René Dreyfus

René Dreyfus (born May 6, 1905 - died August 16, 1993) was a French driver who raced automobiles for 14 years in the 1920s and 1930s, the Golden Era of Grand Prix motor racing. Fair use of an image from: www. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Georges Boillot winning the 1912 French Grand Prix in Dieppe, France Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organized automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. ...

Dreyfus was born and raised in Nice, France and showed an early interest in automobiles, learning to drive before the age of nine. The middle of three children, his brother Maurice served as his business partner in his youth, and his manager in his racing career. This article is about the city. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ...

Driving Maseratis, Ferraris, Delahayes, and Bugattis against some of the greatest drivers of all time, Dreyfus won 36 races across Europe, including Monaco, Florence, Rheims, Belgium, Cork, Dieppe, Pau, and at Tripoli in North Africa, becoming a French national hero. See also: Mazarati, a 1980s band. ... The Ferrari Gestione Industriale logo Ferrari is an Italian manufacturer of racing cars and high-performance sports cars formed by Enzo Ferrari in 1929. ... The Delahaye automobile manufacturing company was started by Emile Delahaye in 1894, in Tours, France. ... The Bugatti logo Bugatti is one of the most celebrated marques of automobile and the one of the most exclusive Italian yet also French car producers of all time. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... The Principality of Monaco or Monaco (French: Principauté de Monaco or Monaco; Monegasque: Munegu or Principatu de Munegu) is a city state and the second-smallest country in the world, wedged in between the Mediterranean Sea and France along the French Riviera or Côte dAzur (The Blue Coast). ... Florence - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Reims (English traditionally Rheims) is a city of north-eastern France, 98 miles east-northeast of Paris. ... The Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: Koninkrijk België, French: Royaume de Belgique, German: Königreich Belgien) is a country in Western Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the North Sea. ... Cork - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Dieppe is the name of several places and events: Dieppe, France (pop. ... Château de Pau Pau is a city of southwestern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département. ... Tripoli (population 1 million, Arabic: Ţarabulus) is the capital of Libya. ... North Africa is a region generally considered to include: Algeria Egypt Libya Mauritania Morocco Sudan Tunisia Western Sahara The Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Madeira are sometimes considered to be a part of North Africa. ...

He acquired a Bugatti and joined the Moto Club de Nice for younger competitive automotive enthusiasts. In 1924 he won his class in the first amateur race he entered, being the only entrant in the class, and went on to win three consecutive Riviera championships in the next five years. In 1929 he entered his first professional race, the inaugural Grand Prix of Monaco, finishing first in his class and fifth overall. 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Riviera is the coast shared between France and Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, or the Italian Adriatic coast (Riviera Adriatica), on the Adriatic Sea. ... 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The principality of Monaco holds one of the oldest races on the Formula One automobile racing circuit. ...

The following year he won the race outright in a Bugatti, beating by 22 seconds the highly regarded Bugatti factory team, led by the previous year's winner, Louis Chiron. Realizing that factory cars were always faster than the cars owned by private entrants, Dreyfus reasoned that his only chance of winning lay in avoiding refueling stops, so he had additional fuel tanks added to his car with the intent of running the race without stop. This was not common practice at the time, since it was felt that fatigue would make it impossible, but Dreyfus’ strategy proved correct. Louis Alexandre Chiron, born August 3, 1899 in Monte Carlo, Monaco – died there on June 22, 1979, was a champion of Grand Prix motor racing. ...

The next few years saw Grand Prix racing become a metaphor for war, as the Nazi government of Germany chose this arena to prove their inherent superiority, nationalized the Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union racing teams, and ran them like a military campaign. This led to a remarkable era of competition. While many of the best European drivers of the era, for instance Chiron, were hired by the German teams and jumped at the chance to drive the most advanced cars available, as a Jew this option was not available to Dreyfus. Instead he, like the few other underdogs competing against the German teams, had to defend his nation's pride by dint of heroic skill and daring in inferior machinery. Although France had been the birthplace of automobile racing, it now was a distant third in the racing hierarchy, behind the all-consuming German onslaught and the perennially victorious Italians. The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the worlds leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. ... This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. ... Auto Union was the joint venture of four German automobile manufacturers established in 1932 in Zwickau, Saxony during the Great Depression. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ...

In an effort to induce manufacturers to develop new cars which would be competitive with the Germans, in 1937 the French government announced the ‘Prix du Million’, or the Million Franc Race. The prize money was a million francs, and in order to ensure that the competition tested each car’s ultimate limits rather than just the driver's skill in passing other drivers, the race was a time trial against the clock at the treacherous Montlhéry track, which had taken the life of the great Antonio Ascari. Dreyfus was hired by Delahaye to drive their model 145 in testing and in the competition itself, where he risked death with a literally blistering pace, wearing the special Dunlop tires down to the fabric but handily overwhelming all competitors except the Bugatti team. On the last day of the competition he again went out on the track versus the Bugatti and again set an incredible pace, until he forced the Bugatti to the breaking point, winning the prize for Delahaye. In 1938 Dreyfus drove a Delahaye at Pau, a tight circuit running through village streets, beating the legendary Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz team's all-conquering Silver Arrows, and becoming a national hero in France. 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Million Franc Race, or ‘Prix du Million’, was an effort in 1937 by the government of France to induce French automobile manufacturers to develop race cars capable of competing with the incredibly advanced German Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union racers of the time, which were backed by the Nazi... The franc is the name of several currency units. ... In many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. ... Antonio Ascari, born September 15, 1888 _ died July 26, 1925, was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. ... People whose family name is or was Dunlop include John Boyd Dunlop — Scottish inventor and founder of the Dunlop rubber company John Thomas Dunlop — United States administrator Sir Edward Weary Dunlop — Australian war hero Douglas Morton Dunlop — Scottish-American professor of history and orientalist. ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Rudolf Caracciola Rudolf Caracciola (b. ... Silver Arrow – 1939 GP Silver Arrows was the name given to Germany’s Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix cars between 1934 and 1939, as well as to the Mercedes-Benz Formula One cars in 1954/55. ...

When World War II broke out, Dreyfus joined the French Army, where in an ironic touch he served as a truck driver. In 1940, however, he was abruptly sent by the French government to the United States to represent France by driving a Maserati in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Memorial Day 500. Although the previous year's race had been won by a Maserati driven by American Wilbur Shaw, neither Dreyfus nor his team partner René Le Bégue was familiar with the mechanical requirements and the very different rules of racing at Indianapolis; this problem was exacerbated by both drivers not knowing English, and by the American racing community's reluctance to see a European win the "Great American Race." Despite suffering numerous substantial setbacks and penalties for not understanding the details of the rules, beginning with their attempts to qualify their two cars, Dreyfus and LeBegue succeeded in co-driving the one car which they did qualify from the back of the grid to tenth place. Ironically, Shaw again won the race in another Maserati. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The French Army (Armée de Terre, Ground Army) is one component in the Military of France. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana (a separate city completely surrounded by Indianapolis), is the oldest surviving auto racing track in the world, having existed since 1908. ... The Indianapolis 500 is an American race for open-wheel automobiles held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. ... Wilbur Warren Shaw (1902 - 1954), U.S. automobile racer; won Indianapolis 500 race 1937, 1939, 1940; died in airplane crash. ...

In the meantime, the Germans had overrun Paris, and as a Jew who had famously humiliated the German racing effort, Dreyfus was advised by the French government not to return to occupied France. Instead he settled in New York City, where he opened a French restaurant, "Le Gourmet." Upon the United States entering the war, in 1942 Dreyfus enlisted in the American army and served in Europe as an interrogator. After the war, in 1945 he became an American citizen and brought his brother Maurice back to New York, where they opened another French restaurant, "Le Chanteclair." This soon became the semi-official New York meeting spot for the world's automobile racing community, the rivalries of the past having been overcome by the spirit of fraternity. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Dreyfus continued to race sporadically, including the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans. His last race was the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1953. In 1980 he was invited back to the Monaco Grand Prix to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his victory. At age 75, he personally drove throughout Europe touring all the sites of his racing career, receiving public celebration and honors at each stop. At the banquet following the race, he was brought to the stage to sit once again in the Bugatti in which he had won, half a century earlier. 1952 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... 24 hours of Le Mans (24 heures du Mans) is a famous sports car endurance race held at Circuit de la Sarthe near Le Mans, France, near river La Sarthe. ... The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race held at Sebring Raceway, a former Air Force base in Sebring, Florida. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Major career victories:

• Belgian Grand Prix 1934
• Cork Grand Prix (Cork International Road Race) 1938
• Gran Premio di Firenze (Voiturette class) 1937
• Grand Prix de Brignoles 1931
• Grand Prix de Dieppe 1929, 1935
• Grand Prix d'Esterel Plage 1930
• Grand Prix de la Marne 1930, 1935
• Grand Prix de Pau 1938
• Tripoli Grand Prix (Voiturette class) 1937
• Monaco Grand Prix 1930

The Belgian Grand Prix is an automobile race. ... The Grand Prix de la Marne was a Grand Prix motor racing event staged at a racecourse near the city of Reims in the Marne département of north-east France. ... Tripoli Grand Prix The Tripoli Grand Prix in Libya was first held in 1925 and ended in 1940 following the onset of World War II. Part of the Grand Prix circuit, the race was held on a 71. ... The principality of Monaco holds one of the oldest races on the Formula One automobile racing circuit. ...

External link

• Grand Prix History (http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/dreyfus.htm), Rene Dreyfus