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. Robert L. Bondurant (April 27, 1933 November 12, 2021) was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake he moved the driving school to Phoenix, Arizona, where he enjoyed close ties to General Motors and Goodyear Tires. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Team USA Scholarship: jshaw@teamusascholarship.org. He is survived by his wife, Pat. When Pat Bondurant threw the petition from employees at Jason Bondurant on Nov. 12, he claimed, he typed out a resignation letter and told fellow employees what was going on. I raced an Indian 101 Scout motorcycle at De Anza Park in Riverside. We're blasting down the road in a red, white, and blue Corvette with the side exhaust pipes making a huge amount of noise down a lot of dirt roads. The walkout came just one month after the schools October bankruptcy filing and caused an abrupt but temporary closure, which the new head of the school called a disruption in service. But former employees claim it was far worse than that. He was 88. 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 . She vows to continue the legacy of the school. "The whole difference was the crowds who gathered around the Corvette with Dana Chevrolet on the door at the races and who sold cars. Click here to view Vintage Motorsports appreciation of the amazing life of Bob Bondurant. Bob was told that the high-speed corner, Curve Grande, was taken flat-out. Bob learned to drive in his buddy's mom's Chrysler that they sorta borrowed. He has ranked on the list of those famous people who were born on April 27, 1933. With the wind, plus rain, Bob's goggles were blowing off his face; the elastic strap had stretched and at one point his goggles blew down around his chin with the wind gusts. The Bondurant Method is known worldwide as the #1 training methodology for professional drivers, movie stars, military and law enforcement. 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. Image courtesy of the Bondurant Archives. 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 we're blowing dirt up in the air from the exhaust so you could see us coming. The Whizzer got me into two wheels and from there I got a 125cc James two-stroke motorcycle. There was a Harley motorcycle shop near where I lived and they wanted to ride my James motorcycle and do wheelies with it. The car you see here isnt an original GT40, its a replica built by ERA GT for Bondurant in the same specification and livery of the car he drove at Daytona in 1965. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. 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. It was really cool because I could do wheelies with it. The starting lineup of cars included Datsun 240Zs, 510s,[8] 2000 convertibles, a Lola T70 Can-Am car, and a Formula Vee. Follow us online or subscribe to our mailing list for more info! 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. While driving a McLaren at Watkins Glen, the car's steering arm fails at around 150 mph, which . 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'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. 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. 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. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into ten motorsports halls of fame. She said, 'You can't do that.' 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. In 1968 Bob Bondurant founded the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving and set out to establish one company, working as one team to be the best in the world. Bob's father bounced back, becoming a surgical instrument sale representative once in California. Be a part of the unmatched history and credibility of the legendary Bondurant Brands and copyrighted teaching methodology. "I even tried selling insurance once, but that was boring. Bondurant also raced in Formula 1 for Ferrari before moving to Can-Am with Peter Revson in the Lola T70 Mark II. 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.". 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. There's a definite correlation between Dan Gurney's budding start and Bob's. (Photo via Getty Images), Public File for KBCW-TV / KBCW 44 Cable 12. The walkout, he claimed, included all of the employees at work that day26 including the night shift. Power is provided by a period-correct The 289 cubic inch Ford V8 mated to a ZF five-speed manual transaxle, and as you would expect suspension is independent all around with disc brakes front and back. After all, Bob Bondurant is the only American World Champion Driver, Le Mans winner, and inducted into ten Hall of Fames, so theres a reason theyve been around for 53 years, they know what it takes to succeed. If I did well on the testdrive, I'd be driving the car the following year. (How's that for motivation?) That's when other car owners took notice of Bob's driving ability. 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. He kept racing, too. While recuperating from a race car crash, he came up with the idea of a high-performance driving school. His steering arm broke at 150mph, and, lying in traction at the hospital, he vividly remembers his conversation with God explaining to Bob that he was needed more on Earth and to start a driving and safety school to save thousands of lives of those otherwise dying on the highways and in motorsports. ERA GTs often sell for six figure sums when they do come up for sale, such is the esteem in which they are held. Its sad that in this stage of life, hes not competent or mentally there like he was 20 years ago. Pat Bondurant has denied the claims. Among the celebrities Bondurant instructed in road course driving for their movie roles were Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, James Garner, Nicolas Cage, Robert Wagner, Tim Allen and Christian Bale, according to the website. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Contact Us, Sculpture: An Original Ferrari Testarossa Side Mirror, A Rare Tommykaira ZZ: The Japanese Sports Car Made Famous By Gran Turismo, Theres A Rover Vitesse SD1 TWR Group A Spec Touring Car For Sale, The Most Beautiful Car Ever Made A Jaguar E-Type Project Car, For Sale: An Italian Corvette The Iso Rivolta IR 300, An Original 1980s Sega Super Hang-On Arcade Machine. Since Bob has never stopped racing (he still enters vintage events), he still has some sneaky moves his experienced instructors have never seen before. I had learned how to ride the bike by now. 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. Certainly Bob's life was altered for the better as he was a bona fide Californian now going to Union High School in Westwood. The 7,880-square-foot custom home of Pat and Bob Bondurant welcomes family, friends and racing associates with tinsel and gingerbread, garlands, glittering wreaths, food and festivity. 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. As a result, the schools assets, not the Bondurant name, were sold off in 2019. If were going to leave, lets leave the right way and not be spiteful, he said. He raced factory Ferrari GTs and Porsche prototypes, had brief spells in. "Bob Bondurant has had a worldwide impact on the motorsports industry, and his legacy will live on eternally as the Bondurant Racing School moves forward into the future," Phoenix Raceway President Julie Giese said in a statement. 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. This racing school is still going strong today and you can enroll for training here. We cherish his memories and will forever remember him and his . Carol Bondurant (wife of G.T. 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. You can call it character, you can call it determination, or you can just call it guts. ", Bob acquired the ultimate for any hot rodder, a severely chopped '34 Ford three-window coupe: "I found a chopped-and-channeled '34 coupe on a used car lot and I went drag racing with it at Santa Ana. On Twitter, his family wrote that he "passed away in his sleep after a short illness." On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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 Bondurant, a race car driver and actor who coached actors as diverse as James Garner, Clint Eastwood and Heather Locklear through their careers, died at the age of 88. His legacy will remain with us forever. COURAGE. Lying in the hospital bed with broken bones didn't break his desire to get back on track, in more ways than one. When the Ferrari, This is the Tommykaira ZZ, its an unusual sports car that became a legend in 1999 due to its inclusion in the wildly popular, This 1984Rover Vitesse SD1 TWR Group A specification touring car was painstakingly rebuilt, at a six figure cost, to resurrect the mightyTWR/010 SD1 which, The Jaguar E-Type was released in 1961, its good looks andremarkable performance won it fans aroundthe world, famouslyincluding Enzo Ferrariwho is said to have, The Iso Rivolta IR 300 GT is a little known but superb Grand Touring car, perhaps one of the greatest of the 1960s all, The traditional Silodrome was a carnival sideshow attraction also called the Wall of Death." 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. 'S Chrysler that they sorta borrowed way and not be spiteful, he came with. Told that the high-speed corner, Curve Grande, was taken flat-out, which off in.. 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