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Jo Bonnier

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Jo Bonnier
Bonnier in 1966
Born
Karl Jockum Jonas Bonnier

(1930-01-31)31 January 1930
Stockholm, Sweden
Died11 June 1972(1972-06-11) (aged 42)
Cause of deathInjuries sustained at the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans
Spouse
Marianne Ankarcrona
(m. 1960)
Children2
ParentGert Bonnier (father)
FamilyBonnier family
Formula One World Championship career
NationalitySweden Swedish
Active years19561971
TeamsMaserati, Scuderia Centro Sud, privateer Maserati, BRM, Porsche, Walker, Bonnier
Entries109 (104 starts)
Championships0
Wins1
Podiums1
Career points39
Pole positions1
Fastest laps0
First entry1956 Italian Grand Prix
First win1959 Dutch Grand Prix
Last win1959 Dutch Grand Prix
Last entry1971 United States Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years19571966, 19691970, 1972
TeamsMaserati, Porsche, Serenissima, Ferrari, Chaparral, Filipinetti, Bonnier
Best finish2nd (1964)
Class wins0

Karl Jockum Jonas "Joakim" Bonnier (31 January 1930 – 11 June 1972), commonly known as Jo Bonnier, was a Swedish racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1956 to 1971. Bonnier won the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix with BRM.

Born and raised in Stockholm, Bonnier was the son of geneticist Gert Bonnier and born into the wealthy Bonnier family, the controlling family of the eponymous Bonnier Group. Bonnier competed in Formula One for Maserati, Scuderia Centro Sud, BRM, Porsche, Rob Walker Racing and Ecurie Bonnier, winning the Dutch Grand Prix with BRM to become the first Swedish Formula One Grand Prix winner and finishing eighth in the World Drivers' Championship that year.

Outside of Formula One, Bonnier entered 13 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1957 to 1972, finishing runner-up in 1964 alongside Graham Hill, driving the Ferrari 330P. During the latter, Bonnier died when his Lola T280 collided with traffic and left him critically injured. Until his death, Bonnier had been the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.

Early life

[edit]

Karl Jockum Jonas Bonnier was born in Stockholm, to the wealthy Bonnier family.[1] His father, Gert, was a professor of genetics at the University of Stockholm, while many members of his extensive family were in the publishing business. He spoke six languages and, although his parents hoped that he would become a doctor, for a while it was his aspiration to enter the family publishing business. He attended Oxford University for a year, studying languages, then went to Paris, France, planning to learn about publishing.

First competition

[edit]

Bonnier began competitive racing in Sweden at age 17, on an old Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He returned home to Sweden in 1951 after his Paris trip, and later took part in several rallies as the proud owner of a Simca.[2]

Formula One

[edit]
Bonnier at 1962 German Grand Prix driving a Porsche 804.

Bonnier entered Formula One in 1956, driving a Maserati. His racing career almost ended in September 1958 in a race at Imola. He debuted a 1500cc Maserati and moved up through the field following a bad start, passing Luigi Musso, and was gaining on leader Eugenio Castellotti at around two seconds per lap when he lost control after another car pulled directly into his path as they negotiated a fast corner. His Maserati struck a large rock at the edge of the road and catapulted. The other driver went underneath him as he turned over and over in the air and, while he was upside down, the crash helmet of his competitor made contact with his. Bonnier's Maserati landed on its side before skidding 75 feet and heading into a ditch, where it came to a stop against a pole. Bonnier was thrown out of the car and suffered concussion, several cracked ribs, and a broken vertebra. His car was completely written off.

His greatest achievement in Formula One was taking victory for BRM in the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, when the notoriously unreliable car worked well for once (Dan Gurney and Hans Herrmann had bad crashes after brake failures). He also won the 1960 German Grand Prix with a Porsche 718, a race held for Formula Two in preparation for the rule change of 1961. Bonnier was one of the driving forces behind the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. Despite his win for BRM, Bonnier did not drive for many works teams throughout his career, with only one-offs as a replacement driver for Lotus, Brabham and Honda. After his debut in a works Maserati, he then drove for his own Joakim Bonnier Racing Team and for Mimmo Dei's Scuderia Centro Sud in the late 50s, before finding a spot in the BRM and Porsche teams.

Bonnier in 1966.

After Porsche quit Grand Prix racing at the end of the 1962 season, Bonnier switched to Rob Walker Racing Team, the only privateer to have scored wins in World Championship events, where he drove Coopers and Brabhams, scoring few points.

In 1966, he reformed his own team as Anglo-Suisse Racing Team (later to be renamed Ecurie Bonnier), but his interest in Formula One gradually diminished. His last full season was 1968, in which he traded his old Cooper T86 for an old McLaren. He raced occasionally in Formula One until 1971. In 1966, along with American racing drivers Phil Hill, Richie Ginther and Carroll Shelby, he was racing advisor to the 1966 motor racing epic Grand Prix starring James Garner. All the aforementioned (including Garner, who did all his own driving) were employed as drivers for the racing scenes. While filming the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix at the notorious and extremely fast Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Bonnier, along with more than half the field including Jackie Stewart, Bob Bondurant, Graham Hill and Denny Hulme, crashed out on the first lap of the race. According to Phil Hill, Bonnier went through an upstairs window at a house next to the track and could not take part in the later filming on the circuit.

Sports car racer

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Bonnier in a Chaparral, during practice at the Nürburgring in 1966

Alongside Formula One, Bonnier also took part in many sports car races. He won the 1960 Targa Florio, co-driving a works Porsche 718 with Hans Herrmann, and in 1962 took a Ferrari 250 TRI entered by Count Giovanni Volpi to top honours in the 12 Hours of Sebring, sharing the car with Lucien Bianchi. In 1963 he was once again winner at the Targa Florio, with Carlo Mario Abate in another works Porsche 718.

1964 was his best year in sports car racing, where he co-drove a Ferrari P entered by Maranello Concessionaires with Graham Hill, taking a 330P to second place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and to a win at Montlhéry, while a 12-hour race in Reims also gave him a first place in a 250LM. He then won the 1000km Nürburgring in a Chaparral in 1966 (with Phil Hill), his last win in a major sports car event, but still managed to snatch victories in the minor 1000 km of Barcelona at Montjuïc in 1971 (with Ronnie Peterson), and the 4 Hours of Le Mans in 1972 (with Hughes de Fierlant).

Bonnier purchased a McLaren M6B to campaign in the 1968 Can-Am series. In the first outing at the Karlskoga Sweden GP, Bonnier had the pole but an off course excursion on the first lap caused him to finish second to David Piper in a Ferrari 330P3/4. He then ran his McLaren in five of the six Can-Am races with his best finish an eighth at Las Vegas.[3] He was plagued with mechanical problems most of the season. However, he finished 3rd in the M6B at the Mt Fuji 200-mile race.[4]

In 1970, he drove a Lola T210 to victory in the European 2-Litre Sports Car Championship, securing the drivers title at the end of the season with 48 points.[5]

Other ventures

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Team managements

[edit]
Joakim Bonnier in 1965

By the early seventies, he had taken to managing his team, entering several cars in World Sportscar Championship events, and taking a backseat to driving.

Safety advocacy

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Bonnier had also taken a lead in the fight for track safety, which had started around that time.

Death

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Bonnier was killed in a crash during the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans. On the straight between Mulsanne Corner and Indianapolis, his open-top Lola T280-Cosworth collided with a Ferrari Daytona driven by a Swiss amateur driver Florian Vetsch. His car was catapulted over the Armco barriers and into the trees next to the track and he was killed instantly. According to Vic Elford, who was driving a factory-entered Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 and who had stopped to assist Vetsch escape from his burning Ferrari, the last he had seen of Bonnier's Lola was that it was "spinning into the trees like a helicopter".

Racing record

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Complete Formula One World Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Pts
1956 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA
Ret
NC 0
1957 Scuderia Centro Sud Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 ARG
7
PES
Ret
ITA
Ret
NC 0
Jo Bonnier MON
DNA
500 FRA GBR
Ret
GER
1958 Scuderia Centro Sud Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 ARG
DNA
GER
Ret
20th 3
Jo Bonnier MON
Ret
NED
10
500 BEL
9
GBR
Ret
POR
Ret
Giorgio Scarlatti FRA
8
Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 ITA
Ret
MOR
4
1959 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 MON
Ret
500 NED
1
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
5
POR
Ret
ITA
8
USA 8th 10
1960 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 ARG
7
18th 4
BRM P48 MON
5
500 NED
Ret
BEL
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
POR
Ret
ITA USA
5
1961 Porsche System Engineering Porsche 787 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 MON
12
NED
11
15th 3
Porsche 718 BEL
7
FRA
7
GBR
5
GER
Ret
ITA
Ret
USA
6
1962 Porsche System Engineering Porsche 804 Porsche 753 1.5 F8 NED
7
BEL
WD
FRA
10
GBR
Ret
GER
7
ITA
6
USA
13
RSA 15th 3
Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 MON
5
1963 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Cooper T60 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 MON
7
BEL
5
NED
11
FRA
NC
11th 6
Cooper T66 GBR
Ret
GER
6
ITA
7
USA
8
MEX
5
RSA
6
1964 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Cooper T66 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 MON
5
15th 3
Brabham BT11 BRM P56 1.5 V8 NED
9
BEL
Ret
FRA GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
Brabham BT7 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 AUT
6
ITA
12
USA
Ret
MEX
Ret
1965 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Brabham BT7 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 RSA
Ret
MON
7
BEL
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
7
NED
Ret
GER
7
ITA
7
USA
8
MEX
Ret
NC 0
1966 Anglo-Suisse Racing Team Cooper T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 MON
NC
BEL
Ret
NED
7
GER
Ret
ITA
Ret
USA
NC
MEX
6
17th 1
Brabham BT22 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 FRA
NC
Brabham BT7 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 GBR
Ret
1967 Joakim Bonnier Racing Team Cooper T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 RSA
Ret
MON NED BEL
Ret
FRA GBR
Ret
GER
61
CAN
8
ITA
Ret
USA
6
MEX
10
15th 3
1968 Joakim Bonnier Racing Team Cooper T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 RSA
Ret
22nd 3
McLaren M5A BRM P101 3.0 V12 ESP
DNA
MON
DNQ
BEL
Ret
NED
8
FRA GBR
Ret
GER
DNA
ITA
6
CAN
Ret
USA
NC
Honda RA301 Honda RA301E 3.0 V12 MEX
5
1969 Ecurie Bonnier Lotus 63 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR
Ret
NC 0
Lotus 49B GER
Ret
ITA CAN USA MEX
1970 Ecurie Bonnier McLaren M7C Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA
DNQ
CAN USA
Ret
MEX NC 0
1971 Ecurie Bonnier McLaren M7C Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA
Ret
ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER
DNQ
AUT
DNS
ITA
10
CAN USA
16
NC 0
Source:[6]
Notes
  • ^1 – Bonnier was 6th at 1967 German Grand Prix but he was given points for the 5th place because F2-drivers who competed in the same race were ineligible to score points.

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1957 Jo Bonnier Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 SYR PAU GLV NAP RMS
Ret
CAE
4
Scuderia Centro Sud INT
4
Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 MOD
Ret
MOR
1958 Jo Bonnier Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 GLV SYR
2
AIN INT
Ret
CAE
2
1959 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 GLV
4
AIN
Ret
INT OUL
DNA
SIL
1960 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 GLV
6
BRM P48 INT
Ret
SIL LOM
3
OUL
5
1961 Scuderia Colonia Lotus 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 LOM GLV PAU
2
VIE
WD
AIN
Porsche System Engineering Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 BRX
Ret
SYR
3
NAP LON SOL
2
KAN
2
DAN MOD
2
FLG
3
OUL
WD
LEW VAL RAN
3
NAT
3
RSA
3
UDT-Laystall Racing Lotus 18/21 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 SIL
11
1962 Porsche System Engineering Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 CAP
3
Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia BRX
2
LOM
3
LAV GLV PAU
12
AIN INT
12
NAP MAL
6
CLP RMS
8
Porsche System Engineering Porsche 804 Porsche 753 1.5 F8 SOL
2
KAN
3
MED DAN MEX
DNA
RAN NAT
R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Lotus 24 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 OUL
Ret
1963 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Cooper T60 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 LOM GLV PAU
Ret
IMO
Ret
INT
5
ROM SOL
9
MED
4
AUT
Ret
Lotus 24 SYR
5
AIN
Cooper T66 KAN
5
OUL
Ret
RAN
1964 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Cooper T66 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 DMT
2
NWT
Ret
SYR
4
AIN
4
INT
16
Brabham BT11 BRM P56 1.5 V8 SOL
5
MED RAN
1965 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Brabham BT7 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 ROC
3
SYR
4
SMT
5
INT
5
MED
Ret
Lotus 25 RAN
Ret
1966 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Lotus 25 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 RSA
Ret
Brabham BT11 BRM P60 2.0 V8 SYR
5
Anglo-Suisse Racing Team Cooper T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 INT
3
OUL
1967 Joakim Bonnier Racing Team Cooper T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 ROC SPR INT
Ret
SYR
5
OUL ESP
1968 Joakim Bonnier Racing Team McLaren M5A BRM P101 3.0 V12 ROC
Ret
INT
Ret
OUL
Ret
1969 Ecurie Bonnier Lotus 49B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC INT MAD OUL
DNS
1971 Ecurie Bonnier Lola T190 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ARG
NC
ROC QUE SPR INT RIN OUL VIC
Source:[7]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1957 Italy Officine Alfieri Maserati Italy Giorgio Scarlatti Maserati 300S S 3.0 73 DNF DNF
1958 Spain Francisco Godia Spain Francisco Godia-Sales Maserati 300S S 3.0 142 DNF DNF
1959 West Germany Porsche KG West Germany Wolfgang von Trips Porsche 718 RSK S 2.0 182 DNF DNF
1960 West Germany Porsche KG United Kingdom Graham Hill Porsche 718/4 RS S 2.0 191 DNF DNF
1961 West Germany Porsche System Engineering United States Dan Gurney Porsche 718/4 RS Coupe S 2.0 262 DNF DNF
1962 Italy Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia United States Dan Gurney Ferrari 250 TRI/61 E 3.0 30 DNF DNF
1963 West Germany Porsche System Engineering South Africa Tony Maggs Porsche 718/8 GTR Coupe P 3.0 109 DNF DNF
1964 United Kingdom Maranello Concessionaires United Kingdom Graham Hill Ferrari 330P P 5.0 344 2nd 2nd
1965 United Kingdom Maranello Concessionaires Ltd. United Kingdom David Piper Ferrari 365 P2 P 5.0 101 DNF DNF
1966 United States Chaparral Cars Inc. United States Phil Hill Chaparral 2D-Chevrolet P+5.0 111 DNF DNF
1969 Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti United States Masten Gregory Lola T70 Mk.IIIB-Chevrolet S 5.0 134 DNF DNF
1970 Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti Sweden Reine Wisell Ferrari 512S S 5.0 36 DNF DNF
1972 Switzerland Ecurie Bonnier Switzerland France Gérard Larrousse
Netherlands Gijs van Lennep
Lola T280-Ford Cosworth S 3.0 213 DNF DNF
Source:[8]

Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Pts
1968 Switzerland Ecurie Suisse McLaren M6B Chevrolet ROA
18
BRI
Ret
EDM
Ret
LAG
RIV
Ret
LVG
8
NC 0
1969 Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti Lola T70 Mk.3B Chevrolet MOS
MTR
WGL
7
EDM
MDO
ROA
BRI
MCH
LAG
RIV
TWS
27th 4
1970 Switzerland Ecurie Bonnier Lola T70 Mk.3B Chevrolet MOS
MTR WGL
11
EDM
MDO ROA ATL BRA LAG RIV NC 0
Source:[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Motorsport Memorial – Joakim Bonnier". Motorsport Memorial. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  2. ^ Bonnier Seeks Grand Prix Win, Los Angeles Times, 9 October 1962, Page B2.
  3. ^ 1968 Can-Am Stardust Grand Prix, Las Vegas Archived 8 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ 1968 Fuji 200 World Challenge Cup Archived 5 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "World Sports Racing Prototypes Results website". Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Jo Bonnier – Involvement". statsf1.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Jo Bonnier – Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  8. ^ "All Results of Jo Bonnier". RacingSportCars. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Can-Am – final positions and tables". World Sports Racing Prototypes. 2 October 2005. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2022.