Lucien Bianchi

Luciano "Lucien" Bianchi

Born	(1934-11-10)10 November 1934 Milan, Italy
Died	Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Belgian
Active years	1959 – 1963, 1965, 1968
Teams	ENB, UDT Laystall, Reg Parnell, Scuderia Centro Sud, Cooper
Entries	19 (17 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	6
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1959 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1968 Mexican Grand Prix

Lucien Bianchi (10 November 1934 – 30 March 1969), born Luciano Bianchi, was an Italian-Belgian racing driver who raced for the Cooper, ENB, UDT Laystall and Scuderia Centro Sud teams in Formula One. He entered a total of 19 Formula One World Championship races, scoring six points and had a best finish of third at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix.

He died in a testing crash in preparation for the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Personal life

Bianchi was born in Milan, Italy, but moved to Belgium in 1946 when he was still a child, with his father who was a race mechanic working, before the Second World War, in the Alfa Romeo competition department. His grandnephew, Jules Bianchi, who made his Formula One debut with the Marussia team for the 2013 season competing under the French flag, also died as a result of injuries sustained in a racing accident.

Racing career

Lucien Bianchi's first race event was at the Alpine Rally in 1951. He won the 1957, 1958 and 1959 Tour de France as well as the Paris 1000 sports car race in the latter two years.

He entered Formula One in 1959, although only with sporadic appearances at first. He drove various cars under the banner of the ENB team, including a Cooper T51, a Lotus 18 and an Emeryson. After a couple of races for the UDT Laystall team in 1961, driving another Lotus, he returned to ENB for whom he drove their ENB-Maserati. He finally secured a more regular drive in Formula One in 1968, with the Cooper-BRM team, although success was elusive despite a bright start. Bianchi managed his best Formula One performance, finishing third at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix, in his first race for Cooper.

Bianchi also raced touring cars, sports cars and rally cars, being successful in all disciplines, his biggest victories coming in the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, behind the wheel of a Ford GT40 with Pedro Rodríguez and at Sebring in 1962 with Jo Bonnier. He was also leading the London-Sydney Marathon when his Citroën DS collided with a non-competing car.

He was killed when his Alfa Romeo T33 spun into a telegraph pole during Le Mans testing in 1969.

Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	WDC	Pts.
1959	Equipe National Belge	Cooper T51 (F2)	Climax V8	MON DNQ	500	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	USA				NC	0
1960	Equipe National Belge	Cooper T51	Climax Straight-4	ARG	MON	500	NED	BEL 6								24th	1
	Fred Tuck Cars	Cooper T51	Climax Straight-4						FRA Ret	GBR Ret	POR	ITA	USA
1961	Equipe National Belge	Emeryson 1001	Maserati Straight-4	MON DNQ	NED											NC	0
		Lotus 18	Climax Straight-4			BEL Ret
	UDT Laystall Racing Team	Lotus 18/21	Climax Straight-4				FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER	ITA	USA
1962	Equipe National Belge	Lotus 18/21	Climax Straight-4	NED	MON	BEL 9	FRA	GBR								NC	0
		ENB	Maserati Straight-4						GER 16	ITA	USA	RSA
1963	Reg Parnell Racing	Lola Mk4	Climax V8	MON	BEL Ret	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA	MEX	RSA			NC	0
1965	Scuderia Centro Sud	BRM P57	BRM V8	RSA	MON	BEL 12	FRA	GBR	NED	GER	ITA	USA	MEX			NC	0
1968	Cooper Car Co.	Cooper T86B	BRM V12	RSA	ESP	MON 3	BEL 6	NED Ret	FRA	GBR	GER Ret	ITA	CAN NC	USA NC	MEX Ret	17th	5

External links

• GrandPrix.com — Bianchi's entry at GrandPrix.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Dan Gurney A. J. Foyt	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1968 with: Pedro Rodríguez	Succeeded by Jacky Ickx Jackie Oliver