1. Jean-Pierre Wimille was a two-time victor of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 1937 and 1939.
14 Facts About Jean-Pierre Wimille
1. 2.
Jean-Pierre Wimille is generally regarded as one of the best French drivers of his era.
3.
Jean-Pierre Wimille developed a fascination with racing cars at a young age.
4.
Jean-Pierre Wimille was 22 years old when he made his Grand Prix debut, driving a Bugatti 37A at the 1930 French Grand Prix in Pau.
5.
In 1931, Jean-Pierre Wimille finished second at the Monte Carlo Rally, driving a Lorraine-Dietrich.
6.
Still in France, that same year Jean-Pierre Wimille won the Deauville Grand Prix, a race held on the city's streets.
7.
Jean-Pierre Wimille won in his Bugatti T59 in an accident-marred race that killed drivers Raymond Chambost and Marcel Lehoux in separate incidents.
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Tazio Nuvolari 8.
In 1936, Jean-Pierre Wimille traveled to Long Island, New York to compete in the Vanderbilt Cup where he finished second, behind the winner, Tazio Nuvolari.
9.
Jean-Pierre Wimille competed in the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race, winning in 1937 and again in 1939.
10.
Jean-Pierre Wimille married Christiane de la Fressange with whom he had a son, Francois, born in 1946.
11.
Jean-Pierre Wimille had a long-standing affair with French singer Juliette Greco, whom he met in 1947 at the Tabou in Paris.
12.
From 1946 on, Jean-Pierre Wimille built and designed cars in Paris under the brand-name Jean-Pierre Wimille.
13.
Jean-Pierre Wimille died when he lost control of his Simca-Gordini and crashed into a tree during practice runs for the 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix.
14.
Jean-Pierre Wimille is buried in the Cimetiere de Passy in Paris.