Joseph Théodule Marie Schlesser (18 May 1928 – 7 July 1968) was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed. He scored no championship points. He was the uncle of Jean-Louis Schlesser who himself became a Formula One driver in the 1980s.
Early career
Schlesser began his motor sport career in 1952, when he rallied a Panhard before, in 1954, trying the then popular French class of racing known as Monomill. His career was then interrupted for three years whilst he was working in Mozambique In 1966, he finished 10th in the overall classification and third in the Formula Two classification. In 1967, he was forced to retire with a clutch problem after two laps.
Formula One and death
An opportunity for a Formula One seat came for Schlesser in the 1968 French Grand Prix with Honda. The Honda team had completed an experimental air-cooled Formula One car (the RA302) which had been tested by their works driver John Surtees. Surtees pronounced it as not ready for racing, and a potential deathtrap. Undaunted, and with the financial help of Honda France, Honda entered it for the French Grand Prix at Rouen. Being the local hero, Schlesser was hired to drive it. After two laps, the car slid wide at the Six Frères corner and crashed sideways into a bank. The magnesium-bodied Honda and 58 laps' worth of fuel ignited instantly, leaving Schlesser no chance of survival. As a result, Honda withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 1968 season after Surtees had again refused to drive the car in the Italian Grand Prix.
Legacy
Guy Ligier, a close friend, former teammate and business partner, established his company Ligier Cars shortly after Schlesser's death, in fulfillment of the dream that they had shared, to build a "good car".
Ligier cars would receive type designators beginning with "JS" as a tribute to Schlesser. This tradition is being continued by Onroak, the current owner of Ligier Cars. Italian company Dallara would later adopt this style of nomenclature for their 2012 IndyCar entry by naming it after the new car's test driver Dan Wheldon, who had died in the final race of the new car's predecessor.
His nephew, Jean-Louis Schlesser, would also become a successful racing driver. He started in one Formula One Grand Prix, won the World Sportscar Championship and the Paris–Dakar Rally twice (1999 and 2000).
Racing record
24 Hours of Le Mans results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
! 1957
|align="left"| Automobiles D. B.
|align="left"| Jean-Claude Vidilles
|align="left"| DB HBR-Panhard
| S750
| 126
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1960
|align="left"| North American Racing Team
|align="left"| Bill Sturgis
|align="left"| Ferrari 250 GT California
| GT<br>3.0
| 253
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1963
|align="left"| David Brown Racing Dept.
|align="left"| William Kimberly
|align="left"| Aston Martin DP214
| P<br>+3.0
| 139
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1964
|align="left"| Ford Motor Company
|align="left"| Richard Attwood
|align="left"| Ford GT40 Mk.I
| P<br>5.0
| 58
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1965
|align="left"| Ford France S.A.
|align="left"| Allen Grant
|align="left"| AC Cobra Daytona Coupé-Ford
| GT<br>5.0
| 111
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1966
|align="left"| Matra Sport
|align="left"| Alan Rees
|align="left"| Matra MS620-BRM
| P<br>2.0
| 100
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1967
|align="left"| Ford France S.A.
|align="left"| Guy Ligier
|align="left"| Ford Mk IIB
| P<br>+5.0
| 183
| DNF
| DNF
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
NASCAR
(key) (<span style="font-size:85%">Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.</span>)
Grand National Series
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"
! colspan="69"| NASCAR Grand National Series results
|-
! Year
! Team
! No.
! Make
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! 21
! 22
! 23
! 24
! 25
! 26
! 27
! 28
! 29
! 30
! 31
! 32
! 33
! 34
! 35
! 36
! 37
! 38
! 39
! 40
! 41
! 42
! 43
! 44
! 45
! 46
! 47
! 48
! 49
! 50
! 51
! 52
! 53
! 54
! 55
! 56
! 57
! 58
! 59
! 60
! 61
! 62
!
! Pts
! Ref
|-
! 1964
! Bondy Long
! 77
! Ford
| CON
| AUG
| JSP
| SVH
| RSD
| DAY
| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| DAY<br>
| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DAY<br>
| RCH
| BRI
| GPS
| BGS
| ATL
| AWS
| HBO
| PIF
| CLB
| NWS
| MAR
| SVH
| DAR
| LGY
| HCY
| SBO
| CLT
| GPS
| ASH
| ATL
| CON
| NSV
| CHT
| BIR
| VAL
| PIF
| DAY
| ODS
| OBS
| BRR
| ISP
| GLN
| LIN
| BRI
| NSV
| MBS
| AWS
| DTS
| ONA
| CLB
| BGS
| STR
| DAR
| HCY
| RCH
| ODS
| HBO
| MAR
| SVH
| NWS
| CLT
| HAR
| AUG
| JAC
! NA
! 0
!
|}
Daytona 500
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Manufacturer
! Start
! Finish
|-
| 1964
| Bondy Long
| Ford
|align=center| 18
|align=center style="background:#DFFFDF;"| 13
|}
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
!
! Pts
|-
| 1966
! Matra Sports
! Matra MS5 F2
! Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4
| MON
| BEL
| FRA
| GBR
| NED
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| GER<br/>
| ITA
| USA
| MEX
|
|
|
! NC
! 0
|-
| 1967
! Écurie Ford-France
! Matra MS5 F2
! Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4
| RSA
| MON
| NED
| BEL
| FRA
| GBR
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GER<br/>
| CAN
| ITA
| USA
| MEX
|
! NC
! 0
|-
| 1968
! Honda France
! Honda RA302
! Honda RA302E 3.0 V8
| RSA
| ESP
| MON
| BEL
| NED
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FRA<br/>
| GBR
| GER
| ITA
| CAN
| USA
| MEX
! NC
! 0
|-
!colspan="18"|
|}
Non-championship Formula One results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! 21
|-
|rowspan=2| 1961
! Equipe Lausanne
!rowspan=2| Cooper T51
!rowspan=2| Climax FPF 1.5 L4
| LOM
| GLV
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| PAU<br/>
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| BRX<br/>
| VIE
| AIN
| SYR
| NAP
| LON
| SIL
| SOL
| KAN
| DAN
| MOD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Inter-Autocourse
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FLG<br/>
| OUL
| LEW
| VAL
| RAN
| NAT
| RSA
|-
| 1962
! Equipe Lausanne
! Cooper T51
! Climax FPF 1.5 L4
| CAP
| BRX
| LOM
| LAV
| GLV
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| PAU<br/>
| AIN
| INT
| NAP
| MAL
| CLP
| RMS
| SOL
| KAN
| MED
| DAN
| OUL
| MEX
| RAN
| NAT
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1963
! Inter-Autocourse
!rowspan=2| Brabham BT2
!rowspan=2| Ford 105E 1.5 L4
| LOM
| GLV
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU<br/>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| IMO<br/>
| SYR
| AIN
| INT
| ROM
| SOL
| KAN
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Jo Schlesser
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MED<br/>
| AUT
| OUL
| RAN
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| 1965
! John Willment Automobiles
! Lola T55 F2
! Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4
|style="background:#000000; color:#ffffff"| <span style="color:white;">ROC</span><br/>
| SYR
| SMT
| INT
| MED
| RAN
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| 1967
! Écurie Ford-France
! Matra MS5 F2
! Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4
| ROC
| SPR
| INT
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| SYR<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| OUL<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ESP<br>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!colspan="25"|
|}
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
!
! Pts
|-
|
! Ford France
! Matra MS5
! Ford
| SNE
| SIL
| NÜR
| HOC
| TUL
| JAR
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ZAN<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| PER<br>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| BRH<br>
| VAL
! 8th
! 13
|-
|
! Ecurie Inter-Sport
! McLaren M4A
! Ford
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HOC<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| THR<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| JAR<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| PAL<br>
| TUL
| ZAN
| PER
| HOC
| VAL
|
! 11th
! 5
|-
!colspan=16|
|}
External links
- Jo Schlesser's accident (in Italian)