Bondurants last championship was 1997 for the World Cup Challenge, racing for Steve Saleen. Bondurant began his racing career as many did in the United States, riding an American built motorcycle around an oval track. ", Bob knew the circuit well, having raced Le Mans in 1964, winning the GT Class in a Ford Daytona Coupe with Dan Gurney. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on October 2. I took his Jag up the mountain roadit handled really well, much better than my Ford. The family has requested privacy at this time. [citation needed], Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Successful successions: Business owners plan for smooth retirement transition", "Last Year Firebird Raceway and the Arizona NHRA Nationals; In 2014 it's Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Bondurant_School_of_High_Performance_Driving&oldid=1137791074, This page was last edited on 6 February 2023, at 13:15. 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. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his N.C. home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. This was said in a group of all my managers in a managers meeting: When she got back from Washington, D.C. for Trumps inauguration, she came back and said, Oh my god, when President Obama was elected all the black people must have followed him there because it was like going through Planet of the Apes, Jason Bondurant recalled. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, THE BOB BONDURANT SCHOOL OF HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVING. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc., 17030 Red Hill Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614, 949.417.6700 I learned to drive in my buddy's mom's Chrysler," Bob chuckles. The starting lineup of cars included Datsun 240Zs, 510s,[8] 2000 convertibles, a Lola T70 Can-Am car, and a Formula Vee. That's when other car owners took notice of Bob's driving ability. The CSX2345 had innovative, distinctive features including wider front fender flares, cutback doors, and a tilt-back windshield to reduce drag. I was taking my buddy around the track and said, 'This is really great isn't it?' 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 . American racing legend Bob Bondurant has passed away aged 88. November 14, 2021 9:30 AM, By RACER Staff | Bondurant also drove BRMs in five Grands Prix for Team Chamaco Collect, finishing 4th at Monaco. No one from the school, including Bob Bondurant himself, have issued a comment beyond the statement. [Bob Bondurant] is a very good man, Jason Bondurant said, mentioning his adopted fathers stroke, knee replacement and other health problems. Lying in the hospital bed with broken bones didn't break his desire to get back on track, in more ways than one. My life has been lived in two halves. 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. I talked my mom into letting me get a Whizzer motor bike. Hetrained the films lead actor, James Garner, to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. Of course we're blowing dirt up in the air from the exhaust so you could see us coming. []. He was one of a handful of Americans to compete in the Formula 1 Grand Prix series, and also raced at Le Mans. Everyone who walked through the Bondurant doors was taught the copyrighted Bondurant Method, developed by the most respected Racing School in the world. From the professional race track to the big screen, Bob Bondurant, for more than 50 years, has trained anyone with a drivers license and a set of keys to handle any vehicle at extremely high speeds by combining the oft-chased union of precision, safety and self-confidence. Bondurant, a member of 10 racing Hall of Fame classes, founded the driving school in 1968. I lived in Bishop about a year. Looking for something specific? Me and my buddies drove all over in that thing. He was 88. The aluminum Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe will start at $394,995. Bondurant passed away at the age of 88 and is survived by his wife, Pat, President and CEO of the. Answering the call, on February 14, 1968, Bob founded The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. But on Monday, the high-performance driving . I paid for it with my paper route money. In 1989, Bob was invited to Firebird Raceway in Chandler, AZ to consider a lease agreement to build the world's first purpose-built driver training facility. Bob was then inducted as the youngest member of the Galloping Gooses, which eventually became Hells Angels. At 23 years old, he discovered that he had more control with four wheels than he did with two, and his racing career began in a Morgan Plus 4. 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. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. "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. The Depression caused Mr. Bondurant (and Cord) to fall victim to hard times when he lost his business, telling the family, we're going to move as far west as we can. (But this was Formula 1, it's supposed to rain, be windy, and cold.). In 1956 he switched to sports car racing with a Morgan and started to attract attention when he won the West Coast "B" production Championship, in a Chevrolet Corvette winning 18 out of 20 races. "We still finished 17th, we were that far ahead," Guildstrand laughs. "And I liked to talk to him a lot. In 1973, Bob moved his already famous school to the track he purchased, Sears Point International Raceway (now Infineon Raceway) near Sonoma, CA in 1973. Still, more significantly, he won his last race in this very car at Pomona Raceway at the age of 79 and frequently tracked the car at his world-famous Bob Bondurant School of High Performance driving track. Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. The Bondurant Racing School has helped over 500,000 students graduate from its high-performance driving course. From the professional race track to the big screen, Bob Bondurant, for more than 50 years, has trained anyone with a driver's license and a set of keys to handle any vehicle at extremely high speeds by combining the oft-chased union of precision, safety and self-confidence. Being new, he was unaware the drivers carried spare goggles around their neck. "If I'd been strapped in the car I would have been decapitated. He said you buy the crank and I'll put the motor back together, and for every race you win I won't charge you. Bob happened on a used car lot where Don was working. 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. Bondurant is survived by his wife, Pat, who is president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School. PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. - Champion Race Car Driver Bob Bondurant died in Paradise Valley on Nov. 12 at the age of 88. Friday, November 12, 2021, the world lost an iconic American racing hero, Bob Bondurant. The founder, Bob Bondurant, began his career as a racing driver . I was going with a girl who I liked a lot, but she said, 'If we're going to get married you're going to have to stop racing motorcycles. He raced motorcycles on dirt tracks as a teenager before switching to cars in 1958 and racing for the Shelby American, Ferrari and Eagle teams. For 50 years, the Bondurant Racing Schoo l was a place where car enthusiasts and regular drivers could satisfy their need for speed on a closed track. Of course since Bob was an experienced dirt racer he could have picked up a used Midget or Sprinter and gone that route. He also has a position among the list of Most popular Formula One Driver. He was a member of Carroll Shelby's team, racing the famed Cobra. We had a meeting with Peyton Cramer and he wanted to go to Le Mans in 1967 and I said we gotta get one of the new L88s." I said where am I? In Bob's case, not wearing a belt saved his life. He called me asking, 'Do you know how to drive?' [citation needed], The famous Bondurant name has never been bought or sold. 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. 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. In 1966 Bondurant served as a technical consultant for John Frankenheimer's film Grand Prix and trained the film's lead actor James Garner to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. As Bob went through the corner the rear axle broke sending him off the course backward and down a ravine. 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. He was 88 and survived by his wife Patricia. 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. "It wouldn't idle under 70 mph. [citation needed], The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving has graduated over 500,000 drivers since its opening in 1968. Legendary American racing driver Bob Bondurants name will be forever linked with the Ford GT40, a car he drove at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965, helping the team win theInternational Championship for GT Manufacturers. . He was 88. In those days there were as many as 35 Vettes on the track at the same time. I raced an Indian 101 Scout motorcycle at De Anza Park in Riverside. Bob must've pinched himself: it was one thing to cruise the streets in his hot rod, but in a Formula 1 Ferrari! After five decades of training racers of all skill levels, the Bondurant High Performance Driving School in Chandler, Arizona has new name, the Radford Racing School. In 1963 he became a member of Carroll Shelby's Ford Cobra team, winning his first race at the Continental Divide Raceway in Colorado, followed by an overall win at the LA Times Grand Prix GT race at Riverside in October 1963. . (That was the 427 with solid lifers, aluminum headsjust one bad-glass, 500-horse Vette capable of 170-plus mph down the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. 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. (You can judge by this account how quickly the safety crews got to Bob.) [citation needed], Within 5 months, enough financial and infrastructural damage had taken place to force the legendary racing school into Chapter 11 protection. This racing school is still going strong today and you can enroll for training here. 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. At Le Mans he led the GT class until a wrist pin failed putting the car out in the early morning. Santa Barbara Chevrolet dealer Shelly Washburn hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his #614 1959 Corvette. Following a crash at Watkins Glen in New York, Bondurant opened the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in 1968. Bob should be an inspiration to anyone who has a dream he followed his. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into 10 motorsports halls of fame. 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. "There was a road on the outskirts of Bishop off Highway 2 where there was a dirt oval track that ran jalopy races. 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 died. Gregory was at Monza instructing Bob on the difficult course. Something went wrong. For 50 years, it earned and held a reputation as the number-one racing school in the world, crediting Bob as the global expert authority on driver training and safety. Using his notorious racing skills, he copyrighted The Bondurant Method. Personally, he taught his hand-selected instructors how to educate the world to be better drivers. Here are allegations of more general derogatory comments, via the ClassicCars.com Journal report: Two years ago, on the advice of an external human relations company, Jason Bondurant said he sent his mother home for two weeks after a worker overheard her making racist comments. Pat Bondurant, again, vehemently denied claims from the former employees about the management of the school. He put the motor back together and it ran strong. (How's that for motivation?) 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. Historically, courage changes everything. Though there have been many replicas of the Ford GT40 made over the years, none have been superior to the ERA GT. "He made my profession easier," Lance Henriksen, who played the vampire Gomorrah on "The X-Files," told The Chicago Tribune. Bob is the first and only American to bring the World SportsCar Championship trophy home to America in the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe No. He was 88. 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 . 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. It's either me or the motorcycle.' Bob Bondurant stepped back from the schools daily operations because he wanted to do the fun stuff later in life, Jason Bondurant said. ), "I had never been to Europe before so it was exciting to be able to race there," Guildstrand continues. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2003. 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. He initially approached Porsche for backing, but was temporarily declined due to the uncertainty of this being a new school. A statement on his passing reads, in part, "Bondurant is the only American. A buddy had a car so we towed it with a rope around a corner to my house and the rear wheels came off. They gave me the signal to pull in and I decided to take one more lap.". Later that month while driving a McLaren, at Watkins Glen, the steering arm broke at 150mph approaching the Loop-Chute section of Watkins Glen (the current Turn 5, but without the bus stop, which was installed in 1992). Died:. 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.. Bob's father bounced back, becoming a surgical instrument sale representative once in California. "I didn't think about the accident until we were doing the cool-off lap at the end of the race," he recalled. Were working through the proper legal channels to make the best choices for the long-term health and success of the school. [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. Bob Bondurant, who taught acting techniques for decades at his small-town Southern California race track, died Thursday after his suffering a stroke earlier this month. I delivered the Hollywood newspaper on my Schwinn bicycle," Bob begins. 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 died.
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