Robert Brunet
Robert Brunet (8 Mar 1903–1986)[1][2] was a French racing driver between 1931 and 1951. Most of his 44 entries were Grands Prix, but he also entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He achieved a class victory and was fifth overall in the 1949 edition.
Personal life and work
[edit]
In 1926, Brunet married the Countess of Choiseul, a rich noblewoman, with whom he invested in his racing career by buying a Bugatti. However, he did not become successful until 1933, when he purchased the Bugatti T51 previously owned by Jean-Pierre Wimille. In 1934, Brunet replaced Louis Braillard as head of Ecurie Braillard and raced with Benoît Falchetto for the following two years without achieving major results. Besides racing, Brunet lead a factory which produced capacitors for cars. With the help of contracts with the French army, it had 400 employees by 1947. After the war, the firm folded rapidly and declared bankruptcy in 1950. This meant Brunet could not afford his ordered Talbot-Lago T26C and he stopped racing soon after[2] the Porsche 356SL he was supposed to co-drive at the 1951 Le Mans race was crashed in practice.
Racing results
[edit]| No. | Year | Date | Race | Entrant | Car | Teammate(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1931 | July 26 | Dieppe Grand Prix | R. Brunet | de Coucy | none | DNA |
| 2 | 1933 | February 19 | Pau Grand Prix | Bugatti T51 | DNF | ||
| 3 | March 26 | Tunis Grand Prix | DNF | ||||
| 4 | May 21 | Picardy Grand Prix | DNF | ||||
| 5 | June 4 | Nîmes Grand Prix | DNA | ||||
| 6 | August 15 | Coppa Acerbo | DNF | ||||
| 7 | September 10 | Italian Grand Prix | 10th | ||||
| 8 | 1934 | May 20 | Moroccan Grand Prix | R. Brunet | none | 9th | |
| 9 | May 27 | Picardy Grand Prix | 3rd | ||||
| 10 | June 17 | Penya Rhin Grand Prix | 6th | ||||
| 11 | July 8 | Marne Grand Prix | R. Brunet | none | DNF | ||
| 12 | July 15 | Vichy Grand Prix (Heat 2) | DNF | ||||
| 13 | July 22 | Albi Grand Prix | 6th | ||||
| 14 | August 19 | Nice Grand Prix | R. Brunet | none | 9th | ||
| 15 | August 26 | Comminges Grand Prix | 7th | ||||
| 16 | September 9 | French motorcycle Grand Prix (Car class) | Alfa Romeo | 2nd | |||
| 17 | September 23 | Spanish Grand Prix | Maserati | DNF | |||
| 18 | 1935 | February 24 | Pau Grand Prix | Maserati 8CM | 5th | ||
| 19 | May 5 | Tunis Grand Prix | DNF | ||||
| 20 | May 26 | Picardy Grand Prix | Ecurie Braillard | Benoît Falchetto | DNF | ||
| 21 | June 2 | French motorcycle Grand Prix (Car class) | 5th | ||||
| 22 | June 30 | Lorraine Grand Prix | Ecurie Braillard | none | DNA | ||
| 23 | July 21 | Dieppe Grand Prix | Benoît Falchetto | 7th | |||
| 24 | August 4 | Comminges Grand Prix | DNA | ||||
| 25 | August 18 | Nice Grand Prix | Scuderia Subalpina | Philippe Etancelin | DNF | ||
| 26 | 1936 | March 1 | Pau Grand Prix | R. Brunet | none | DNF | |
| 27 | May 24 | 3 Hours of Marseille | Delahaye 135 | 3rd | |||
| 28 | June 28 | French Grand Prix | Goffredo Zehender | 3rd | |||
| 29 | July 5 | Marne Grand Prix | none | 7th | |||
| 30 | July 12 | 24 Hours of Spa | Goffredo Zehender | DNF | |||
| 31 | August 9 | Comminges Grand Prix | none | 6th | |||
| 32 | September 5 | RAC Tourist Trophy | R. Brunet/Selborne | Charlie Martin | 8th | ||
| 33 | 1937 | February 21 | Pau Grand Prix | R. Brunet | none | DNF | |
| 34 | June 19–20 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | André Parguel | André Parguel | 25th | ||
| 35 | July 18 | Marne Grand Prix | R. Brunet | Daniel Porthault | DNF | ||
| 36 | 1938 | April 3 | Mille Miglia | Bugatti | Gino Rovere | DNS | |
| 37 | 1939 | June 17–18 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | Ecuria Francia | Delahaye 135 | Marcel Contet | DNF (22nd) |
| 38 | 1946 | April 24 | Coupe du Palais de la Méditerranée | Riley 1500/4 | 2nd | ||
| 39 | May 19 | Coupe de la Ville de St Etienne | 7th | ||||
| 40 | June 9 | Coupe de Conseil Municipal | DNF | ||||
| 41 | 1948 | September 12 | 12 Hours of Paris | Henri Louveau | Delage D6 | Henri Louveau | 2nd |
| 42 | 1949 | April 24 | Paris Grand Prix | R. Brunet | Ferrari 166C | none | DNA |
| 43 | June 25–26 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | Pierre Meyrat | Delahaye 135 | Georges Grignard Pierre Meyrat |
5th (1st in class) | |
| 44 | 1951 | June 23 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | Porsche AG | Porsche 356 SL | Rudolph Sauerwein | DNS |
| Sources: | |||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Robert Brunet | Racing career profile | Driver Database".
- ^ a b c "The Golden Era of Gp Racing 1934-40 - Drivers (B)". Archived from the original on 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
- ^ "Robert Brunet (F) - Racing Sports Cars".
- ^ "1946 Grands Prix".
- ^ "1935 AIACR European Driver Championship and Grands Prix". www.teamdan.com. Archived from the original on 2002-10-18.
- ^ "Robert Brunet career statistics". www.race-database.com.
- ^ "8W - What? - Delahaye 135".
- ^ "Grand Prix de Paris 1949 « Non-Championship F1 (3-litre)".
- ^ "1946 Grand Prix Races - TNF's Archive".
- ^ "1946 Conseil Municipal Cup". www.chicanef1.com.
- ^ "Paris 12 Hours 1948 - Racing Sports Cars".