Raymond Sommer was a French motor racing driver. He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both 1932 and 1933, and although he did not reach the finishing line in any subsequent appearance at the Le Mans, he did lead each event until 1938. Sommer was also competitive at the highest level in Grand Prix motor racing, but did not win a race. He won the French Grand Prix in 1936, but the event that year was run as a sports car race. After racing resumed in the late 1940s, Sommer again won a number of sports car and minor Grand Prix events, and finished in fourth place in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, the second round of the newly-instituted Formula One World Drivers' Championship. He was killed toward the end of 1950, when his car overturned during a race at the Circuit de Cadours.
Jean-Pierre Wimille was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II.
Robert Marcel Charles Benoist was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero.
The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon.
The Grand Prix du Comminges was an automobile race held in France.
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race. The ACO also lobbies on behalf of French drivers on such issues as road building and maintenance, the availability of driving schools and road safety classes, and the incorporation of technical innovations into new vehicles. It also runs a roadside assistance service for its members.
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 or 8C-308 is a Grand Prix racing car made for the 3 litre class in 1938. Only four cars were produced, actually modified from Tipo C with the engine mounted lower into the chassis and a slimmer body. The chassis was derived from the Tipo C and the engine from the 8C 2900. The 308 was engineered by Gioacchino Colombo under the control of Enzo Ferrari who was then in charge of Alfa's racing team, Alfa Corse. The car debuted at the Pau Grand Prix in 1938, where two cars were entered to race, one for Tazio Nuvolari and the other for Luigi Villoresi. Both drivers had to withdraw from competition, however Nuvolari had by then set a lap record. The next race was the Tripoli Grand Prix. The new 312 and 316 were entered, but they had engine trouble during practice and Clemente Biondetti took the start at the wheel of the 308 held in reserve. He failed to finish, while Hermann Lang, driving a Mercedes-Benz W154, was the winner. In this race, Eugenio Siena, driving a 312, was killed after hitting a wall.
The 1946 Nations Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held in Geneva on 21 July 1946.
The 1947 Swiss Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Bremgarten on 8 June 1947.
The Roussillon Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing event that was held between 1946 and 1949 in the streets of Perpignan, France. The race used the 2.538 km (1.577 mi) Circuit des Patanes around the Square Bir Hakeim. In 1948, the grand prix was a part of the Formula 2 series. The Roussillon Grand Prix disappeared after four years, for safety reasons.
The 1947 Roussillon Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Circuit des Platanes de Perpignan on 8 May 1947.
The 1947 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Lyon-Parilly on 21 September 1947 and was won by Louis Chiron driving a Talbot-Lago. The race was marred by an accident involving Pierre Levegh crashing into and killing 2 spectators.
The 1948 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race, held at Reims on 18 July 1948. The race was won by Jean-Pierre Wimille, driving an Alfa Romeo 158.
The 1948 Italian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Valentino Park in Turin, Italy on 5 September 1948. It was won by French driver Jean-Pierre Wimille in an Alfa Romeo 158.
The Tunis Grand Prix or Grand Prix de Tunis was a motor race held in the 1920s and 30s in Tunis, the capital of the African colony of the French protectorate of Tunisia.
The Algerian Grand Prix or Grand Prix d'Alger was a motor race held in the 1920s and 1930s at several coastal road courses in the department of French Algeria.
The 1947 St Helier Circuit was a 5.149 km Grand Prix road course in the town of Saint Helier, the capital of Jersey which is the largest of the North Sea Channel Islands, hosting four consecutive Grand Prix events from 1947 to 1950, the last one a Formula One non-championship round. The circuit length remained largely the same over its four editions except for small variances within 100 meters. British entries with Peter Whitehead, Reg Parnell, Raymond Mays, Peter Walker, Cuth Harrison, Leslie Johnson and David Hampshire among many others dominated the series, winning all events over many top drivers of the era.
The 1937 Pau Grand Prix was a motor race held on 21 February 1937 at the Pau circuit, in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. The Grand Prix was won by Jean-Pierre Wimille, driving the Bugatti T59S. Raymond Sommer finished second and René Dreyfus third.
The 1936 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race which was held at Montlhéry, France on 28 June 1936. The race was held over 80 laps of the 12.5 km course for a total distance of 1000 km. The race was won by Jean-Pierre Wimille and Raymond Sommer driving a Bugatti.
The 1000 Kilometres of Paris was an endurance race, mainly for sports cars, which was held at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry in France from 1956 to 1995.
Raymond Sommer 