Only four have returned since, he said. The ClassicCars.com Journal report has more examples of specific allegations of Pat Bondurants conduct at the school, several of which were also confirmed to Jalopnik via email. The ERA GT uses a bespoke chassis closely based on the design of the original except its made from thicker gauge stainless steel to protect it against rusting. I was riding motorcycles but I hadn't driven a car yet. By 14, he owned his first Indian motorcycle, and after the devastating death of his mother at 16 years old, he started racing flat track and even bigger Indians and Harleys. The aluminum Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe will start at $394,995. In a bankruptcy document signed by Pat Bondurant, the school mentioned Dodge and SRT as one of four factors that led to the bankruptcy-protection filing. Bondurant was born in Evanston, Illinois. Jason Bondurant said the alleged petition, to the left, was signed by 22 of the schools 33 employees, and that eight more would have signed but had not been into work for their shift yet. The other dealers weren't racing like we were. Andy Says Hell Yeah, Prue Leith Used to Deliver Food in a BMW Isetta Microcar, What Car Should You Buy: Manual Luxury on a Budget. If you leave, youre leaving on your own. In those days there were as many as 35 Vettes on the track at the same time. Legendary racecar driver Bob Bondurant's name is no longer on the school he started more than 50 years ago and moved to Chandler in 1990, but he and his family are looking to open a new high . When he made the decision to leave, he said, other employees went with him. Many Formula 1 drivers felt it was better to be thrown clear than be in the car when it crashed; in fact belts weren't mandatory until 1972. Initially Bob worked for Carroll Shelby as a instructor before forming his own school in 1968 after his competitive career effectively ended a year earlier after a colossal crash at Watkins Glen in the US Road Racing Championship event there saw him break both legs and a shoulder. Bob happened on a used car lot where Don was working. "[4], (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap). I raced an Indian 101 Scout motorcycle at De Anza Park in Riverside. Bob was then inducted as the youngest member of the Galloping Gooses, which eventually became Hells Angels. At 23 years old, he discovered that he had more control with four wheels than he did with two, and his racing career began in a Morgan Plus 4. The catalyst of the walkout was this, according to the ClassicCars.com Journals conversation with the schools vice president Jason Bondurant: Jason Bondurant said he and former financial controller Lavida Arvizu were instructed by Pat Bondurant not to tell employees the school was running out of funds as she mulled filing for Chapter 7, which would have immediately shut down operations. [6], A statement on his death reads, in part, "Bondurant is the only American to bring home the World Championship trophy back to the U.S. while racing for Carroll Shelby. "It had Edelbrock heads and intake manifold, plus a light flywheel; it was a sleeper. Bob Bondurant stepped back from the schools daily operations because he wanted to do the fun stuff later in life, Jason Bondurant said. Graham Hill won the event in a BRM. There was a lot of fiberglass flying.". Bondurant taught stunt driving, competition driving, police pursuit driving, evasive driving for . He also said employees stayed around for so long despite the alleged environment because he treated them like family., When the school filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 2, a statement said it planned to stay open and emerge from this [bankruptcy] process as a stronger company.. American racing legend Bob Bondurant has passed away aged 88. In 1965 Bondurant won the FIA Manufacturers' World Championship for Shelby American and Ford, winning seven out of ten races against the class dominating Ferrari 250 GTOs in Europe. Died:. Power is provided by a highly-tuned, period-correct Ford 289 V8 which sends power to the rear wheels via aZF five-speed manual transaxle. Bob Bondurant was born in Evanston on April 27, 1933. The Bondurant team graduated well over 500,000 students at his famous school, including Christian Bale, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Nicolas Cage, and Tom Cruise, to name a few. [citation needed], The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving has graduated over 500,000 drivers since its opening in 1968. Of course it would take some laps before he would build his confidence not to lift. Full Film: The Opposite of Death Curtiss Motorcycle Co. It was in October 1965 that Bob drove a V-8powered Formula 1 Ferrari for the North American Racing Team entered by Luigi Chinetti, the U.S. Ferrari distributor. According to his family and the Bondurant Racing School website, Bondurant died Friday in the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. Bondurant once said, My life has been lived in two halves. No cause of death was released. After the fabled school was purchased in $1.7 million May 2019 out of bankruptcy from the legendary Bob Bondurant and his family by Stig Investments. ", After graduating from high school, Bob dug ditches and unloaded furniture trucks at Bekins Van Lines, then later on, sold Corvettes to finance his racing. Bob had a faster qualifying speed than Pedro Rodriguez at 1:13.0 in the 12-cylinder Ferrari. Bob was racing at Riverside Raceway when the crank broke in the Vette. Stroke 2023: A Change Has Come and Is Still Coming Session moderated by Bob Wachter For the non-neurologist, it may be hard to keep up with all the latest controversies, exciting advances, and paradigm shifts in the management of acute strokes. Bondurant left the Formula 1 race series to race the even faster Can-Am cars with best friend and team driver, Peter Revson, in the Lola T70 Mark II. Over the years 52 drivers and 35 spectators have lost their lives on the 3.6-mile track. Always in the back of his mind was going to Santa Barbara to watch the sports cars races, so Bob decided to try racing sports cars. The Whizzer got me into two wheels and from there I got a 125cc James two-stroke motorcycle. This as around the time he caught the attention of Carroll Shelby, who was looking to hire the best drivers he could find for his new Ford Cobra team. Bob's father owned a car dealership that sold fast cars in nearby Chicago; very fast carsCords to be exact. ERA GTs often sell for six figure sums when they do come up for sale, such is the esteem in which they are held. All Rights Reserved. By 1970, the school relocated to the nearby Ontario Motor Speedway. Robert Lewis Bondurant was born on April 27, 1933, to John Roper Bondurant and Ruth Williams Bondurant of Evanston, Ill. His father owned two luxury car dealerships named Bondurant Motors. When Bob turned two years old, the family moved to Westwood Village, Calif. Bob began his fascination with speed as a three-year-old on his first tricycle with playing cards clothes pinned on his spokes for the sound of the rush. Though there have been many replicas of the Ford GT40 made over the years, none have been superior to the ERA GT. This marks the second driving school in just over a. By RACER Staff Bondurants final race in this car was in 2012 at the Auto Club Raceway Pomona, unsurprisingly hes said to have won despite being 79 years old. This is an ERA GT that was built for Bob Bondurant, it was driven by the famed American racing driver a number of times and kept in his private collection. No one from the school, including Bob Bondurant himself, have issued a comment beyond the statement. He was 88. His racing career began to soar in 1959, when he drove a Corvette in the Southern California region to the West Coast "B . Bondurants ERA GT40 is now being offered for sale on Bring A Trailer, it has just ~7,000 miles on the odometer and its being sold out of Chandler, Arizona. Something went wrong. "I decided that when I went to Europe, I was somehow going to get a testdrive in a Formula 1 car. For the 1964 FIA season after finishing 2nd in GT at Sebring, Bondurant was in Europe racing the new 289 FIA Cobras at the Targa Florio, Spa, and Nurburgring. The walkout, he claimed, included all of the employees at work that day26 including the night shift. Bob Bondurant, a former champion race car driver who opened a high-performance driving school in 1968 and taught numerous A-list actors for their movie roles, has died. Bondurant began his racing career as many did in the United States, riding an American built motorcycle around an oval track. WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA JULY 25: Bob Bondurant in his McLaren M8E/D Chevrolet Can-Am, leads Pete Revsons McLaren M8F Chevrolet at Watkins Glen in 1971. One little Gendarme (French police officer) was standing on a box directing cars at this traffic circle and saw us coming right at him in a cloud of dust you can imagine the noise. He bought a British two-seater Morgan Plus 4 with four cylinders that put out 68 hp and raced it for a year, graduating to a Triumph TR2 with a blazing 90 horses stock. All Rights Reserved. We invite you to share . I had it running in two days. Hetrained the films lead actor, James Garner, to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on October 2. Racer.com traced his life story: [], [] driving school founder Bob Bondurant died Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88,Racerhas [], [] and driving school founder Bob Bondurant died Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88, Racer has learned.The son of a car dealer, Bondurant began racing in Corvettes on the West Coast in the [], Bob Bondurant, 1933-2021 RACER - Jakhala.com, Racing legend Bob Bondurant lifeless at 88 Abrar Gadget Shop, Racing legend Bob Bondurant dead at 88 AutoSector.com , BOB BONDURANT 1933-2021 The Road Racing Drivers Club, Racing legend Bob Bondurant dead at 88 - Aftermarket Alloy Wheels, Racing legend Bob Bondurant dead at 88 Born To Be Wild, All contents copyright 2023, Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. [1] In 1968, it was originally located at Orange County International Raceway in California, later moving to Ontario Motor Speedway in 1970, and to Sears Point International Raceway in 1973. After all, he tutored the likes of actor James Garner during the filming in 1966 for his role in Grand Prix, and enjoyed passing on what he'd learned driving race cars to Rockford (who became a gifted race car driver in his own right), and the other actors in the film. He was flown to England to receive medical attention. His legacy will remain with us forever. The copyrighted Bondurant teaching method caters to professional drivers, military, law enforcement, and actors. Located in the Catskills of New York, the Grand Prix was held at the "Glen" in 1961 and continued until 1980. When Bob wasnt using the car on track it was stabled in the Bondurant Museum, where it was seen by countless thousands of visitors over the years. A roadster set up to HTTP FIA specifications and for track use only starts at $289,995. During the race it started to rain; it was cold with 40-mph winds. Bob Bondurant was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1933. Each will be built to order and delivered with a . Pat and Bob Bondurant intend to reopen their school under an all-new ownership and management structure, at an exciting new location, and are currently negotiating opportunities to purchase the Bondurant Trademark License Rights. "If I'd been strapped in the car I would have been decapitated. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Bondurant and his family moved to California when he was 2. Not long after he was born in Illinois in 1933, his. [citation needed], The current operators of the formerly leased facility have renamed the facility and has no affiliation with Bob Bondurant or the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving/ Bondurant Racing School. Bob and I are deeply saddened by the negative rumors that have been published around the Schools recent Chapter 11 filing, the statement from Pat Bondurant read. At Le Mans he led the GT class until a wrist pin failed putting the car out in the early morning. She said to me that we should stop hiring people from Chandler or Gilbert, Arvizu wrote. Former employees of the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, an Arizona-based racing school thats been around since 1968, said they walked out of work last month in protest of a hostile environment. It turned out to be the ATS at Monza, Italy. The next thing you know, he's driving a Cobra down a dark straightaway at 190-plus mph in France, not once, but for hours. [1][2][3]. "I figured the ATS wasn't as fast as the Ferraris and after a few laps I began taking the corner flat-out at 150 mph. Since February 14th, 1968, Bondurant has been the premier driver-training destination for everyone from racing professionals looking for that winning edge to daily commuters seeking to become more proficient behind the wheel. Bob's time was 1:12.9, which put him on the outside of the seventh row next to Jochen Rindt from Germany (Rindt was killed at Monza in 1970). I moved to Bishop, California, where I was living with my Aunt Ella. [Bob Bondurant] is a very good man, Jason Bondurant said, mentioning his adopted fathers stroke, knee replacement and other health problems. Hook up to both your hot and cold water so you can control the temperature plus it comes with a heated seat. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. ", Bob knew the circuit well, having raced Le Mans in 1964, winning the GT Class in a Ford Daytona Coupe with Dan Gurney. The land limitations only allowed Bob to put the small version of his dream training facility in Chandler, Arizona at Firebird Raceway,[5] now known as Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. A buddy had a car so we towed it with a rope around a corner to my house and the rear wheels came off. They have no idea where we are going.". PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. - Champion Race Car Driver Bob Bondurant died in Paradise Valley on Nov. 12 at the age of 88. As Bob went through the corner the rear axle broke sending him off the course backward and down a ravine. When the Bondurant school did reopen, new chief restructuring officer Timothy H. Shaffer said the school was working to reschedule classes from the closure period. His school has had over 500,000 graduates, it said. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. This was an important race for the GT40 as it was the models first international victory, with GT40s finishing 1st and 3rd. The school did not directly respond to this claim. Her feeling was that was why we were attracting lower-caliber people I asked whats wrong with Gilbert and she said that is where the poor people live. "And I liked to talk to him a lot. Bondurant passed away at the age of 88 and is survived by his wife, Pat, President and CEO of the. Bondurants last championship was 1997 for the World Cup Challenge, racing for Steve Saleen. Click here to view Vintage Motorsports appreciation of the amazing life of Bob Bondurant. He drove for Carroll Shelby and teamed with Dan Gurney. He'd fallen out of the car! Bob Bondurant stepped back from the school's daily operations because he wanted to do "the fun stuff" later in life, Jason Bondurant said. Over the next few years Bondurant would travel around the world, racing in Europe and the United States, competing in Formula 1, the Targa Florio, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Spa, the Nurburgring, and helping win the 1965FIA Manufacturers World Championship for Shelby. Stay up-to-date with our upcoming events! Lying in the hospital bed with broken bones didn't break his desire to get back on track, in more ways than one. In the same year he drove a works Ferrari Formula 1 car during the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, and handled a Lotus 33 for Reg Parnell at the following Mexican race. Bondurant had four NASCAR starts, all at Riverside International Raceway, with his highest finish of 18th in 1981. Santa Barbara Chevrolet dealer Shelly Washburn hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his #614 1959 Corvette. Badly injured in a 1967 crash at the racetrack in Watkins Glen, New York, Bondurant drafted an idea for a high-performance driving school while recuperating. 2021-2022 Bondurant Racing School. Now thats doing your business in luxury. His Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving has been responsible for training generations of American racing drivers. PHOENIX The racing world is still mourning the loss of world champion Bob Bondurant. Our. He raced the Shelby Cobra CSX2345 through the 1964-1965 racing circuits and locked in more wins than anyone else on Shelby's team. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In total, he recorded nine F1 starts over two years. When the transporter to take Bob's car to the circuit didn't arrive, it was decided that Bob should drive the Ferrari to the track. This particular ERA GT is finished to the specification of the car driven by Bondurant in the 1965 Daytona Continental. For 50 years, it earned and held a reputation as the number-one racing school in the world, crediting Bob as the global expert authority on driver training and safety. Using his notorious racing skills, he copyrighted The Bondurant Method. Personally, he taught his hand-selected instructors how to educate the world to be better drivers. Bondurant was actively at the track every day, enthusiastically greeting his new students until he was well over 85 years old. That's how I learned to ride motorcycles," Bob laughs. She changed the subject. []. ", Guildstrand and Bob decided to fill the Corvette's tank with essence (fuel) and drive it to Le Mans. Bondurant won 30 of 32 races in Corvettes from 1961-63, and he won the GT class at Le Mans in 1964, co-driving with fellow American Dan Gurney. That was the beginning of the Nov. 12 walkout, Jason Bondurant said. [2] In 1990 a purpose-built training facility was opened in Chandler, Arizona. Bob Bondurant was one of the most successful American racing drivers of his era, he also coached a slew of celebrities This is Bob Bondurant at Riverside Raceway with the Shelby GT350 Mustang prototype for testing in 1965. Were working through the proper legal channels to make the best choices for the long-term health and success of the school. In 1956 he switched to sports car racing with a Morgan and started to attract attention when he won the West Coast "B" production Championship, in a Chevrolet Corvette winning 18 out of 20 races. ), "We got there two days before the race and the GT 40 Ford guys opened up their great big trailers and let us use the machine shop to make stuff and weld they had a huge effort. It was formerly located in Chandler, Arizona at the Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Formula 1 came to the United States on a course steeped with racing history dating back to 1956: Watkins Glen. Bob formulated a plan to open a high-performance driving school. "It wouldn't idle under 70 mph. He is survived by his wife, Pat. The only thing wrong with it was the head and manifold were off. Bob Bondurant was a motor racing icon, a name synonymous with Carroll Shelby's globetrotting Cobras and Daytona Coupes. Its sad.. The Bondurant Racing School has helped over 500,000 students graduate from its high-performance driving course. It's constantly changing; technology advances, drivers get better, and times get faster. As with the others, Pat Bondurant didnt respond directly to this allegation, but denied all of the allegations about school management. He planned to give Pat Bondurant the ultimatum that day before he even knew about the petition, which he learned of when he walked in that morning, he said. Friday, November 12, 2021, the world lost an iconic American racing hero, Bob Bondurant. Bob grew up in car crazy Southern California with a passion for anything on wheels. Bondurant retired from racing at 79 after winning his last race at Pomona Raceway in his No. "My mom and dad had divorced, then mom died when I was 16. He kept racing, too. At the L.A. Times Grand Prix in October 1962, Bondurant drove Washburn's new 1963 Corvette Z06 Stingray. I raced that bike for a long time.". Guildstrand set a record of 171.5 mph down the Mulsanne. Bondurant's closing, the details and terms of which are still unclear, comes after serving the industry for 50 years, following a filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October of 2018. The starting lineup of cars included Datsun 240Zs, 510s,[8] 2000 convertibles, a Lola T70 Can-Am car, and a Formula Vee. Bob's fleet has grown to 200 race-prepared Cads, Vettes (naturally), open-wheel Formula cars, and karts. You can read more about it HERE (AP Wire Press Release) and HERE (Forbes). The pair needed money to race so Bob and Don went to work for Peyton Cramer who owned Dana Chevrolet in South Gate, known for its high-performance Corvettes, as well Camaros. More importantly, he was in hot rod country that flourished 365 days a year rather than the "Windy City" area whose average temp was 49 degrees F. "I was always into cars and motorcycles. In 1963 he became a member of Carroll Shelby's Ford Cobra team, winning his first race at the Continental Divide Raceway in Colorado, followed by an overall win at the LA Times Grand Prix GT race at Riverside in October 1963. Motorcycles but I had n't driven a car dealership that sold fast cars in car... The years 52 drivers and 35 spectators have lost their lives on the track the... Steve Saleen motorcycle Co needed ], ( key ) ( Races in italics indicate lap... The Whizzer got me into two wheels and from there I got a 125cc James two-stroke motorcycle this particular GT! 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