This week's reunion will be calmer, just a few minutes quietly recalling the life-changing event as . He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2003. The veteran F1 guys were spinning out; Bob being a newcomer to F1, but a seasoned dirt-tracker, weathered the storm, so to speak. In the same year he drove a works Ferrari Formula 1 car during the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, and handled a Lotus 33 for Reg Parnell at the following Mexican race. 'No.' The copyrighted Bondurant teaching method caters to professional drivers, military, law enforcement, and actors. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. Power is provided by a highly-tuned, period-correct Ford 289 V8 which sends power to the rear wheels via aZF five-speed manual transaxle. Of course since Bob was an experienced dirt racer he could have picked up a used Midget or Sprinter and gone that route. This story has been updated with allegations from the Bondurant schools former general manager, Tim Rose, and comment from FCA. Here are allegations of more general derogatory comments, via the ClassicCars.com Journal report: Two years ago, on the advice of an external human relations company, Jason Bondurant said he sent his mother home for two weeks after a worker overheard her making racist comments. The Bondurant team, along with many friends, fans, graduates, journalists, celebrities, an. He raced motorcycles on dirt tracks as a teenager before switching to cars in 1958 and racing for the Shelby American, Ferrari and Eagle teams. Bondurant taught stunt driving, competition driving, police pursuit driving, evasive driving for chauffeurs and bodyguards, plus other skills, according to the website. Its a car that was developed to be indistinguishable from the original, despite the fact that it has a stronger chassis, a more heavy duty body, and even optional air-conditioning. He offered Bob a full Ford sponsorship of cars, parts, and marketing until 2003. Partner of USA Today Sports Digital Properties. This as around the time he caught the attention of Carroll Shelby, who was looking to hire the best drivers he could find for his new Ford Cobra team. Bob Bondurant, who taught acting techniques for decades at his small-town Southern California race track, died Thursday after his suffering a stroke earlier this month. This entire matter has broken Bobs heart. The Bondurant Racing School was founded in 1968 and . Articles that Ben has written have been covered onCNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine,Road & Track Magazine,the official Pinterest blog, theofficialeBay Motorsblog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more. Badly injured in a 1967 crash at the racetrack in Watkins Glen, New York, Bondurant drafted an idea for a high-performance driving school while recuperating. PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) -- 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. Bob Bondurant was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1933. For 50 years, it earned and held a reputation as the number-one racing school in the world, crediting Bob as the global expert authority on driver training and safety. Using his notorious racing skills, he copyrighted The Bondurant Method. Personally, he taught his hand-selected instructors how to educate the world to be better drivers. A statement on his passing reads, in part, "Bondurant is the only American. He was a member of Carroll Shelby's team, racing the famed Cobra. The Bondurant edition Shelby 289 FIA Cobra roadster in fiberglass will start at US$149,995.00 and the aluminum version will begin at $249,995. Bob Bondurant, a race car driver and actor who coached actors as diverse as James Garner, Clint Eastwood and Heather Locklear through their careers, died at the age of 88. Within a few years Bondurant had become one of the most promising drivers on the West Coast, between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races driving Corvettes for Santa Barbara Chevrolet dealer Shelly Washburn. Bondurant also drove BRMs in five Grands Prix for Team Chamaco Collect, finishing 4th at Monaco. The interior is an almost exact replica of the original, with the exception of the Bob Bondurant signature on the glovebox of course. Santa Barbara Chevrolet dealer Shelly Washburn hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his #614 1959 Corvette. 'Do you have a license?' As a result, the schools assets, not the Bondurant name, were sold off in 2019. We vehemently deny the allegations that have been made by a handful of former employees about how the school was being managed. How many sharing the road with Bob that day did double takes to make sure they saw what they thought they saw? He was going to a motorcycle shop in Glendale where Don Bachtold workedhe was a top motorcycle mechanic. I had learned how to ride the bike by now. In 1966 Bondurant served as a technical consultant for John Frankenheimer's film Grand Prix and trained the film's lead actor James Garner to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. He raced the Shelby Cobra CSX2345 through the 1964-1965 racing circuits and locked in more wins than anyone else on Shelby's team. The other dealers weren't racing like we were. They have no idea where we are going.". Bondurant passed away at the age of 88 and is survived by his wife, Pat, President and CEO of the. Here are a few of the claims, via the ClassicCars.com Journal, emphasis theirs: Multiple employees said Pat Bondurant made derogatory comments about people who lived in certain Phoenix suburbs. Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Washburn's Corvettes. He was finally reunited with his elusive GT40, and wow, did he have fun tracking this car for the next eight years!, Bob tracked this car at a Shelby reunion on the Fontana Raceway. What Bob Bondurant started 22 years ago as a part-time business for a crippled race driver--a driving school at Orange County Raceway with three Datsuns and a Formula Vee--has turned into a . He'd fallen out of the car! There's a definite correlation between Dan Gurney's budding start and Bob's. [9], In late 2018, Bob Bondurant and wife Pat, found themselves embroiled in an unfortunate and unforeseen family business situation where they were victimized as a result of a power struggle and attempted character assaults perpetrated by certain close family members looking to take over the company. Bondurant), Jack Bondurant's daughters, Emmie Lee Gagni . They gave me the signal to pull in and I decided to take one more lap.". This is Bob Bondurant at Riverside Raceway with the Shelby GT350 Mustang prototype for testing in 1965. After five decades of training racers of all skill levels, the Bondurant High Performance Driving School in Chandler, Arizona has new name, the Radford Racing School. 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. We used to go to my aunt's house for Christmas dinner and my cousin had a big four-door Jag Mark VII. Bob Bondurant was a racing driver who founded the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, where he taught celebrities including Paul Newman (1925-2008) and Tom Cruise. Over the years 52 drivers and 35 spectators have lost their lives on the 3.6-mile track. Initially Bob worked for Carroll Shelby as a instructor before forming his own school in 1968 after his competitive career effectively ended a year earlier after a colossal crash at Watkins Glen in the US Road Racing Championship event there saw him break both legs and a shoulder. If you put it that way, I have to race. 26. Bob's massive 60-acre complex in Arizona is designed to show students the fastest and safest way around the 1.6-mile road course. PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) 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. Bob had a faster qualifying speed than Pedro Rodriguez at 1:13.0 in the 12-cylinder Ferrari. Funeral plans were not immediately available Sunday. I raced that bike for a long time.". 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 was formerly located in Chandler, Arizona at the Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. We cherish his memories and will forever remember him and his . Nissan Motor Company (under Datsun name in the U.S.) was Bondurant's sponsoring partner in his school from its beginning, and continued in that role at the Sonoma Raceway driving school. "I talked my mom into letting me get a '32 Chevy roadster when I was in junior high; at 14 you could get a Junior Operating License. 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 was really cool because I could do wheelies with it. The new owners a . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. . In Bob's case, not wearing a belt saved his life. Not long after he was born in Illinois in 1933, his. I learned to drive in my buddy's mom's Chrysler," Bob chuckles. Doctors told him he would likely never walk again, but through courage and hard work he overcame his injuries. It's constantly changing; technology advances, drivers get better, and times get faster. Bob's time was 1:12.9, which put him on the outside of the seventh row next to Jochen Rindt from Germany (Rindt was killed at Monza in 1970). Some of the best Corvette racing duels were between him and David McDonald on the West Coast during the early 1960s. Something went wrong. Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. In response to the claims that employees feared they wouldnt get paid without Jason Bondurant or Arvizu, Shaffer told ClassicCars.com Journal Bondurant never missed or were late on a payroll, citing school records. Bondurant was born in Evanston, Illinois. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Answering the call, on February 14, 1968, Bob founded The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. Free shipping for many products! "What a great feeling," was Bob's comment on the occasion. He initially approached Porsche for backing, but was temporarily declined due to the uncertainty of this being a new school. During his teens, Bondurant raced an Indian motorcycle on dirt ovals. Bondurant, 88, passed away last week unexpectedly and leaves behind his wife Pat Bondurant. He was thrown out of the car. The Great Depression altered countless lives and maybe some for the better. Bondurants last championship was 1997 for the World Cup Challenge, racing for Steve Saleen. Bondurants final race in this car was in 2012 at the Auto Club Raceway Pomona, unsurprisingly hes said to have won despite being 79 years old. Be a part of the unmatched history and credibility of the legendary Bondurant Brands and copyrighted teaching methodology. 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. ERA GTs often sell for six figure sums when they do come up for sale, such is the esteem in which they are held. Hetrained the films lead actor, James Garner, to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. Racer.com traced his life story: [], [] driving school founder Bob Bondurant died Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88,Racerhas [], [] and driving school founder Bob Bondurant died Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88, Racer has learned.The son of a car dealer, Bondurant began racing in Corvettes on the West Coast in the [], Bob Bondurant, 1933-2021 RACER - Jakhala.com, Racing legend Bob Bondurant lifeless at 88 Abrar Gadget Shop, Racing legend Bob Bondurant dead at 88 AutoSector.com , BOB BONDURANT 1933-2021 The Road Racing Drivers Club, Racing legend Bob Bondurant dead at 88 - Aftermarket Alloy Wheels, Racing legend Bob Bondurant dead at 88 Born To Be Wild, All contents copyright 2023, Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. He raced mostly in the USA but also spent one full season in the Formula One World Championship in 1966. He is survived by his wife, Pat. Carol Bondurant (wife of G.T. I said, 'OK if you let me ride your Harley', there was a vacant lot and we made an oval out of it which had some jumps. I paid for it with my paper route money. In 1976, the President of Ford Motor Company convinced Bob to no longer use the Datsun's since he won the World Championship in cars powered by Ford. (Update: A Fiat Chrysler spokesperson said that due to the ongoing litigation, the company cannot comment on the claims in the bankruptcy documents.). 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. 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. 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,. When the Bondurant school did reopen, new chief restructuring officer Timothy H. Shaffer said the school was working to reschedule classes from the closure period. The body is made from fiberglass, just like the Ford GT40s, however its a slightly thicker lay up that was developed to stand the test of time, with no warping or spider webbing/stress cracking. "My mom and dad had divorced, then mom died when I was 16. Bob and I are deeply saddened by the negative rumors that have been published around the Schools recent Chapter 11 filing, the statement from Pat Bondurant read. 1. I got a Model A roadster body and frame from Economy Auto Wrecking in Bishop and put it together. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, THE BOB BONDURANT SCHOOL OF HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVING. Bondurant won 30 of 32 races in Corvettes from 1961-63, and he won the GT class at Le Mans in 1964, co-driving with fellow American Dan Gurney. Friday, November 12, 2021, the world lost an iconic American racing hero, Bob Bondurant. When he took the petition to Pat Bondurant, he told Jalopnik, she threw it at him and said, Fuck you. She did not respond to the individual allegations here or on ClassicCars.com Journal, with a representative for the school instead sending a statement similar to the one given to that outlet. If youd like to read more about it or cast a bid you can visit the listing here. She had a Chrysler. Right now, Bondurant's class sizes are about 60 percent full,. "Then I thought, 'Wow, those trees are pretty tall!'". Since Bob has never stopped racing (he still enters vintage events), he still has some sneaky moves his experienced instructors have never seen before.