Willy Mairesse

Former F1 driver
Name = Willy Mairesse
Nationality = flagicon|Belgium Belgian
Years = F1|1960-F1|1963, F1|1965
Team(s) = Ferrari, ENB, Lotus, Scuderia Centro Sud
Races = 13 (12 starts)
Championships = 0
Wins = 0
Podiums = 1
Points = 7
Poles = 0
Fastest laps = 0
First race = 1960 Belgian Grand Prix
First win =
Last win =
Last race = 1965 Belgian Grand Prix

Willy Mairesse (October 1, 1928 - September 9, 1969) was a Formula One and sports car driver from Belgium. He participated in 13 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on June 19, 1960. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 7 championship points. He committed suicide in a hotel room in Ostend after injury at the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans forced an end to his career.

Peter Revson once described the intensity of Mairesse before a race at Spa, Belgium. Revson looked into his car and saw Mairesse's "furrowed" face, beetled brows, and eyes which were almost tilted and their color changed. "It was almost like looking at the devil." ["What Makes Peter Revson Race", Parade Magazine, March 12, 1972, Page 103]

ports car driver

Mairesse secured third place in the Grand Prix of Monza in June 1959. Driving a Ferrari, he placed behind Alfonso Thiele and Carlo Mario Abate, both also in Ferraris. ["2 Drivers Killed In Monza Crash", New York Times,June 29, 1959, Page 37.] Mairesse and Mike Parkes of England finished second to Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien at the 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans. Driving a Ferrari, Mairesse and Parkes also eclipsed the previous Le Mans record, covering 2,758.66 miles. ["Ferrari Wins at Le Mans", Uniontown, Pennsylvania Evening Standard, June 12, 1961, Page 14.] In the 1963 12 Hours of Sebring Mairesse and Nino Vacarella placed second after Ludovico Scarfiotti and John Surtees. Both teams drove Ferraris. ["Red Italian Cars Blast Race Field", Mansfield, Ohio News Journal, March 24, 1963, Page 29.] Surtees and Mairesse led for the first 14 hours of the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans. Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini captured won on the French circuit where one driver had a fatal accident. Mairesse and Surtees retired after a motor fire. ["Ferraris Mop-Up at Le Mans, Monopolize First Six Spots", Bennington Banner, June 17, 1963, Page 6.] A young German Red Cross worker was killed in August 1963 when the wheel of a Ferrari driven by Mairesse came off as his car overturned. Guenther Schneider, 19, was hit by a flying wheel during the running of the Grand Prix of Germany at Adenau. ["Boy, 19, Dies of Injuries Suffered at Grand Prix", New York Times, August 7, 1963, Page 30.] Mairesse was triumphant in the 1964 Grand Prix of Angola, run at Luanda. His average speed was 80.78 miles per hour. ["Angola Victor", Mansfield News Journal, November 30, 1964, Page 15.] Mairesse piloted a Ferrari 250 LM to first place inthe Grand Prix of Spa in May 1965. He completed the race in 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 45.7 seconds. He averaged 126.29 seconds. ["Belgium Driver Wins Grand Prix of Spa", Mansfield News Journal, May 17, 1965, Page 10.] Mairesse and Jean Beurlys of France finished third at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt captured the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mairesse and Beurlys finished third in a Ferrari. ["Ford Challenges Collapses at Le Mans", Pacific Stars and Stripes, June 22, 1965, Page 11.] In April 1966 Surtees and Parkes won the 1,000 kilometer Monza Auto Race. Mairesse and Herbert Mueller of Switzerland came in third in a Ford sports car, two laps behind. ["Surtees Comes Back at Monza", Pacific Stars and Stripes, April 27, 1966, Page 20.] In May Mairesse and Mueller drove to victory in the Targa Florio, driving a Porsche Carrera 6. Rain caused considerable attrition as only thirteen of seventy starters finished the race. ["Leader Crash, Porsche Wins", Syracuse Herald Journal, May 9, 1966, Page 18.] Mairesse and Beurlys again drove a Ferrari to third place in the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. This event was won by the American teamof Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt. ["Le Mans Is Won By Foyt", Brownsville Herald, June 12, 1967, Page 7.]

Formula One

Mairesse was third in the Grand Prix of Europe, 1960 Italian Grand Prix. This was the penultimate race of the 1960 Formula OneWorld Championship. Run at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Phil Hill was victorious with Richie Ginther second, and Mairesse next, alap down. ["Hill, Driving a Ferrari, Scores By Lap in Grand Prix of Europe", New York Times, September 5, 1960, Page 20.] Mairesse qualified fifth for the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, Belgium. The pole was won by Graham Hill in a BRM. ["Graham Hill Sets Pace in Grand Prix Trial", New York Times, June 17, 1962, Page 158.] During the event Mairesseand the Lotus of Trevor Taylor dueled for more than an hour, passing and repassing a number of times each lap. Mairesse wascheered heartily by an enthusiastic partisan crowd. The two cars came together at more than 100 miles per hour in the long, sweeping,righthand Blonchimont Turn. Mairesse car went off to the left, careening into a hillside behind a ditch, and caught fire after flippingover. He was thrown out of his Ferrari and his shoes and the legs of his trousers were torn off. He was conscious, despite numerous scrapes, cuts, and burns. Mairesse was loaded into an ambulance and transported to a hospital, where he was reported to be in goodspirits and without any serious injuries. Taylor and Mairesse made contact earlier in the season at the Grand Prix of Brussels. ["Clark First With Lotus in Belgian Grand", New York Times, June 18, 1962, Page 34.] In a race in which onlytwelve of twenty-one starters finished, Mairesse came in fourth in the 1962 Italian Grand Prix. He was only a car length ahead of
Giancarlo Baghetti. ["Graham Hill Wins At Monza", New York Times, September 17, 1962, Page 60.]

Out of Formula One in 1963, Phil Hill predicted a rough future for the Ferrari team. He said there was too much competition between Mairesse and Surtees. Specifically he commented "they will harry each other so much that they will force each other to make mistakes." ["Even Clark Rates Clark Highly", New York Times, May 26, 1963, Page 168.] Mairesse car crashed during the
1963 German Grand Prix. The Ferrari turned over multiple times after swerving off the track. He was rushed to the hospitalwith a broken arm. His teammate, Surtees, was triumphant, with Jim Clark second in a Lotus. ["Surtees Is Victor In GermanRace", New York Times, August 5, 1963, Page 44.]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

() (Races in bold indicate pole position)

References