René Le Bègue
Encyclopedia
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René Le Bègue was a Paris
ian-born French
race car driver in Rally
and Grand Prix motor racing
. In his first year of top level racing, his best showing came at the 1936 Spa 24 Hours
endurance race when he drove a Delahaye
to a 2nd place finish. In 1937 he and his co-pilot Julio Quinlin won the Monte Carlo Rally
driving a Delahaye. That year Le Bègue also won the Coupe de Vitesse at the Autodrome de Montlhéry
driving a Talbot-Lago T150
and had several top-three finishes. He then teamed up with André Morel to claim victory in the 1938 12 hours of Paris endurance race for sports cars. In 1939 he finished 3rd in the French Grand Prix
behind the dominant Auto Union
Silver Arrows
then went on to win the Grand Prix du Comminges
. The following year, Le Bègue traveled to the United States
to compete in the 1940 Indianapolis 500
. Driving a Maserati
for the American/French owner Lucy O'Reilly Schell, he started in the last row in 31st position but drove to a 10th place finish.
René Le Bègue continued racing until the German occupation of France during World War II when he joined the Free French Forces
. With the war over, in 1946 he prepared to return to the racing scene and was elected vice-president of the French Drivers Association (AGACI). However, early that year before the season started the thirty-two-year-old Le Bègue was accidentally asphyxia
ted by gas leaking from a defective water heater in his bathroom. The June 9, 1946 Grand Prix race at Saint-Cloud
, won by Raymond Sommer
, was named the René Le Bègue Cup in his memory.
René Le Bègue was a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian-born French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
race car driver in Rally
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
and Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...
. In his first year of top level racing, his best showing came at the 1936 Spa 24 Hours
Spa 24 Hours
The Total 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event held annually in Belgium at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Conceived by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem just one year after the first 24 Hours of Le Mans, the race was run under the auspices of the Royal Automobile Club Belgium...
endurance race when he drove a Delahaye
Delahaye
Delahaye automobile manufacturing company was started by Emile Delahaye in 1894, in Tours, France. His first cars were belt-driven, with single- or twin-cylinder engines. In 1900, Delahaye left the company.-History:...
to a 2nd place finish. In 1937 he and his co-pilot Julio Quinlin won the Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
driving a Delahaye. That year Le Bègue also won the Coupe de Vitesse at the Autodrome de Montlhéry
Autodrome de Montlhéry
Autodrome de Montlhéry is an automobile racetrack, officially called L’autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, located across the towns of Linas Bruyères-le-Châtel and Ollainville, outside Paris in the southside....
driving a Talbot-Lago T150
Talbot-Lago
Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago...
and had several top-three finishes. He then teamed up with André Morel to claim victory in the 1938 12 hours of Paris endurance race for sports cars. In 1939 he finished 3rd in the French Grand Prix
French Grand Prix
The French Grand Prix was a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One automobile racing championships....
behind the dominant Auto Union
Auto Union
Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....
Silver Arrows
Silver Arrows
Silver Arrows was the name given by the press to Germany's dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing cars between 1934 and 1939, and also later applied to the Mercedes-Benz Formula One and sports cars in 1954/55.For decades until the introduction of sponsorship liveries, each...
then went on to win the Grand Prix du Comminges
Grand Prix du Comminges
The Grand Prix du Comminges was an automobile race held in France.The race was named after the Comminges, one of the former Provinces of France in ancient Gascony in what is now the Haute-Garonne department of the Midi-Pyrénées region of France...
. The following year, Le Bègue traveled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to compete in the 1940 Indianapolis 500
1940 Indianapolis 500
The 28th running of the Indianapolis 500 took place on May 30, 1940. The winner was Wilbur Shaw in the number one car Maserati 8 CTF, the same car Shaw had driven to victory in 1939. Shaw became the first driver in the history of the race to win in consecutive years. It also marked Shaw's third...
. Driving a Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
for the American/French owner Lucy O'Reilly Schell, he started in the last row in 31st position but drove to a 10th place finish.
René Le Bègue continued racing until the German occupation of France during World War II when he joined the Free French Forces
Free French Forces
The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
. With the war over, in 1946 he prepared to return to the racing scene and was elected vice-president of the French Drivers Association (AGACI). However, early that year before the season started the thirty-two-year-old Le Bègue was accidentally asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
ted by gas leaking from a defective water heater in his bathroom. The June 9, 1946 Grand Prix race at Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...
, won by Raymond Sommer
Raymond Sommer
Raymond Sommer was a Grand Prix motor racing driver....
, was named the René Le Bègue Cup in his memory.
Indy 500 results
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