Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (; 30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a French racing driver and winemaker, who competed in Formula One from to . Trintignant won two Formula One Grands Prix across 15 seasons. In endurance racing, Trintignant won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with Ferrari.

Trintignant competed in Formula One in 11 different makes of car (a record), winning two Grands Prix across 15 seasons. He finished fourth in the and World Drivers' Championships with Ferrari. He entered 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from to , winning in alongside José Froilán González, driving the Ferrari 375 Plus, and finished runner-up in .

After retiring from motor racing, Trintignant moved into the winemaking trade, owning a vineyard in Languedoc-Roussillon, where he named his vintage Le Petoulet. Trintignant's nephew, Jean-Louis, was a highly successful actor in post-World War II France.

Racing career Trintignant began racing in 1938, and won the 1939 Grand Prix des Frontières, but his career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which his own Bugatti was stored in a barn. When he rebuilt it for an event of 1945, the Coupé de la Liberation, he overlooked a clogged fuel filter, which caused him to drop out of the race. It transpired that the filter was plugged with rat droppings, earning him the unenviable nickname, from another celebrated racer, Jean-Pierre Wimille, of Le Petoulet, "the rat-droppings man".Michael Kettlewell, World of Automobiles (Orbis, 1974), Volume 20, p.2368

In 1948, Trintignant suffered a very serious accident during a support race for the Swiss Grand Prix. He was thrown in the air, and landed in the middle of the race track. His heart stopped beating for one minute and 15 seconds at the hospital, and he was pronounced dead. However, he survived, and woke up after a week-long coma. He kept a very peculiar looking abdomen scar, as the surgeon stitching a large wound did it at a very irregular pace while his heart had stopped beating. For six months, he suffered from amnesia and a loss of motor skills, but he eventually made a near complete recovery. The corner at which he crashed was later named after him. His wife offered him a stuffed teddy bear during his recovery, and as a superstition, Trintignant kept it in his pocket while he was racing for the rest of his career. He returned to racing in 1949 and won a Formula Two race at the Circuit des Remparts that year.

By 1950, Le Petoulet was successful enough to be offered a works drive for the Gordini team, in the newly formed Formula One World Championship racing series. He competed in Formula One every year until his retirement after the 1964 season. During this long career, Trintignant scored two victories, both at the Monaco Grand Prix, in 1955 and 1958.Daily Express page 9 Monday 19 May 1958 Unusually for Monaco, both victories came from relatively far down the field, as Trintignant started those races from ninth and fifth respectively. 1954 and 1955 were his best Championship years and he finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship in both.

Trintignant won the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans with José Froilán González in a Ferrari 375 Plus, despite a seven minutes pitstop with one and a half hour to go, due to a faulty ignition wiring caused by the torrential rain.

Known for his conservative and reliable driving style, Trintignant drove a huge variety of cars, for many different teams: both works and privateer. Unusually, at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix Trintignant shared both second and third places, a product of the Scuderia Ferrari policy of passing cars to their top drivers, should their original car break down. In 1956, he drove the Bugatti Type 251 in the French Grand Prix, becoming the last driver to represent the famed marque at a Grand Prix race.Mattijs Diepraam, Colombo's flawed brilliance, 8W, October 1998. Even in his final season, driving his own BRM P57, he scored points, taking fifth place at the 1964 German Grand Prix on the intimidating Nürburgring. Between 1959 and 1966, Trintignant held the record for most World Championship Grand Prix starts. Following his retirement from racing, Maurice Trintignant returned to a quiet life as a wine-grower (naming his vintage Le Petoulet),ibid. near the town of Vergèze, in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine growing region.

Trintignant competed in the 2000 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, reunited with the Cooper T45 he had driven to victory there in 1958.

Trintignant died, aged 87, in 2005.

Major career wins Rheinland-Pfalz Preis – 1950 Mont Ventoux Hill Climb – 1949, 1960, 1964 Buenos Aires Grand Prix – 1954, 1960 Swedish Grand Prix – 1956 RAC Tourist Trophy – 1954 Circuit des Nations – 1950 Moroccan Grand Prix – 1956 Grand Prix Avignon – 1947 Albi Grand Prix – 1951 Grand Prix de Caen – 1952, 1954 Grand Prix de Cadours – 1952, 1953 Pau Grand Prix – 1958, 1959 (F2), 1962 (F1) Grand Prix de Rouen-les-Essarts – 1954 Grand Prix de Roubaix – 1952 Grand Prix des Frontières – 1938, 1939, 1953 2 Hours of Dakar – 1956 12 Hours of Hyères – 1954 10 Hours of Messina – 1955 Monaco Grand Prix – 1955, 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans – 1953, 1954

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Équipe Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA NC 0 Équipe Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s SUIDNA 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP NC 0 Écurie Rosier Ferrari 166 F2 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 SUI 500 BEL 16th 2 Équipe Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 FRA Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 GBR GER NED ITA Équipe Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 ARG 500 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA 12th 4 Écurie Rosier Ferrari 625 Ferrari 625 2.5 L4 ARG 500 4th 17 Scuderia Ferrari BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA Ferrari 553 Ferrari 554 2.5 L4 ESP Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 625 Ferrari 555 2.5 L4 ARG2+3† MON 500 GBR 4th 11 Ferrari 555 BEL NED ITA Vandervell Products Ltd Vanwall VW 2 Vanwall 254 2.5 L4 ARG MON 500 BEL GBR GER ITA NC 0 Automobiles Bugatti Bugatti T251 Bugatti 2.5 L8 FRA Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 801 Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8 ARG MON 500 FRA GBR4‡ GER PES ITA 13th 5 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Cooper T45 Climax FPF 2.0 L4 ARG MON NED 500 GER ITA MOR 7th 12 Scuderia Centro Sud Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 BEL Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 FRA R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Cooper T43 Climax FPF 2.0 L4 GBR POR R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Cooper T51 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 MON 500 NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA 5th 19 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Cooper T51 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 ARG3No points awarded for shared drive with Stirling Moss in the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix NC 0 Scuderia Centro Sud Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 MON 500 NED BEL FRA USA David Brown Corporation Aston Martin DBR5 Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 GBR POR ITA Scuderia Serenissima Cooper T51 Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4 MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER ITA USA NC 0 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Lotus 24 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 NED MON BEL FRA GBR GER ITA USA RSA NC 0 Reg Parnell Racing Lola Mk4A Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 MON BEL NED NC 0 Lotus 24 FRA GBR GER Scuderia Centro Sud BRM P57 BRM P56 1.5 V8 ITA USA MEX RSA Maurice Trintignant BRM P57 BRM P56 1.5 V8 MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER AUTDNA ITA USA MEX 16th 2

* Indicates shared drive with Harry Schell † Indicates shared drives with José Froilán González and Giuseppe Farina (2nd place) & Giuseppe Farina and Umberto Maglioli (3rd place) ‡ Indicates shared drive with Peter Collins

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Automobiles Gordini Robert Manzon Gordini T15S Coupé S 3.0 34DNF(Water radiator) Équipe Gordini Jean Behra Gordini T15S S 1.5 49DNF(Ignition) Écurie Rosier Louis Rosier Ferrari 340 America Spyder S 5.0 DNF(Clutch) Automobiles Gordini Harry Schell Gordini T26S S 3.0 293 6th 1st Scuderia Ferrari José Froilán González Ferrari 375 Plus S 5.0 302 1st 1st Scuderia Ferrari Harry Schell Ferrari 735 LM S 5.0 107DNF(Clutch) Scuderia Ferrari Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 625 LM Touring S 3.0 293 3rd 2nd Scuderia Ferrari Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 250 TR S 5.0 109DNF(Piston) David Brown Racing Dept. Tony Brooks Aston Martin DBR1/300 S 3.0 173DNF(Gearbox) David Brown Racing Dept. Paul Frère Aston Martin DBR1/300 S 3.0 322 2nd 2nd Porsche KG Hans Herrmann Porsche 718 RS 60 S 2.0 57DNF(Piston) Scuderia Serenissima Carlo Maria Abate Ferrari 250 GT SWB GT 3.0 162DNF(Transmission) Maserati France Lucien Bianchi Maserati Tipo 151/1 E +3.0 152DNF(Suspension) Maserati France André Simon Maserati Tipo 151/3 P 5.0 99DNF(Electrical) Ford France S.A. Guy Ligier Ford GT40 Roadster P 5.0 11DNF(Gearbox)

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1957 Ferrari Factory Peter Collins Ferrari 315 SS5.0187 6th 5th

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts Class 1962 Ford Motor Company Ford Zodiac Mk 3 SNE GOO AIN SIL? CRY AIN BRH OUL 22nd 6 3rd

Trivia He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur in 1960 Was the mayor of Vergèze between 1958 and 1964. Was married to Louise on 10 December 1938 Took over his father's vineyard On 10 October 2010 a bronze statue of a Bugatti Type 51 was unveiled in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes in his honour

Notes

References

External links Mattijs Diepraam, Colombo's flawed brilliance, 8W, October 1998.