Olivier Gendebien

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Olivier Gendebien
Olivier Gendebien
Nationality 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png Belgian
Years 1956, 1958 - 1961
Team(s) Ferrari, Reg Parnell Racing, Emeryson
Races 15
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 2
Poles 0
Fastest laps 0
First race 1956 Argentine Grand Prix
First win
Last win
Last race 1961 United States Grand Prix


Olivier Gendebien, born January 12, 1924 in Brussels, Belgium and died on October 2, 1998 in Les Baux de Provence, in the Bouches-du-Rhône département of France, was a war hero and race car driver.

Born into a wealthy family, an heir to the industrial holdings of the Solvay family, Olivier Gendebien studied engineering at university but when World War II erupted and the Nazis occupied Belgium, he joined the Belgian resistance movement. Fluent in the English language, he served as the liaison with the British agents being parachuted into Belgium. Later in the War he went to England, serving with the British army as part of a Belgian paratrooper unit.

When the war ended Gendebien switched to the study of agriculture, spending several years working in forestry in the Belgian Congo where he met a rally driver named Charles Fraikin. Back in Belgium he teamed up with Fraikin to compete in rally racing, winning the Rome-Liège Rally and the Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti in 1955 driving a Mercedes 300SL. This brought Gendebien to the attention of Enzo Ferrari who offered him a contract to drive a Ferrari in sports car events and selected Grands Prix. Much respected as a true gentleman by everyone who knew him, he remained a member of the Ferrari team until he retired from racing.

During his career he competed in only 15 Formula One races, making his debut at the Argentine Grand Prix in 1956. While he met with only nominal success on the Formula One circuit, most of the time he was Ferrari's spare driver, filling in only occasionally. He scored his best finish ever, taking second in the 1960 French Grand Prix and third place in front of a home crowd at the Belgian Grand Prix. However, it was in sports car racing, particularly the long distance and endurance events, where Gendebien excelled.

In 1958, partnered with American Phil Hill, he won the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans. The duo were a natural fit and together they won the Le Mans race three times, with Gendebien winning it a fourth time, partnered with fellow Belgian Paul Frère.

Married with three children, Gendebien’s wife pressured him to get out of the dangerous sport of automobile racing where more than two dozen of his competitors had died at the wheel. At 38 years of age, in 1962 Olivier Gendebien retired following his fourth victory at Le Mans. Independently wealthy, and an avid skier, tennis player, and equestrian rider, he devoted the rest of his life to running a variety of businesses. In 1998 King Albert II awarded him the Belgian Order of the Crown.

Olivier Gendebien passed away in 1998 at his home in Les Baux de Provence in southern France.

Major race victories:

Complete Formula One results

(Note: grands prix in bold denote points scoring races.)

Yr Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Team
1956 Ferr ARG MON IND BEL FRA GBR DEU ITA       Ferr
1958 Ferr ARG MON DUT IND BEL FRA GBR DEU POR ITA MOR Ferr
1959 Ferr MON IND DUT FRA GBR DEU POR ITA USA     Ferr
1960 Coop ARG MON IND DUT BEL FRA GBR POR ITA USA   Coop
1961 Emer MON DUT BEL FRA GBR DEU ITA USA       Lotu



24 Hours of Le Mans winners
Eight-time Tom Kristensen
Six-time Jacky Ickx
Five-time Derek Bell · Frank Biela · Emanuele Pirro
Four-time Yannick Dalmas · Olivier Gendebien · Henri Pescarolo
Three-time Woolf Barnato  ·Rinaldo Capello ·Luigi Chinetti ·Hurley Haywood · Phil Hill  · Al Holbert  · Klaus Ludwig ·Marco Werner
Two-time Henry Birkin ·

Ivor Bueb · Ron Flockhart · Jean-Pierre Jaussaud · Gérard Larrousse · JJ Lehto · Allan McNish · Manuel Reuter · André Rossignol · Raymond Sommer · Hans-Joachim Stuck · Gijs van Lennep · Jean-Pierre Wimille

One-time Aïello ·

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