Benoît Musy
| Benoît Musy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Musy racing Piet Knijnenburg in 1950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Swiss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Benoît Nicolas Musy (13 December 1917 – 7 October 1956) was a Swiss Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Maserati race car driver.
Biography
[edit]Musy was born on 13 December 1917 in Bern, Switzerland, the son of the Swiss president Jean-Marie Musy. He received an agriculture engineering degree from L'institut agricole de l'État de Fribourg in Grangeneuve / FR - Switzerland, and served in the air force during the Swiss military mobilisation World War II. During 1945 he rescued a large number (1,200) of Jews from the concentration camp Theresienstadt with his father.[1] He also received one of the first Swiss parachute jumper licenses in 1947.[2]
Motorcycle racing
[edit]He acquired further fame as a motorcycle racer, winning six Swiss championships with Moto Guzzi motorcycles. He also competed in the 1949 Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix, part of the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. He competed in three more Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix races, finishing as high as fourth place.[3]
Automobile racing
[edit]Later he moved to racing cars. He had various ones, all Maserati. Musy started in May 1954, with a 1953 Maserati A6 or A6GCS (#2040),[4] a Maserati factory race car, formerly used by Giletti, the official Maserati pilot. With this car he has won several races, including some record laps, on different tracks. He sold the car in 1955 to Pietro Pagliarini.
At that time, Musy was already part of the semi-official Maserati racing team. He took part of several races, with very little success, in a 150, 200S, and 200Si. He even participated at a race in Dakar in a 250; he failed to finish.[5]
After a test drive in the Swedish Grand Prix, he bought a Maserati 300S (#3057) in 1955, with which he earned several podium results.
Musy died in a racing event at Autodrome de Montlhéry, France, on 7 October 1956, crashing a factory Maserati 200S (#2047) over an embankment, after a steering column breakdown. Ejected from the car, he died immediately.[6]
In total, he attended eleven mid-1950s European sports car championships, of which he won five.[citation needed]
Auto racing results
[edit]| Year | Position | Racetrack - Country | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 1st | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) | Maserati 2000cc A6GCS |
| 1954 | 4th | Aquila racetrack (Switzerland) | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1954 | 1st | Megève racetrack best time ever (France) | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1954 | 2nd | Senigallia racetrack (Italy) | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1954 | 2nd | Senigallia racetrack (Italy) | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1954 | 2nd | Circuit Park Zandvoort (Netherland) | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1954 | 2nd | Circuit Bremgarten Swiss Grand-Prix | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1954 | 2nd | Kandersteg racetrack (Switzerland) | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1954 | 1st | Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry (France) | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1954 | 1st | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) | Maserati 2000cc |
| 1955 | 1st | Grand Prix des Frontières (Chimay Street Circuit) (Belgium) | Maserati 3000cc 300S |
| 1955 | 4th | Porto Grand Prix (Monsanto Park) (Portugal) | Maserati 3000cc |
| 1955 | 2nd | Messina 10 h night race (Italy) | Masearti 3000cc |
| 1955 | 1st | Karlskoga – Kanonloppet (Sweden) | Maserati 3000cc |
| 1956 | 1st | first heat Oulton Park best time ever (UK) | Maserati 3000 cc |
| 1956 | 1st | Grand Prix des Frontières (Chimay Street Circuit) (Belgium) | Maserati 3000cc |
| 1956 | 4th | Bari Grand Prix (Italy) | Maserati 3000 cc |
| 1956 | 1st | Sables-d'Olonne Grand-Prix (France) | Maserati 3000 cc |
References
[edit]- ^ "Holocaust Rescue". musy.net. October 2013. Archived from the original on 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
- ^ "Benoît Musy Parachute jumper". musy.net. October 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
- ^ "Benoit Musy career statistics at". Motogp.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-08. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
- ^ "Maserati A6GCS". Conceptcarz.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
- ^ Maserati 250 Archived May 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Maserati 150/200S Benoît Musy accident in Montlhéry France". musy.net. October 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
External links
[edit]- Benoît Musy biography Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- Benoît Musy & Maserati racing Archived 2007-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Benoît Musy biographie (in French)
- Enrico Maserati pages: Maserati 200
- History and pictures about B. Musy (in Spanish)
- Two different people from the same place: Jo Siffert and B. Musy (in French)