I received the call Saturday night from a buddy in Istanbul and the news wasn’t good..Legendary American race car driver Bob Bondurant, had passed away the night before at age 88 of an unspecified illness..While I wasn’t a friend of Bob’s, my buddy was and he will likely attend the funeral service in Phoenix, Arizona, where he and wife Pat lived and operated the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving..I also had the good fortune to interview him once, by phone, and the man could not have been nicer, more polite or honest in his answers..Permit me to relate some of that discussion today, as a tribute to this great man..There was a time when Bondurant, along with American automakers faced the insurmountable task of knocking the Ferrari GTs off their FIA pedestal in European racing — a story which has been told in the recent Film, Ford vs. Ferrari.. Bob-Bondurant-racingBob Bondurant .I asked about this and he recounted his baptism of fire at Le Mans in 1964..He can still conjure the image. The Shelby Cobra Daytona coupe literally rolled out of a box at Circuit de la Sarthe, having never been tested — an auto racing no-no of the highest order..And he, having never been there before. Teammate Dan Gurney had, but DNF’d four times..The strategy was simple. “I said Dan … do me a favor. You’ve been here, four times, never finished … picture that car as a nice and beautiful woman, and don’t drive it hard. Take care of the revs on the engine … and the gearbox.”.They had one advantage. Bob, said one driver, “had Hollywood looks.” .While Bob laughed at that suggestion, there wasn’t much else to brag about at the time, especially with the sneers from the Ferrari paddock..Built in a small “hole-in-the-wall” shop in Modena Italy, the Shelby’s wheels turned for the first time during a practice session. Think about that for a moment — the car showed up at Le Mans, having never touched a track. .Yes, the prototype had been tested in America. But that car wasn’t meant to race..Worse yet, rival Enzo Ferrari — “Il Commendatore” himself — had actually visited the Modena shop, looked at the Shelby Cobra being assembled, and was not impressed.. Bob-Bondurant1Bob Bondurant .While workers hand-hammered the aluminum body from blueprints, Ferrari laughed openly when he saw the chopped-off rear end, saying: “It will never work.”.Well, not only did it work but Bondurant and Gurney, coupled with the unrelenting 385-hp Ford 289 engine with Weber two-barrel carbs, handily beat the Ferrari 250 GTOs, finishing 4th overall and winning the GT class..The car that had been literally “shot out of a cannon” and survived lap, after lap, after lap — that Ford 289 churning all night, without a hitch — delivered a mighty wake-up call to the wizards of Maranello. .It’s said even the prancing horse logo did a double-take..Bondurant recalls the car had no problem hitting 197 mp/h on the imposing Mulsanne straight, which was then 6 kilometres long. A veritable death zone for drivers lacking concentration..To make the ending even more exciting, Carroll Shelby hadn’t told Bob what normally happens at the end of a race when the prototypes cross the finish — fans will immediately climb over the walls and run rampant before the race is actually over..With the Ferraris “right on my ass,” Bondurant says he did his best to avoid hitting anyone and still come home victorious..He would go on to win the 1965 FIA World Championship for Shelby American and Ford, winning an amazing seven out of ten races — to this day, his greatest achievement. .His startling GT lap record at Nurburgring — tagged the so-called “Green Monster” by Jackie Stewart — would also stand for 15 years..Stewart, by the way, still credits Bob with helping to save his life during a horrible crash at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1966 when he and two other drivers freed him from the wreckage..If anyone knows how to be competitive, it’s Bob Bondurant. Whether he stepped into a GT car, a Formula One car or a CanAm car, he was smooth and fast. Given half a chance, he would dominate a race. .So great were his talents that Hollywood came to his doorstep to help teach movie actors how to drive in the epic film Grand Prix, still considered to be one of the greatest racing films.. Bob-Bondurant-with-Clint-EastwoodBob Bondurant with Clint Eastwood .That peak of brilliance was halted by a near-fatal crash at Watkins Glen, New York, in 1967 — due to a mechanical failure — but it also gave birth to the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving — an idea he came up with while recuperating in a hospital bed from extensive injuries..Of course, I had to ask the big question — just how does one win in racing. What was his secret to success, to being so fast..“Tenacity,” he says, matter-of-factly, as if it were imprinted on his helmet visor. “You have to believe in your car …. mentally, you have to convince yourself you are going to win the race … not worry about times or being faster..“Don’t let the race get so big in your head, that you are not in your own head. You can’t lose sight that you have a job to do, and it’s going to require focus. Don’t focus on the what-ifs.”.Team chemistry is also important, although in Bob’s day they only had two drivers, not three or four, and they existed on baloney sandwiches, candy bars and Orange Crush pop. .Rest stations were simple trailers pulled behind cars. They alternated 2 1/2-hour shifts..“The way I raced, I was looking way, way ahead. If you drive too hard, you may blow the engine or the gearbox … The key is to enter a corner smooth, and come out fast. If you come in too fast, you’ll have to brake too hard, and that will cut your lap times down.”.The skill was taught at Bondurant’s racing school, of course. Although the school would go into receivership a few years ago and is poised to relaunch at a new location, it lasted more than 50 years and earned an international reputation for churning out top drivers..Interestingly, some of the very first race cars at his school were Datsuns, and as such he became lifelong friends with the Japanese carmaker’s president, the legendary Yutaka Katayama. .For the latter’s 100th birthday, Katayama flew Pat and Bob to Japan, to satisfy his one birthday wish — to have Bondurant do hot laps with him on a test track in Japan..In closing, and out of intense curiosity, I ask what he thinks of the incredible advances in technology, where race drivers must juggle engine modes, traction control setting, tire wear, fuel usage and more..Bondurant, who had just turned 85, laughed. .He has no sympathy for “crybabies” who have cool suits, culinary chefs, hyperbaric rest chambers and masseuses. .The Shelby Cobra only had a tiny window for fresh air and it was largely useless. Their only communication was a small blackboard after the Mulsanne straight..If anyone on a current racing team complains about anything, he has no patience for it. .“He should not be on the team, plain and simple,” says Bob, who believes in a strong, positive team vibe..“Racing today is so sanitized,” he says, but not in a way that demeans anyone or anything. .“I don’t know how these drivers can stand it. But the truth is, they don’t go much faster.”.He’s right, they don’t. And in Bob Bondurant’s day, racing was largely fuelled by passion — from the very inception of the car to the circuit and the drivers. .A lesson, perhaps, which still holds true..A statement on his passing 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. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into ten motorsports halls of fame. Bondurant Racing School was founded in 1968 and has graduated celebrities for car movies like James Garner, Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Nicholas Cage, and Christian Bale, along with over 500,000 graduates from around the world. His legacy will remain with us forever.”.Dave Makichuk is a Western Standard contributor. .,He has worked in the media for decades, including as an editor for the Calgary Herald. He is also the military editor for the Asia Times.,.makichukd@gmail.com
