View source for Bob Bondurant

{{Short description|American racing driver (1933–2021)}}
{{primary sources|date=November 2021}}
{{more references needed|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox F1 driver|
| image = Bob Portrait2 sm.jpg 
| image_size = 
| caption = Bondurant in 2012  |
 name = Bob Bondurant |
 birth_date = {{birth date|1933|4|27}} |
 birth_place = [[Evanston, Illinois]], U.S.|
 death_date = {{death date and age|2021|11|12|1933|4|27}} |
 death_place = [[Paradise Valley, Arizona]], U.S.|
 Years = {{F1|1965}}–{{F1|1966}} |
 Team(s) = [[North American Racing Team]], [[Reg Parnell Racing]], non-works [[BRM]], [[Anglo American Racers|Eagle]] |
 Races = 9 |
 Championships = 0 |
 Wins = 0 |
 Podiums = 0 |
 Points = 3 |
 Poles = 0 |
 Fastest laps = 0 |
 First race = [[1965 United States Grand Prix]] |
 First win = |
 Last win = |
 Last race = [[1966 Mexican Grand Prix]] |
}}

'''Robert Lewis Bondurant'''<ref name="fox">{{Cite web|date=2021-11-13|title=Bob Bondurant 'iconic American racing hero' dies at 88 in Paradise Valley|url=https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/bob-bondurant-iconic-american-racing-hero-dies-at-88-in-paradise-valley|access-date=2021-11-14|website=FOX 10 Phoenix|language=en-US}}</ref> (April 27, 1933 – November 12, 2021) was an American [[racecar driver]] who raced for the [[Shelby American]], [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]], and [[Anglo American Racers|Eagle]] teams. 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. His [[Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving]] was responsible for training generations of American racing drivers.

==Career==
Bondurant was born in [[Evanston, Illinois]]. During his teens, Bondurant raced an [[Indian (motorcycle)|Indian]] motorcycle on dirt ovals. In 1956, he switched to [[sports car racing]] with a [[Morgan Motor Company|Morgan]] and started to attract attention when he won the West Coast "B" production Championship, in a [[Chevrolet Corvette]] winning eighteen out of twenty races.

Santa Barbara Chevrolet dealer Shelly Washburn hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his #614 1959 Corvette. Some of the best Corvette racing duels were between him and David McDonald on the West Coast during the early 1960s.  At the L.A. Times Grand Prix in October 1962, Bondurant drove Washburn's new 1963 Corvette Z06 Stingray. Between 1961 and 1963, he won thirty out of 32 races in Washburn's Corvettes.
[[File:Shelby Cobra Daytona (1965-05-23).jpg|thumb|left|The Shelby Daytona Coupé driven by Bondurant and [[Jochen Neerpasch]] at the 1965 [[Nürburgring 1000 km]]]]
In 1963, he became a member of [[Carroll Shelby]]'s [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[AC Cobra|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 International Raceway|Riverside]] in October 1963. For the 1964 FIA season after finishing second in GT at Sebring, Bondurant was in Europe racing the new 289 FIA Cobras at the [[Targa Florio]], Spa, and Nurburgring. His best-known victory was winning the GT class at [[Le Mans 24 Hours]] in 1964 in Shelby's new Cobra Daytona Coupe with [[Dan Gurney]] co-driving. In 1965, Bondurant won the FIA Manufacturers' World Championship for Shelby American and [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], winning seven out of ten races against the class dominating Ferrari 250 GTOs in Europe. In the same year he drove a works [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] Formula 1 car during the [[1965 United States Grand Prix|United States Grand Prix]] at [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]], and handled a [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] [[Lotus 33|33]] for [[Reg Parnell Racing|Reg Parnell]] at the following [[1965 Mexican Grand Prix|Mexican race]].

In 1966, Bondurant served as a technical consultant for [[John Frankenheimer]]'s film ''[[Grand Prix (1966 film)|Grand Prix]]'' and trained the film's lead actor [[James Garner]] to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. Bondurant was one of two drivers (alongside [[Graham Hill]]) to help extricate [[Jackie Stewart]] from his fuel-leaking wrecked car during the [[1966 Belgian Grand Prix]], the incident that led to Stewart's crusade for motor racing safety. Bondurant also drove [[BRM]]s in five Grands Prix for Team Chamaco Collect, finishing fourth at [[1966 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco]].  He finished the Formula One season in North America in two races, driving an Eagle for Dan Gurney's [[Anglo American Racers]].

For 1967, he drove in the [[Can-Am Challenge Cup|CanAm]] series and in a Corvette L88 Coupe at Le Mans. At Le Mans he led the GT class until a wrist pin failed putting the car out in the early morning. Later that month while driving a [[McLaren Cars|McLaren]], at Watkins Glen, the steering arm broke at 150&nbsp;mph approaching the Loop-Chute section of Watkins Glen (the current Turn 5, but without the bus stop, which was installed in 1992). Bondurant sustained serious rib, leg, foot and, most seriously, back injuries in the subsequent accident in which his car flipped eight times. Doctors told him he would likely never walk again, but through courage and hard work he overcame his injuries.

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''. The [[Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving]] opened in early 1968 at [[Orange County International Raceway]] then moved to [[Ontario Motor Speedway|Ontario]] and then to [[Sonoma Raceway|Sonoma]], where he was an important figure in the track's development. [[Nissan Motors|Nissan]] Motor Company (under [[Datsun]] name in the U.S.) was Bondurant's sponsoring partner in his school from its beginning, and continued in that role at the [[Sonoma Raceway]] driving school.

In the June 1969 run of the grueling offroad [[Baja 500]] race, Bondurant with co-driver Tony Murphy took first place in the passenger car class driving an [[Rambler American|SC/Rambler]] for [[James Garner]]'s "American International Racers" team that was sponsored by [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bob Bondurant|url=https://www.scca.com/pages/bob-bondurant|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Sports Car Club of America|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-06-28|title=Rambler Rogue Registry|url=http://www.ramblerrogue.com/maverick.htm|access-date=2021-11-14|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628070729/http://www.ramblerrogue.com/maverick.htm|archive-date=2009-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release|last=School|first=Bondurant Racing|title=Legendary World Driving Champion Bob Bondurant to Open New Location of Famed Racing School|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/legendary-world-driving-champion-bob-bondurant-to-open-new-location-of-famed-racing-school-301266526.html|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:James Coburn Bob Bondurant 1972 (headshot).JPG|thumb|upright|Bondurant in 1972]]
Bondurant had four [[NASCAR]] starts, all at [[Riverside International Raceway]], with his highest finish of eighteenth in 1981.

Following the [[1989 Loma Prieta earthquake]] he moved the driving school to [[Phoenix, Arizona]], where he enjoyed close ties to [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] and [[Goodyear Tires]].

Bondurant was a driving instructor to actors [[James Garner]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Robert Wagner]], [[Tim Allen]], [[Tom Cruise]], and [[Nicolas Cage]].<ref name=fox />

==Awards==
*Bondurant was inducted in the [[Motorsports Hall of Fame of America]] in 2003. <ref name="MSHoF">[http://www.mshf.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/bob-bondurant.html Bob Bondurant] at the [[Motorsports Hall of Fame of America]]</ref>
*He was inducted in the [[West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame]] in 2014.

==Death==
Bondurant died in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on November 12, 2021, at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife Pat.<ref name=fox />

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. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into ten motorsports halls of fame. Bondurant Racing School was founded in 1968 and has graduated celebrities for car movies like James Garner, Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, and Christian Bale, along with over 500,000 graduates from around the world. His legacy will remain with us forever."<ref name=fox />

==Racing record==
===SCCA National Championship Runoffs===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year !! Track !! Car !! Engine !! Class !! Finish !! Start !! Status
|-
| 1977 
| [[Road Atlanta]] 
| [[Chevrolet Camaro]]
|
| American Sedan 
| 6 
| 8 
| Running
|}

===Complete Formula One World Championship results===
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]])
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! WDC
! Points
|-
|rowspan=2| [[1965 Formula One season|1965]]
! [[North American Racing Team]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[Ferrari 158 F1|158]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
| [[1965 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]
| [[1965 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1965 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1965 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1965 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1965 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]
| [[1965 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1965 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1965 United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br />{{small|9}}
|
!rowspan=2| NC
!rowspan=2| 0
|-
! [[Reg Parnell Racing|Reg Parnell (Racing)]]
! [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] [[Lotus 33|33]]
! [[Coventry Climax|Climax]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1965 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|-
|rowspan=3| [[1966 Formula One season|1966]]
! [[Bernard White Racing|Team Chamaco Collect]]
! [[BRM]] [[BRM P261|P261]]
! [[BRM]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1966 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br />{{small|4}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1966 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br>{{small|Ret}}
| [[1966 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1966 British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br />{{small|9}}
| [[1966 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1966 German Grand Prix|GER]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1966 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|7}}
|
|
|
!rowspan=3| 14th
!rowspan=3| 3
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Anglo American Racers]]
! [[Anglo American Racers|Eagle]] [[Eagle Mk1|T1F]]
! [[Coventry Climax|Climax]] [[Straight-4]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#000000; color:#ffffff"| [[1966 United States Grand Prix|<span style="color:white;">USA</span>]]<br />{{small|DSQ}}
|
|
|-
! [[Anglo American Racers|Eagle]] [[Eagle Mk1|T1G]]
! [[Weslake]] [[V12 engine|V12]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1966 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|
|}

===Formula One Non-Championship results===
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 3|key]]) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
|-
| [[1971 Formula One season|1971]]
! Competition Developments
! [[Lola Cars|Lola]] [[Lola T192|T192]] (F5000)
! [[Chevrolet]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
| [[1971 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]
| [[1971 Race of Champions|ROC]]
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1971 Questor Grand Prix|QUE]]<br />{{small|25}}
| [[1971 Spring Trophy|SPR]]
| [[1971 BRDC International Trophy|INT]]
| [[1971 Jochen Rindt Gedächtnisrennen|RIN]]
| [[1971 International Gold Cup|OUL]]
| [[1971 World Championship Victory Race|VIC]]
|}

===Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
! {{Tooltip|Pos.|Overall Position}}
! {{Tooltip|Class<br>Pos.|Class Position}}
|-
! [[1964 24 Hours of Le Mans|1964]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Carroll Shelby International|Shelby-American Inc.]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Dan Gurney]]
|align="left"| [[Shelby Daytona|Shelby Cobra Daytona]]
| GT +3.0
| 334
| 4th
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| '''1st'''
|-
! [[1965 24 Hours of Le Mans|1965]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Rob Walker Racing Team|R.R.C. Walker Racing Team]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Carroll Shelby International|Shelby-American Inc.]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Umberto Maglioli]]
|align="left"| [[Ford GT40]] Mk.I
| P 5.0
| 29
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! [[1966 24 Hours of Le Mans|1966]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|USA}} [[North American Racing Team]] (NART)
|align="left"| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Masten Gregory]]
|align="left"| [[Ferrari 365 P2]]
| P 5.0
| 88
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! [[1967 24 Hours of Le Mans|1967]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|USA}} Dana Chevrolet Inc.
|align="left"| {{flagicon|USA}} Dick Guldstrand
|align="left"| [[Chevrolet Corvette (C2)]]
| GT +5.0
| 167
| DNF
| DNF
|}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{cc}}
* [http://www.bondurantracingschool.com/ Bondurant Racing School]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120501135255/http://www.bondurant.com/programs/karting Bondurant Kart Racing School]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120503221143/http://www.bondurant.com/programs/driving-racing-school-programs Bondurant Driving & Racing School Programs]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120421075525/http://www.bondurant.com/services/bondurant-methodology The Bondurant Methodology]
*Bob Bondurant America's uncrowned World Driving Champion (2007, Editions Cotty; {{ISBN|0-9765247-0-8}})
*Bob Bondurant Des Cobra à la Formule1 la meme passion (2008, Editions Cotty; {{ISBN|978-0-9765247-3-1}})

{{All American Racers}}
{{Formula One drivers from the United States}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bondurant, Bob}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:American Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers]]
[[Category:12 Hours of Reims drivers]]
[[Category:Trans-Am Series drivers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Illinois]]
[[Category:North American Racing Team Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Reg Parnell Racing Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Anglo American Racers Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers]]
[[Category:SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants]]