Élie
Bayol

Élie Bayol was born in Marseille in 1914. He began racing in 1950 with 500cc DB-Panhards, competing in races and hillclimbs around France. That same year he took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing a car with DB co-founder René Bonnet. After an engine failure, Bayol repaired the car using the tools on board, and the pair were classified as finishers.

He contested seven World Championship races between 1952 and 1956. He made his debut for O.S.C.A. at the 1952 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, qualifying tenth before retiring on the opening lap with a gearbox failure. He stayed with O.S.C.A. in 1953, started twice and retired in France and Italy. He did not start in Switzerland. In 1954 he drove for Gordini alongside Jean Behra and finished fifth in the season opener in Argentina, which gave him his only World Championship points. In 1955 he retired from both of his World Championship races for Gordini, in Argentina and Monaco. A heavy crash in practice for Le Mans then brought his season to an end. The Monaco Grand Prix in 1956 was his only World Championship appearance that year. During the race he handed his car to André Pilette, who finished sixth.

At the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans, Bayol and Bonnet won the 750cc class and the Index of Performance in their DB-Panhard. The pair finished tenth overall.

Source: Wikipedia, “Élie Bayol”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.