The name Bob Bondurant is synonymous with the Shelby Cobra. Bob competed in 36 different events after his crash up to 2004, which included Daytona, 24 Hour of Le Mans, Nurburgring, Germany, and the Sebring 12 Hour. When the transporter to take Bob's car to the circuit didn't arrive, it was decided that Bob should drive the Ferrari to the track. While recuperating from a race car crash, he came up with the idea of a high-performance driving school. 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. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on October 2. He also said Bob Bondurant, 85, isn't in the. Bob formulated a plan to open a high-performance driving school. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his N.C. home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. If I did well on the testdrive, I'd be driving the car the following year. My life has been lived in two halves. April 10, 2022 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Friend. "I didn't think about the accident until we were doing the cool-off lap at the end of the race," he recalled. 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 racing at Riverside Raceway when the crank broke in the Vette. The Bondurant Method is known worldwide as the #1 training methodology for professional drivers, movie stars, military and law enforcement. Bondurants last championship was 1997 for the World Cup Challenge, racing for Steve Saleen. (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. PHOENIX The racing world is still mourning the loss of world champion Bob Bondurant. The ClassicCars.com Journal report includes numerous detailed, on-the-record accounts from multiple former employees, and many of those accounts are substantiated in the sites comment section. It could happen again, if it did and the results were worse, how would he make a living, Bob wondered? He was 88 and survived by his wife Patricia. I said, I know you signed the petition, please do not leave because of me, he recalled telling employees. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. [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. A statement on his passing reads, in part, "Bondurant is the only American. We vehemently deny the allegations that have been made by a handful of former employees about how the school was being managed. By 14, he owned his first Indian motorcycle, and after the devastating death of his mother at 16 years old, he started racing flat track and even bigger Indians and Harleys. For the early part of the past year, it appeared that a sorry end awaited the school that had been founded by Robert L. Bondurant, a world champion racer, in 1968 in Orange County, California,. Bondurant is survived by his wife, Pat, who is president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School. The first was becoming a world champion driver. Lying in the hospital bed with broken bones didn't break his desire to get back on track, in more ways than one. Bob realized his dream, opening the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving at Orange County Raceway on Valentine's Day 1968 with a Vee-Dub van (minus the peace signs and daisies), a Datsun 510, and a Formula V for starters. (Photo via Getty Images), Public File for KBCW-TV / KBCW 44 Cable 12. We may earn a commission from links on this page. [citation needed], The famous Bondurant name has never been bought or sold. Certainly Bob's life was altered for the better as he was a bona fide Californian now going to Union High School in Westwood. Bondurant, 88, passed away last week unexpectedly and leaves behind his wife Pat Bondurant. When the Ferrari, This is the Tommykaira ZZ, its an unusual sports car that became a legend in 1999 due to its inclusion in the wildly popular, This 1984Rover Vitesse SD1 TWR Group A specification touring car was painstakingly rebuilt, at a six figure cost, to resurrect the mightyTWR/010 SD1 which, The Jaguar E-Type was released in 1961, its good looks andremarkable performance won it fans aroundthe world, famouslyincluding Enzo Ferrariwho is said to have, The Iso Rivolta IR 300 GT is a little known but superb Grand Touring car, perhaps one of the greatest of the 1960s all, The traditional Silodrome was a carnival sideshow attraction also called the Wall of Death." "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. "Then I thought, 'Wow, those trees are pretty tall!'". November 14, 2021 9:30 AM ET. Its sad that in this stage of life, hes not competent or mentally there like he was 20 years ago. 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. During the race it started to rain; it was cold with 40-mph winds. Do you wear belts or not? Bob Bondurant was a racing driver who founded the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, where he taught celebrities including Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. Driven by desire, Bondurant has always dominated. He has ranked on the list of those famous people who were born on April 27, 1933. His steering arm broke at 150mph, and, lying in traction at the hospital, he vividly remembers his conversation with God explaining to Bob that he was needed more on Earth and to start a driving and safety school to save thousands of lives of those otherwise dying on the highways and in motorsports. The starting lineup of cars included Datsun 240Zs, 510s,[8] 2000 convertibles, a Lola T70 Can-Am car, and a Formula Vee. Bob Bondurant, the racer and racing school owner/instructor. 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. Silodrome was founded in 2010 as a website dedicated to Gasoline Culture and all it entails - We write about modern cars, classic cars, motorcycles, racing, gear, gadgets, clothing, boats, planes, airships and the occasional submarine.Read more Silodrome 2023. all rights reserved. It featured a 15-turn, 1.6-mile road course, an eight-acre asphalt pad for advanced training with more than 100 race-prepared vehicles, sedans, and open-wheel cars. 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. He also worked trained actors for race-car movies such as the 1966 "Grand Prix . I actually live in Gilbert so I let her know. They might all wish to tip their hats to the founder, Robert Lewis Bondurant, who died Nov. 12 in Paradise Valley, Ariz., at the age of 88. The aluminum Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe will start at $394,995. Click here to view Vintage Motorsports appreciation of the amazing life of Bob Bondurant. It was in October 1965 that Bob drove a V-8powered Formula 1 Ferrari for the North American Racing Team entered by Luigi Chinetti, the U.S. Ferrari distributor. [citation needed], The current operators of the formerly leased facility have renamed the facility and has no affiliation with Bob Bondurant or the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving/ Bondurant Racing School. Friday, November 12, 2021, the world lost an iconic American racing hero, Bob Bondurant. ", Bob acquired the ultimate for any hot rodder, a severely chopped '34 Ford three-window coupe: "I found a chopped-and-channeled '34 coupe on a used car lot and I went drag racing with it at Santa Ana. He put the motor back together and it ran strong. Sadly, Bob died in 2021 after some years of poor health. 'No.' Everyone who walked through the Bondurant doors was taught the copyrighted Bondurant Method, developed by the most respected Racing School in the world. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [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 must've pinched himself: it was one thing to cruise the streets in his hot rod, but in a Formula 1 Ferrari! I talked my mom into letting me get a Whizzer motor bike. In 1967 while driving a McLaren CanAm car at Watkins Glen, Bondurant was seriously injured in a horrific crash when the steering arm failed at 150 mph. [citation needed], The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving has graduated over 500,000 drivers since its opening in 1968. . 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. Bondurant's story is well-known to racing fans and driving enthusiasts, how the champion driver had worked his way up from motorcycle competition to racing Cobras and Daytonas at Le Mans for Carroll Shelby's team, among his many accomplishments. As a result, the schools assets, not the Bondurant name, were sold off in 2019. While driving a McLaren at Watkins Glen, the car's steering arm fails at around 150 mph, which . Be a part of the unmatched history and credibility of the legendary Bondurant Brands and copyrighted teaching methodology. Bob is the first and only American to bring the World SportsCar Championship trophy home to America in the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe No. Oh sure! Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Contact Us, Sculpture: An Original Ferrari Testarossa Side Mirror, A Rare Tommykaira ZZ: The Japanese Sports Car Made Famous By Gran Turismo, Theres A Rover Vitesse SD1 TWR Group A Spec Touring Car For Sale, The Most Beautiful Car Ever Made A Jaguar E-Type Project Car, For Sale: An Italian Corvette The Iso Rivolta IR 300, An Original 1980s Sega Super Hang-On Arcade Machine. Tim Rose, the former general manager of the school, also told the abovestory to Jalopnik. Partner of USA Today Sports Digital Properties. Looking for something specific? 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