299:, the eventual winner, staged a protest against the Le Mans start by calmly walking to his car and securing everything before he got underway, resulting in his being the last driver to leave the starting area. Woolfe, meanwhile, did not fasten his belts and started aggressively, making up several places on the opening lap. At the very fast Maison Blanche curve, however, towards the end of the lap, Woolfe lost control of the 917, which crashed heavily into the barriers, overturned and caught fire. He was thrown out of the cockpit by the force of the impact, and died from his injuries as he was being helicoptered to hospital. It was also reported that Woolfe had lost his door on the opening lap, but this was not confirmed. The 917's fuel tank was torn off in the impact and struck the
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had been seriously injured after crashing on the first lap when his unsecured driver's door flew open on the
Mulsanne Straight. Woolfe was advised by Porsche to let Linge start the race, as he had more experience with the 917, but Woolfe wanted his family to see him start, and was wary of a possible
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Martland withdrew from the event after almost crashing on his second practice lap in the car, judging that it was too fast for him. Woolfe also over-revved the engine, causing it to fail, but
Porsche transported a new unit to be fitted to his car. The German marque also loaned Woolfe two of its
240:. The 917 was a new car, built by Porsche to exploit a loophole in the entry requirements for the race, and was the fastest vehicle to take part in the event up to this point in its history. It was capable of 220 miles per hour (350 km/h) on the long
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was dropped to signal the start of the race, starting the engines and driving away as soon as possible. In the scramble to start, many drivers did not fasten their
361:("Who remembers John Woolfe?"). Woolfe's Chevron went missing for thirty years, but has recently been discovered in a German barn and is currently being restored.
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Woolfe was dissatisfied with the reliability of the
Chevron-Repco, and opted to buy a significantly more powerful
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166:(23 March 1932 – 14 June 1969) was a British racing driver from England, who specialised in
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book on Woolfe was published, written by Michel Boixière and Michel
Fournier and entitled
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Le Mans 1960-69: The
Official History of the World's Greatest Motor Race
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140,000 (£16,000) for the car, which was delivered to him at the
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early retirement preventing them from seeing him in action.
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or close their doors properly to save time, and in 1968
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480:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
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276:The 1969 Le Mans race began with a traditional
268:was scheduled to partner Woolfe in the race.
174:race, an event which caused the traditional "
443:List of 24 Hours of Le Mans fatal accidents
198:B12, specially adapted to be fitted with a
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581:The Long-Lost John Woolfe Racing Archives
511:Learn how and when to remove this message
591:L'orée - Qui se souvient de John Woolfe?
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205:, similar to the unit which had won the
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178:" to be abolished the following year.
359:Qui se souvient de John Woolfe ?
639:World Sportscar Championship drivers
634:Racing drivers who died while racing
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365:Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
126:John Woolfe Racing (private entrant)
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16:English racing driver (1932–1969)
534:. Sparkford: Haynes Publishing.
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35:John Woolfe at Le Mans 1969
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530:Spurring, Quentin (2010).
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328:1969 24 Hours of Le Mans
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219:1968 24 Hours of Le Mans
172:1969 24 Hours of Le Mans
495:more precise citations.
326:After his death at the
209:World Championships in
644:Sport deaths in France
609:English racing drivers
554:motorsportmemorial.org
556:. Motorsport Memorial
254:Circuit de la Sarthe
244:, but, with minimal
422:John Woolfe Racing
397:John Woolfe Racing
256:ahead of practice.
186:Woolfe was born in
100:24 Hours of Le Mans
576:John Woolfe Racing
468:list of references
334:was kept going by
332:John Woolfe Racing
541:978-1-84425-584-9
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558:. Retrieved
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190:. He was a
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83:(1969-06-14)
81:14 June 1969
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624:1969 deaths
619:1932 births
594:(in French)
560:10 November
493:introducing
426:Porsche 917
353:In 2009, a
344:drag racing
282:French flag
262:Kurt Ahrens
234:Porsche 917
207:Formula One
164:John Woolfe
131:Best finish
41:Nationality
24:John Woolfe
603:Categories
524:References
312:1970 event
305:Chris Amon
297:Jacky Ickx
286:seat belts
238:1969 event
150:Class wins
64:1932-03-23
501:July 2015
246:downforce
227:Chevrolet
203:V8 engine
73:, England
437:See also
310:For the
236:for the
223:Lola T70
90:, France
489:improve
430:S-5000
409:P-3000
401:Chevron
375:Result
348:Bedford
196:Chevron
88:Le Mans
52:British
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384:Class
322:Legacy
188:London
182:Career
102:career
71:London
474:, or
449:Notes
405:Repco
378:Team
372:Year
272:Death
200:Repco
123:Teams
108:Years
562:2010
536:ISBN
419:Ret
415:1969
403:B12-
394:Ret
390:1968
381:Car
338:and
215:1967
213:and
211:1966
142:1969
138:1968
134:DNF
117:1969
113:1968
78:Died
58:Born
342:in
303:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
