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Gonzague Olivier

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Gonzague Olivier
NationalityFrench
BornGonzague Marie Maurice Raphaël Olivier
(1921-09-27)27 September 1921
Roubaix, Lille, France
Died30 January 2013(2013-01-30) (aged 91)
Annappes, Lille, France
Related toJean-Claude Olivier (son)
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1953–1955
TeamsG. Olivier
Porsche KG
Best finish14th (1954)
Class wins1 (1954)

Gonzague Olivier (27 September 1921 – 30 January 2013), referred to in some sources as Gustave Olivier,[1][2] was a French racing driver and boat builder. Most of his success came at the wheel of Porsche 356 and Porsche 550 racing cars in the 1950s.

Racing career

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In 1952, Olivier drove a Simca 8 Sport to second in class at the Circuit International de Vitesse in Bordeaux,[3] and placed fourth in class in the 12 Hours of Hyères [fr] alongside Bernard Dubly.[4]

In 1953, he took part in the Rallye des Routes du Nord [fr] for the first time. He finished second overall with Dubly as co-driver.[5] He returned to Hyères, this time sharing a Porsche 356 with Auguste Veuillet. The pair won their class for the first time.[6] Later that year, Olivier made his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing his Porsche as a private entrant with co-driver Eugène Martin. They retired with engine issues in the 18th hour.[7] He raced his Porsche in two more sportscar races that year: the Grand Prix Automobile de AC du Nord in his hometown of Roubaix, and the Caen Grand Prix, retiring from both.[8][9][10] In October, he served as co-driver to Gilberte Thirion, and the pair won the Tour de Belgique road rally.[11]

Olivier and Thirion continued their partnership to the 1954 Rallye des Routes du Nord, winning the event with Olivier as driver.[12] Across April, he raced three times at Montlhéry: he placed fourth in the S+1.3 race at the Coupes de Vitesse,[13] won the S2.0 race at the Coupes du Printemps,[14] and won his class at the Coupes de Paris.[15] The following month, he entered a production sportscar Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, where he won the S1.6 class in the second race of the day.[16][17] He reunited with Thirion to win his class in the Bol d'Or at Montlhéry.[18] In June, he raced at Le Mans as part of the official Porsche KG stable, who entered two Porsche 550s to the S1.5 class and one to the S1.1 class. He shared the lower-displacement example with Zora Arkus-Duntov to score yet another class win, helping Porsche sweep the S1.1 and S1.5 classes along with Johnny Claes and Pierre Stasse.[19] June saw him take two further class wins at Picardie and Metz.[20][21] His last outing of the year saw him place second in class with Veuillet at the 12 Hours of Reims.[22]

1955 began with a return to the Rallye des Routes du Nord, this time sharing a Gordini 1490 with Jacques Ickx; however, the pair retired with an accident. The remainder of the year saw Olivier return to his Porsche 550. He reunited with Veuillet to take overall victory in the prestigious Bol d'Or at Montlhéry, in what would be the final running of the event. The circuit was notoriously demanding on a car, but the pair praised each other's calm and measured approach to such a long and challenging race.[23] Nevertheless, they did not anticipate racing together at Le Mans because Veuillet had been offered a works drive that year.[24] They shared a car one last time at the 12 Hours of Hyères, scoring a second class victory in that event.[25] Olivier entered two 550s to Le Mans that year. He shared one with German driver Josef Jeser, placing second in the S1.1 class, and entered another in partnership with Ecurie Belge, which Wolfgang Seidel and Olivier Gendebien drove to second in S1.5, splitting Porsche KG's works entries.[26] In addition, Olivier drove in three solo events that year: he placed second-in-class in that year's sportscar Grand Prix at Spa,[27] finished fourth at Dieppe,[28] and retired with an accident from the Nürburgring 500 km.[29]

Following this successful period, Olivier began to wind down his racing activities. In 1956, he entered Le Mans with Veuillet in his privateer Porsche 550, but the car ended up being driven by Claude Storez and Helmut Polensky.[30] His only race that year was the 1000 km de Paris at Montlhéry, sharing a Porsche 550 with Robert Dutoit but retiring with an accident.[31] Following this, he drove a Porsche 356 in the Rallye des Routes du Nord in 1958 and 1959.[32][33]

Business interests and later life

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Olivier and his racing co-driver Auguste Veuillet became good friends. Veuillet had founded the Sonauto company in 1947 and it became France's first Porsche importer. Olivier's son Jean-Claude joined the company in 1965 and helped it become the country's first Yamaha motorcycle importer.

During his youth, Olivier had been active in water skiing and won several national awards. Following his motorsport career, he became a designer of boats and outboard motors. His constructions have become highly sought after by vintage boat collectors.[34][35][36]

Olivier died on 30 January 2013, just 18 days after his son Jean-Claude had been killed in a road accident.

Racing record

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Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1953 France G. Olivier
(private entrant) 		France Eugène Martin Porsche 356 SL S
1.1 		115 DNF
(Engine)
1954 West Germany Porsche KG United States Zora Arkus-Duntov Porsche 550/4 RS Spyder S
1.1 		216 14th 1st
1955 France Gustave Olivier
(private entrant) 		West Germany Josef Jeser Porsche 550 RS Spyder S
1.5 		234 18th 7th

Complete 12 Hours of Reims results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1954 Sonauto France Auguste Veuillet Porsche 550 RS Spyder S
1.5 		193 13th 2nd

Complete 12 Hours of Hyères results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1952 France Bernard Dubly Simca 8 Sport S
1.5 		8th 4th
1953 France Auguste Veuillet Porsche 356 S
1.5 		180 4th 1st
1955 France Auguste Veuillet Porsche 550 RS Spyder S
1.6 		214 5th 1st

References

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  1. ^ "XXIII Grand Prix d'Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans 1955". Formula 2 Register. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Gustave Olivier (F) - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Non Championship Races 1952". wsrp.cz. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Hyères 12 Hours 1952 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Final results Rallye des Routes du Nord 1953". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Hyères 12 Hours 1953 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Le Mans 24 Hours 1953 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  8. ^ "GP Roubaix 1953 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  9. ^ "GP Caen 1953 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  10. ^ "World Sports Racing Prototypes - Non Championship Races 1953". wsrp.cz. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Final results Tour de Belgique 1953". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Final results Rallye des Routes du Nord 1954". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Coupes de Vitesse [ser.S+GT +1.3] 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Coupe du Printemps [S2.0] 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Coupes de Paris 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Grand Prix Spa 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  17. ^ "1954 Spa GP for sportscar". forums.autosport.com. 10 January 2008. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Bol d'Or 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Le Mans 24 Hours 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  20. ^ "GP Picardie 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Circuit de Metz [S1.5] 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  22. ^ "12 h Reims 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Bol d'Or 1955 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  24. ^ Bozon, André (1955). "Pour Veuillet et Olivier, un seul souci: freiner leur petit bolide" (in French). Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  25. ^ "Hyères 12 Hours 1955 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  26. ^ "Le Mans 24 Hours 1955 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  27. ^ "Grand Prix Spa 1955 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Circuit de Dieppe 1955 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Nürburgring 500 Kilometres 1955 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Le Mans 24 Hours 1956 - Photo Gallery - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Paris 1000 Kilometres 1956 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  32. ^ "Final results Rallye International des Routes du Nord 1958". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  33. ^ "Final results Rallye International des Routes du Nord 1959". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  34. ^ "356 Porsche Club France: Gonzague Olivier". 356.typepad.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  35. ^ "Chantiers Navals Côte d'Azur - Cannes la Bocca - Société Nautique de Bordeaux". societe-nautique-bordeaux.com (in French). Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  36. ^ "DINGHIES BOIS GONZAGUE O." motonautismeancien.free.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
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