What a career. He was 88. Bob Bondurant was a motor racing icon, a name synonymous with Carroll Shelby's globetrotting Cobras and Daytona Coupes. The body is made from fiberglass, just like the Ford GT40s, however its a slightly thicker lay up that was developed to stand the test of time, with no warping or spider webbing/stress cracking. If I did well on the testdrive, I'd be driving the car the following year. In 1967 while driving a McLaren CanAm car at Watkins Glen, Bondurant was seriously injured in a horrific crash when the steering arm failed at 150 mph. If my dad was mentally there like he was [then], we would have never gotten to this place. Bondurant, 88, passed away last week unexpectedly and leaves behind his wife Pat Bondurant. PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) -- 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. The second was teaching the world to become champions., "As the President and CEO of Bondurant, I have always known that being the best in the world isn't easy and isn't a fixed point. Jason Bondurant also said employees are looking at their options for legal action in regards to the alleged hostile workplace environment, but that some fear retaliation from Pat Bondurant. By RACER Staff He then rose to the highest level in racing with Ferrari in Formula 1 and prototypes. 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. 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. He is one of the Richest Formula One Driver who was born in United States. Bondurant), Jack Bondurant's daughters, Emmie Lee Gagni . Bob Bondurant. 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. This one is likely to attract plenty of additional attention thanks to its influential former owner. 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. 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. He was 88. In 1965, Bob Bondurant takes the wheel of a Ferrari Formula 1 race car during the US Grand Prix. INSIGHT: Has Alonso finally landed on another winner? Were confident that once all of the legal matters are behind us and the school emerges from the restructuring, the truth will be told through the proper channels.. Many NASCAR drivers were trained at Bob's school for road course training, along with many celebrity actors for driving scenes. He also said Bob Bondurant, 85, isn't in the. 2021-2022 Bondurant Racing School. Powered by Gasoline and Caffeine. (The two Yanks didn't realize the French national colors are blue, white, and red, which might have had something to do with the salute. Jason Bondurant said one of the more hampering parts of working at the school was how badly things were going when he felt like there was a solution to the math problem the whole time. The interior is an almost exact replica of the original, with the exception of the Bob Bondurant signature on the glovebox of course. This racing school is still going strong today and you can enroll for training here. Tim Rose, the former general manager of the school, also told the abovestory to Jalopnik. Bob Bondurant was a racing driver who founded the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, where he taught celebrities including Paul Newman (1925-2008) and Tom Cruise. 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. The school did not directly respond to this claim. Guildstrand asked Bob how to tell when he was approaching the Tertre Rouge corner at the end of the long (4381 feet) Mulsanne Straight at night. Bondurant was one of the most famous drivers to emerge from the Southern California road racing scene in the 1950s, and achieved success in North America and in Europe. In total, he recorded nine F1 starts over two years. I had learned how to ride the bike by now. The allegations, which include belittlement, racism, unequal treatment and fears that they wouldnt get paid, come from a thorough report in the ClassicCars.com Journal substantiated by interviews with Jalopnik. Of course it would take some laps before he would build his confidence not to lift. After 50 years, the Bondurant brand has risen to prominence on the international racing stage, our best measurement for victory has become our own stunning success. Bob was told that the high-speed corner, Curve Grande, was taken flat-out. If youre not here, we know that were even more screwed, so we are leaving.. Something went wrong. Bondurant is survived by his wife, Pat, who is president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School. Within a few years Bondurant had become one of the most promising drivers on the West Coast, between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races driving Corvettes for Santa Barbara Chevrolet dealer Shelly Washburn. Twice, Bob was badly injured, not from driver error, but from mechanical failure. [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. A statement on his passing reads, in part, "Bondurant is the only American. They might all wish to tip their hats to the founder, Robert Lewis Bondurant, who died Nov. 12 in Paradise Valley, Ariz., at the age of 88. [5] Bob Bondurant's copyrighted method taught competition driving . Bondurant Racing School was founded in 1968 and has graduated celebrities for car movies like James Garner, Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, and Christian Bale, along with over 500,000 graduates from around the world. Bob is the first and only American to bring the World SportsCar Championship trophy home to America in the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe No. According to his family and the Bondurant Racing School website, Bondurant died Friday in the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley. Pat Bondurant secured a 51-percent stake in the school in 2010, about two months after she married Bob Bondurant, their son told Jalopnik. Its a car that was developed to be indistinguishable from the original, despite the fact that it has a stronger chassis, a more heavy duty body, and even optional air-conditioning. 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. By 1970, the school relocated to the nearby Ontario Motor Speedway. The Bondurants intend to reopen their school under an all-new ownership and management structure, at an exciting new location, and are currently entertaining investor inquiries on opportunities to purchase the Bondurant Trademark License Rights. Oh sure! 69-year-old suffers stroke in his N.C. home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. He is survived by his wife Pat. The first was becoming a world champion driver. That's when other car owners took notice of Bob's driving ability. The ClassicCars.com Journal report includes numerous detailed, on-the-record accounts from multiple former employees, and many of those accounts are substantiated in the sites comment section. 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. He offered Bob a full Ford sponsorship of cars, parts, and marketing until 2003. This team, driven to exceed all expectations, set out to bring the most exhilarating, inspiring, school of high-performance driving to motor sports fans around the world. By the time he was 18; he was racing an Indian Scout motorcycle, and moved to sports cars in 1956 at the wheel of a Morgan. Jason Bondurant also told Jalopnik that he didnt lead the employee walkout, but rather gave Pat Bondurant a pre-planned ultimatum that Monday that either he was staying at the school or she was. Santa Barbara Chevrolet dealer Shelly Washburn hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his #614 1959 Corvette. >> Read more trending news On Popular Bio, He is one of the successful Formula One Driver. Image courtesy of the Bondurant Archives. Bob Bondurant, the racer and racing school owner/instructor. 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. He taught . Both raced Triumphs and both raced Corvettes, which got the attention of wealthy car owners who put them in their Ferraris and Maseratis. He was a member of Carroll Shelby's team, racing the famed Cobra. Everyone who walked through the Bondurant doors was taught the copyrighted Bondurant Method, developed by the most respected Racing School in the world. 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. She changed the subject. []. He was one of a handful of Americans to compete in the Formula 1 Grand Prix series, and also raced at Le Mans. He is survived by his wife, Pat, president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School, who vows to continue the legacy of Bob's school. 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. I got a Model A roadster body and frame from Economy Auto Wrecking in Bishop and put it together. . There was a Harley motorcycle shop near where I lived and they wanted to ride my James motorcycle and do wheelies with it. In late 2018, Pat and Bob Bondurant found themselves embroiled in an unfortunate and unforeseen family business situation where they were victimized as a result of a power struggle and attempted character assaults perpetrated by certain close family members looking to take over the company. On Twitter, his family wrote that he "passed away in his sleep after a short illness." He participated four times at 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing best in 1964 in the fourth place overall, and . A roadster set up to HTTP FIA specifications and for track use only starts at $289,995. Only four have returned since, he said. 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.. 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. Over the years 52 drivers and 35 spectators have lost their lives on the 3.6-mile track. "It wouldn't idle under 70 mph. ", When Bob was 18 he started racing motorcycles at Carrell and Culver City Speedways: "In those days you didn't have brakes; you went faster without brakes on the bikes. Since then, the school has taught the copyrighted "Bondurant Method" with its lineup of instructors. Bob Bondurant is a member of 10 Racing Hall of Fames and founded the famous driving school in 1968, teaching with his copyrighted Bondurant Method. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving was an American performance driving school, specializing in instruction for high performance driving, teen defensive driving, law enforcement and special forces driving, open wheel race car training, Grand Prix road racing, drag racing, go karts, and other courses using the copyrighted Bondurant Method. Jason Bondurant told the journal that working at the school truly was a very hostile, horrible environment.. 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. Bondurant was one of the most famous drivers to emerge from the Southern California road racing scene in the 1950s, and achieved success in North America and in Europe. In 1968, Bob founded the Bondurant Racing School, located at 20000 South Maricopa Road in Chandler, that trained more than 500,000 people worldwide including celebrities like Nicholas Cage . Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. Not all of the alleged remarks were in relation to the school, though. Motorsport Images. ClassicCars.com posted a picture of a note taped to the school's door indicating the closure. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorization. We started winning races. . He raced the Shelby Cobra CSX2345 through the 1964-1965 racing circuits and locked in more wins than anyone else on Shelby's team. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving was initially opened by World Champion and ten time hall of fame inductee Bob Bondurant at the Orange County International Raceway near Los Angeles, CA under the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving name. He was 88. Bob is living a hot rodder's fantasy; he can race anytime he damn-well pleases and the only red lights in his mirrors are the cop cars on the track taking his Law Enforcement training class. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc., 17030 Red Hill Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614, 949.417.6700 The name Bob Bondurant is synonymous with the Shelby Cobra. Bob Bondurant America's uncrowned World Driving Champion (2007, Editions Cotty; Bob Bondurant Des Cobra la Formule1 la meme passion (2008, Editions Cotty; This page was last edited on 4 November 2022, at 15:49. He was thrown out of the car. Do you wear belts or not? "There was a road on the outskirts of Bishop off Highway 2 where there was a dirt oval track that ran jalopy races. Bob had trouble seeing but by turning his face into the wind, the goggles would stay pressed against his face as long as he kept one finger on them while shifting with his other hand and grabbing the steering with his knees. Formula 1 came to the United States on a course steeped with racing history dating back to 1956: Watkins Glen. "If I'd been strapped in the car I would have been decapitated. "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. The Bondurant edition Shelby 289 FIA Cobra roadster in fiberglass will start at US$149,995.00 and the aluminum version will begin at $249,995. Is a Ram 1500 TRX the Ideal Winter Vehicle? I took his Jag up the mountain roadit handled really well, much better than my Ford. Bob had never driven a Grand Prix Ferrari at all, and now he was about to go cruising not only through town, but out through the countryside to the track in a full-blown F1 car. 1. While recuperating, Bondurant drafted an idea for a high performance driving school borrowing from the experiences he had while training James Garner for Grand Prix. In 1967, a fateful race at Watkins Glen changed his entire career, and the Bondurant School was born. We vehemently deny the allegations that have been made by a handful of former employees about how the school was being managed. I said, I know you signed the petition, please do not leave because of me, he recalled telling employees. Jason Bondurant told Jalopnik that about a week after the walkout, the schools accounts wouldnt have had enough money to make payroll as things were, but that he had a plan to get the school through Jan. 1hence the fears about payroll. Bob realized his dream, opening the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving at Orange County Raceway on Valentine's Day 1968 with a Vee-Dub van (minus the peace signs and daisies), a Datsun 510, and a Formula V for starters. 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. "The whole difference was the crowds who gathered around the Corvette with Dana Chevrolet on the door at the races and who sold cars. Articles that Ben has written have been covered onCNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine,Road & Track Magazine,the official Pinterest blog, theofficialeBay Motorsblog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more. April 10, 2022 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Friend. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Bob should be an inspiration to anyone who has a dream he followed his. Funeral plans were not immediately available Sunday. Bob later had a '40 Ford he drag raced at Santa Ana, but Bob, ever the hot rodder, was ready to slow down the pace a bit with one cool street cruiser, a tail-draggin' '41 Ford custom. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into 10 motorsports halls of fame. Graham Hill won the event in a BRM. All Rights Reserved. The original was made from a lighter gauge mild steel. Bob competed in 36 different events after his crash up to 2004, which included Daytona, 24 Hour of Le Mans, Nurburgring, Germany, and the Sebring 12 Hour. The starting lineup of cars included Datsun 240Zs, 510s,[8] 2000 convertibles, a Lola T70 Can-Am car, and a Formula Vee. Bob Bondurant, champion driver and founder of the Bondurant Racing School, passed away Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife, Pat, president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School, who vows to continue the legacy of Bobs school. The new owners a . The other dealers weren't racing like we were. I was taking my buddy around the track and said, 'This is really great isn't it?' The school closed a month later, though, with no information as to why and no indication of whether it would reopenor how the closure would affect existing agreements, like Bondurants customer obligations to the brands it works with. Robert L. Bondurant (April 27, 1933 November 12, 2021) was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. Bob's first entry into Formula 1 was one that almost took his life in the ill-fated ATS Grand Prix Car he was about to drive on one of the deadliest tracks in racingMonza. 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. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving was the largest purpose-built driving school in the world. 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. I had it running in two days. Bondurant is the only American to bring home the World Championship trophy back to the U.S. while racing for Carroll Shelby. Since Bob has never stopped racing (he still enters vintage events), he still has some sneaky moves his experienced instructors have never seen before. [2] In 1990 a purpose-built training facility was opened in Chandler, Arizona. Paul Newman and Robert Wagner were the third and fourth students to enroll in the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving for the movie "Winning". Bob formulated a plan to open a high-performance driving school. There were no driving schools then," Bob laughs. Bondurant retired from racing at 79 after winning his last race at Pomona Raceway in his No. The document said the primary factor was the schools inability to pay rent in September without jeopardizing its ability to do payroll and expenses, and others were a training contract from the U.S. government canceled with little warning, inconsistent payments from primary sponsors Dodge and Fiat, Dodge requiring the school to return its Vipers for safety and regulatory reasons, and a potential investor agreement that hasnt been reached yet. Bob Bondurant was one of the most successful American racing drivers of his era, he also coached a slew of celebrities in the finer points of race car driving including James Garner, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Tim Allen, Tom Cruise, and Nicolas Cage. 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. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Team USA Scholarship: jshaw@teamusascholarship.org. Bob Bondurant has had a worldwide impact on the motorsports industry, and his legacy will live on as the Bondurant Racing School moves forward into the future. Of course since Bob was an experienced dirt racer he could have picked up a used Midget or Sprinter and gone that route. Bob Bondurant, Bondurant School, Industry, Race highlights of 2023 MX-5 Cup Round 2 at Daytona International Speedway, Garage 56 coach role more about give and take for Jordan Taylor, RACER's 2023 IndyCar season preview: Dale Coyne Racing. The Bondurant team, along with many friends, fans, graduates, journalists, celebrities, an. He'd fallen out of the car! In this Grand Rounds, S. Andrew Josephson, chair of the UCSF Department of Neurology and illustrious neurology educator, will bring us up-to-date on . 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. She had a Chrysler. I told her it didn't work. He was 88. Everybody said, Were leaving under our own accord. Image courtesy of the Bondurant Archives. For the early part of the past year, it appeared that a sorry end awaited the school that had been founded by Robert L. Bondurant, a world champion racer, in 1968 in Orange County, California, after he almost lost his life in a race when the steering arm of his McLaren MARK II CanAm snapped at 150 mph. As with the others, Pat Bondurant didnt respond directly to this allegation, but denied all of the allegations about school management. During his teens, Bondurant raced an Indian motorcycle on dirt ovals. Bob had a faster qualifying speed than Pedro Rodriguez at 1:13.0 in the 12-cylinder Ferrari. 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. [5], Bondurant died in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on November 12, 2021, at the age of 88. Bob Bondurant, 88, has had some health concerns over the last few years and has stepped back a bit from the business. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. He drove for Carroll Shelby and teamed with Dan Gurney. My dad took me to Gilmore Stadium when I was 7 to watch the races and that got me interested in racing. I said, 'OK if you let me ride your Harley', there was a vacant lot and we made an oval out of it which had some jumps. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. Man died Wednesday. "Bachtold built a special motor and said, 'Why don't you take that little motor out of your bike and put this one in'? He was 88. 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. "And I liked to talk to him a lot. At the L.A. Times Grand Prix in October 1962, Bondurant drove Washburn's new 1963 Corvette Z06 Stingray. Each will be built to order and delivered with a . Copyright 2021 Associated Press. As a resulting worse-case scenario, the schools assets were sold off in 2019. The only thing wrong with it was the head and manifold were off. This comes under the heading of "this stuff doesn't happen today!" While driving a McLaren at Watkins Glen, the car's steering arm fails at around 150 mph, which . 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. ", Bob made the big bucks$8 a night because he was in the novice class. Bondurant raced cars in the 1960s with some success until a crash at Watkins Glen, in New York curtailed his career. "I went to the Cal Club (California Sports Car Club) and said I wanted to go racing. Bondurant taught stunt driving, competition driving, police pursuit driving, evasive driving for . "We still finished 17th, we were that far ahead," Guildstrand laughs. Our goal is always to be better than we were before because looking forward doesn't just happen on race day; it happens every day.". I raced an Indian 101 Scout motorcycle at De Anza Park in Riverside. A buddy had a car so we towed it with a rope around a corner to my house and the rear wheels came off. In the interim, Bob did get back on track (or the horse so to speak), knowing he had a growing business to fall back on should anything catastrophic happen again, entering a Can-Am race June 1970 driving a Chevy Lola T160. Bob won 18 out of 20 races in 1959 in the '57, which smartly won Bob the "B" Production Championship and "Best Corvette Driver of the Year" in 1959. Bondurant trackside with Carroll Shelby while racing for the Cobra legend's team in the 1960s . The veteran F1 guys were spinning out; Bob being a newcomer to F1, but a seasoned dirt-tracker, weathered the storm, so to speak. 2 where there was a motor racing icon, a fateful race at Pomona Raceway in his N.C. ;! 150 mph, which got the attention of wealthy car owners took notice of Bob 's driving ability for Cobra... A world Championship while racing for the Cobra legend & # x27 s! Be made to the U.S. while racing for the Cobra legend & # x27 ; t the! 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