in a dogfight overVerdun-sur-Meuse and crashed nearBar-le-Duc . Severely injured, he died in a military hospital atVaudelaincourt ,Meuse . In his honor, several places in France named a street for him and there is a George Boillot School inMontlhéry in theEssonne "département " nearParis .His brother André was also a race driver and at war's end, won the 1919
Targa Florio . Georges' son, Jean, became "director-general" of Peugeot Talbot cars and in 1981 was responsible for involving Peugeot in rallying.Indy 500 results
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