Pilette family in racing

[Toine]

Hello

I'm looking for interesting material( articles, pictures) about my family in racing (1900-1990).
Also i would like to know if, in the current Historic Challenge, their are former cars which someone from my family as raced in the past. I would be glad to meet the actual owners.
Thanx


Antoine Pilette

[Toine]

I post a picture of my grand father at Le Mans.

C U


Antoine Pilette

[TimD]

Wow! Toine, welcome to the forum. Your family name is a truly great one in the history of motor sport.

I'm certain that some of the GT/Le Mans cars will still be running in historic events, as old sports cars seldom get retired.

Can you give a humble researcher some dates for when the individual drivers from your family raced? So often I am confronted just with the surname Pilette, and then it's a question of trying to work out which individual a race report is referring to.


Great picture of the 250GT, incidentally. I'm guessing that this is the 1959 race, when Andre Pilette finished 4th, co-driven by George Arents.

[Toine]

Good morning,

Thanx a lot for your reply.
The journalist Denis Asselberg is doing a book about our family. It gonna be about the three generations which are Theodore,André and Teddy, mainly pictures.
I don't know by heart all the dates and facts but i gonna note down for you some stuff i know...
It's nearly 1am here and i'm not in a big shape to start thinking...i don't want to give your wrong dates,etc
Anyway, the book should be released around June-July, i'll tell you when excactly in a month.
Sorry if i sound akward but my english is not the best
You are right about the picture but i don't know alot about it... who's George Arents? his name sounds familiar to me...i think i've seen it in a Motorsport issue maybe..
http://www.barchetta.cc/english/all....berlinetta.htm
Well, thank you a lot for your welcome in the message board, i'll check it regularly
By the way, i'll be at Spa Ferrari Days April 29th, i'm going to try to take good pictures.

Have a good night

Antoine Pilette

[Marc C]

Hello Toine,

I'm new in this forum, but maybe the Golden Era Discussion Forum is new !!!

I think you could take a look at the Nostalgia Forum. It's in Atlas. I already have posted some stories about l'Equipe Nationale Belge, l'Ecurie Belge... Also in 8W: the story of the 1961 ENB, the Scirocco,...

At present I was very interested by the A-type Connaught. Your grandfather drove once in the 1953 Belgian GP at Spa. The car was lend to André by John Claes who drove an works Maserati A6GCM. It was decided before the race that he would have to pass over his car to one of the team's leaders (Fangio or Gonzales) if one of them had to meet with mechanical problems during the race. At the 13th lap, Fangio had mechanical problems and he thus took over the Claes' Maserati. 8th on lap 14, Fangio was third when he crashed at Stavelot just before the arrival.

During this time André was half poisoned by petrol fumes and would finish the race at the 11th place. It was not his best race, I admit. The yellow Connaught A "A4" Lea Francis still exists and is often entered in the VSCC events...

[Toine]

Hi!

Thanx a lot for your message.
I think i have a picture of that Connaught, just above my computer...do you recall which number was on the car?
Anyway i'm going to look in books to be sure and scan the picture so i could post it here if you would like.

One of my dreams is to get a close look at all the cars my family has raced and maybe have a drive in the passenger seat... when it's possible.
But i don't know how to introduce myself into VSCC events...
i'm a photographer also.


Regards,


Antoine Pilette

[TimD]

Good Lord!

You mean the yellow Connaught is the Pilette car? How could I not have made the connection???

In which case, Toine, this is one car with a family connection which is not only still raced, but is one of the very front-runners in historic racing. And it is piloted by Barrie Williams, the noted British club racer.

VSCC race meetings are easy to become involved with. You just arrive and enjoy. You don't have to be a member to get a ticket or anything, and the paddock is nothing like a contemporary race paddock. The spectators are free to mingle with cars, drivers and mechanics.

The first meeting of the season is next Saturday, April 18th, at Silverstone. The big one, though, will be on May 19 & 20, at Donington, when the VSCC will have a demonstration of Auto Union GP cars, as well as the normal programme of racing.

Thought of doing a quick weekend away in England?

[Toine]

oh oh oh

Are you really sure about the Connaught? does she come to VSCC events in Belgium? if yes, i'm sure i gonna try to come to the UK or at Spa to see it with my dad(Teddy's brother).
It's true, contemporary paddocks...are not really "warm"...i really hate the "spirit" they have now there... everything is VIP and sponsors stuff...if u see what i mean...
Are there some URLs where i could see Barrie Williams in action?

I thought about going to Goodwood's meetings this year but that Donington event with the Auto Unions...is really appealing.
I have the video tape which is with the last Motorsport issue... wonderful material!

Well, have a nice monday.

Antoine Pilette

[turn7]

Toine,

do you have photos of Teddy Pilette in
Racing Team VDS Formula 5000 cars ?

What is Teddy doing these days ? Has he kept in touch
with Count van der Straten ?

[Marc C]

The Yellow Connaught A4 was the 1953 car of John Claes in which he retired at Pau, was 6th at Bordeaux, 15th at Silverstone International Trophy, retired at Chimay, 6th at Albi, retired in the Dutch GP, retired at Rouen, 12th at Reims (ACF GP), 6th in the Avusrennen, retired in the German GP, retired at Les Sables d'Olonnes, retired at Charterhall, retired in the Italian GP and finished 7th at Modena.

André, as I said, drove once the car in the Belgian GP. His number was 40. I've seen two pictures of the car, number 40, in books or magazine:
in Francorchamps 1948-1960, page 161, by Jean-Paul Delsaux, in the monthly publication of the RACB, December 1954 announcing that André Pilette was 1954 Belgian drivers champion.

André also drove a Maserati F2 at Les Sables d'Olonnes.

[Pils1989]

Originally Posted by turn7

Toine,

do you have photos of Teddy Pilette in
Racing Team VDS Formula 5000 cars ?

What is Teddy doing these days ? Has he kept in touch
with Count van der Straten ?

I didn't remember I had been already registered on Ten-Tenth some years ago!

Teddy is more or less retired in South of France.
He's in touch with Herve VDS, chief-mechanic at the time and amateur photographer.
I know his son Raphael VDS who has most of the VDS archives or a least many many pictures. His son races in regional series in Belgium and he's in the same racing team "Ecurie Azur" (more like a club) than one of teddy's son, John Pilette.
So, yes, there are a 4th Pilette generation and 3rd VDS generation who are into racing nowaday.

[Formula 5000]

Toine,

If you ar still looking for Pilette information I had the pleasure of seeing Teddy race here in Australia during the 1970's in our summer Formula 5000 series. He raced the VDS Chevron B34 and well too.

There are a few photos captured on a great site here created by Chris at http://members.tripod.com/motorsportarchive/
You will need to copy it into your search.

You will need to choose 1970's racing page 3 and scroll to the bottom for February 1974 racing in Australia. Also there is an earlier photo of January 1971 McLaren 10b in New Zealand. Choose New Zealand page 2.

Hope you enjoy them.

[Pils1989]

Thanks alot for the pictures and Teddy appreciated to see them!