Robert L. Bondurant was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. 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.
Bob was born in Evanston, Illinois. During his teens, Bondurant raced motorcycles on dirt ovals. In 1956 he switched to sports car racing and this attracted attention. Bob won the West Coast "B" production Championship, in a Chevrolet Corvette winning 18 out of 20 races.
A Santa Barbara car hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his 1959 Corvette. Some of the best Corvette racing duels were between him and David McDonald on the West Coast during the early 1960s. At the L.A. Times Grand Prix in October 1962, Bondurant drove Washburn's new 1963 Corvette Z06 Stingray. Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Washburn's Corvettes.
In 1963 he became a member of Carroll Shelby's Ford Cobra team, winning his first race at the Continental Divide Raceway in Colorado, followed by a win at the LA Times Grand Prix GT race at Riverside in October 1963. For the 1964 FIA season after finishing 2nd at Sebring, Bondurant was in Europe racing the new 289 FIA Cobras at the Targa Florio, Spain. His best-known victory was winning the GT class at Le Mans 24 Hours in 1964 in Shelby's new Cobra Daytona Coupe with Dan Gurney co-driving. In 1965 Bondurant won the FIA Manufacturers' World Championship for Shelby American and Ford, winning seven out of ten races against the class dominating Ferrari 250 GTOs in Europe. In the same year he drove a 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.
Bob served as a technical consultant for the 1966 film Grand Prix and trained the film's lead actor James Garner to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. Bondurant was one of two drivers to help extricate Jackie Stewart from his fuel-leaking wrecked car during the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix, the incident that led to Stewart's crusade for motor racing safety. Bondurant also drove in five Grands Prix, finishing 4th at Monaco.
In1967 he drove in the CanAm series and in a Corvette L88 Coupe at Le Mans. At Le Mans he led the GT class until a wrist pin failed putting the car out in the early morning. Later that month while driving a McLaren, at Watkins Glen, the steering arm broke at 150 mph . Bob sustained rib, leg, foot and, most seriously, back injuries in the accident in which his car flipped eight times. Doctors told him he would likely never walk again, but through courage and hard work he overcame his injuries.
While recuperating, Bob had an idea for a driving school borrowing from the experiences he had while training James Garner for Grand Prix. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving opened in early 1968 at the Orange County International Raceway in Southern California, eventually moving to Sonoma, California.
Bob participated in four NASCAR starts, all at Riverside International Raceway, with his highest finish of 18th in 1981. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake he moved the driving school to Phoenix, Arizona.
Bob was a driving instructor to actors James Garner, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Wagner, Tim Allen, Tom Cruise, and Nicolas Cage for the movies they starred in that required skills driving a race car.
Bob Bondurant died in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on November 12, 2021, at the age of 88.∼Bob Bondurant, champion driver and founder of the Bondurant Racing School, passed away Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into 10 motorsports halls of fame. The 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. Robert Lewis Bondurant was born to John Roper Bondurant and Ruth Williams Bondurant of Evanston, Ill. His father owned two luxury car dealerships named "Bondurant Motors." When Bob turned two years old, the family moved to Westwood Village, Calif. Bob began his fascination with speed as a three-year-old on his first tricycle with playing cards clothes pinned on his spokes for the sound of the rush. At age 8, his father introduced him to racing by taking him to Thursday night midget races. By 12 years old, his parents were divorced, and he persuaded his mother to purchase a Whizzer electric bike to deliver his newspapers faster. 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. His mother's death left him inconsolable, which is where the seed of his fearlessness was realized. Bob was then inducted as the youngest member of the "Galloping Gooses," which eventually became "Hell's Angels." At 23 years old, he discovered that he had more control with four wheels than he did with two, and his racing career began in a Morgan Plus 4. From the age of 23 to 34, Bob became one of the most iconic race car drivers in the world. He had won the National Corvette Title, Le Mans GT, the World Championship, and the Baja 500… Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Corvettes. Bob is the first and only American to bring the World SportsCar Championship trophy home to America in the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe No. 26. He then rose to the highest level in racing with Ferrari in Formula 1 and prototypes. Bondurant left the Formula 1 race series to race the even faster Can-Am cars with best friend and team driver, Peter Revson, in the Lola T70 Mark II. In 1967, a fateful race at Watkins Glen changed his entire career, and the Bondurant School was born. 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. Answering the call, on February 14, 1968, Bob founded The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. 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. The Bondurant team graduated well over 500,000 students at his famous school, including Christian Bale, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Nicolas Cage, and Tom Cruise, to name a few. Bondurant was actively at the track every day, enthusiastically greeting his new students until he was well over 85 years old. He kept racing, too. Bondurant's last championship was 1997 for the World Cup Challenge, racing for Steve Saleen. Bondurant retired from racing at 79 after winning his last race at Pomona Raceway in his No. 72 ERA GT40. Bob Bondurant has had a worldwide impact on the motorsports industry, and his legacy will live on as the Bondurant Racing School moves forward into the future. Bondurant once said, "My life has been lived in two halves. The first was becoming a world champion driver. The second was teaching the world to become champions." He is survived by his wife, Pat, president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School, who vows to continue the legacy of Bob's school.
Bob was born in Evanston, Illinois. During his teens, Bondurant raced motorcycles on dirt ovals. In 1956 he switched to sports car racing and this attracted attention. Bob won the West Coast "B" production Championship, in a Chevrolet Corvette winning 18 out of 20 races.
A Santa Barbara car hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his 1959 Corvette. Some of the best Corvette racing duels were between him and David McDonald on the West Coast during the early 1960s. At the L.A. Times Grand Prix in October 1962, Bondurant drove Washburn's new 1963 Corvette Z06 Stingray. Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Washburn's Corvettes.
In 1963 he became a member of Carroll Shelby's Ford Cobra team, winning his first race at the Continental Divide Raceway in Colorado, followed by a win at the LA Times Grand Prix GT race at Riverside in October 1963. For the 1964 FIA season after finishing 2nd at Sebring, Bondurant was in Europe racing the new 289 FIA Cobras at the Targa Florio, Spain. His best-known victory was winning the GT class at Le Mans 24 Hours in 1964 in Shelby's new Cobra Daytona Coupe with Dan Gurney co-driving. In 1965 Bondurant won the FIA Manufacturers' World Championship for Shelby American and Ford, winning seven out of ten races against the class dominating Ferrari 250 GTOs in Europe. In the same year he drove a 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.
Bob served as a technical consultant for the 1966 film Grand Prix and trained the film's lead actor James Garner to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. Bondurant was one of two drivers to help extricate Jackie Stewart from his fuel-leaking wrecked car during the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix, the incident that led to Stewart's crusade for motor racing safety. Bondurant also drove in five Grands Prix, finishing 4th at Monaco.
In1967 he drove in the CanAm series and in a Corvette L88 Coupe at Le Mans. At Le Mans he led the GT class until a wrist pin failed putting the car out in the early morning. Later that month while driving a McLaren, at Watkins Glen, the steering arm broke at 150 mph . Bob sustained rib, leg, foot and, most seriously, back injuries in the accident in which his car flipped eight times. Doctors told him he would likely never walk again, but through courage and hard work he overcame his injuries.
While recuperating, Bob had an idea for a driving school borrowing from the experiences he had while training James Garner for Grand Prix. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving opened in early 1968 at the Orange County International Raceway in Southern California, eventually moving to Sonoma, California.
Bob participated in four NASCAR starts, all at Riverside International Raceway, with his highest finish of 18th in 1981. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake he moved the driving school to Phoenix, Arizona.
Bob was a driving instructor to actors James Garner, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Wagner, Tim Allen, Tom Cruise, and Nicolas Cage for the movies they starred in that required skills driving a race car.
Bob Bondurant died in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on November 12, 2021, at the age of 88.∼Bob Bondurant, champion driver and founder of the Bondurant Racing School, passed away Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into 10 motorsports halls of fame. The 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. Robert Lewis Bondurant was born to John Roper Bondurant and Ruth Williams Bondurant of Evanston, Ill. His father owned two luxury car dealerships named "Bondurant Motors." When Bob turned two years old, the family moved to Westwood Village, Calif. Bob began his fascination with speed as a three-year-old on his first tricycle with playing cards clothes pinned on his spokes for the sound of the rush. At age 8, his father introduced him to racing by taking him to Thursday night midget races. By 12 years old, his parents were divorced, and he persuaded his mother to purchase a Whizzer electric bike to deliver his newspapers faster. 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. His mother's death left him inconsolable, which is where the seed of his fearlessness was realized. Bob was then inducted as the youngest member of the "Galloping Gooses," which eventually became "Hell's Angels." At 23 years old, he discovered that he had more control with four wheels than he did with two, and his racing career began in a Morgan Plus 4. From the age of 23 to 34, Bob became one of the most iconic race car drivers in the world. He had won the National Corvette Title, Le Mans GT, the World Championship, and the Baja 500… Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Corvettes. Bob is the first and only American to bring the World SportsCar Championship trophy home to America in the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe No. 26. He then rose to the highest level in racing with Ferrari in Formula 1 and prototypes. Bondurant left the Formula 1 race series to race the even faster Can-Am cars with best friend and team driver, Peter Revson, in the Lola T70 Mark II. In 1967, a fateful race at Watkins Glen changed his entire career, and the Bondurant School was born. 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. Answering the call, on February 14, 1968, Bob founded The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. 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. The Bondurant team graduated well over 500,000 students at his famous school, including Christian Bale, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Nicolas Cage, and Tom Cruise, to name a few. Bondurant was actively at the track every day, enthusiastically greeting his new students until he was well over 85 years old. He kept racing, too. Bondurant's last championship was 1997 for the World Cup Challenge, racing for Steve Saleen. Bondurant retired from racing at 79 after winning his last race at Pomona Raceway in his No. 72 ERA GT40. Bob Bondurant has had a worldwide impact on the motorsports industry, and his legacy will live on as the Bondurant Racing School moves forward into the future. Bondurant once said, "My life has been lived in two halves. The first was becoming a world champion driver. The second was teaching the world to become champions." He is survived by his wife, Pat, president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School, who vows to continue the legacy of Bob's school.
Robert L. Bondurant was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. 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.
Bob was born in Evanston, Illinois. During his teens, Bondurant raced motorcycles on dirt ovals. In 1956 he switched to sports car racing and this attracted attention. Bob won the West Coast "B" production Championship, in a Chevrolet Corvette winning 18 out of 20 races.
A Santa Barbara car hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his 1959 Corvette. Some of the best Corvette racing duels were between him and David McDonald on the West Coast during the early 1960s. At the L.A. Times Grand Prix in October 1962, Bondurant drove Washburn's new 1963 Corvette Z06 Stingray. Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Washburn's Corvettes.
In 1963 he became a member of Carroll Shelby's Ford Cobra team, winning his first race at the Continental Divide Raceway in Colorado, followed by a win at the LA Times Grand Prix GT race at Riverside in October 1963. For the 1964 FIA season after finishing 2nd at Sebring, Bondurant was in Europe racing the new 289 FIA Cobras at the Targa Florio, Spain. His best-known victory was winning the GT class at Le Mans 24 Hours in 1964 in Shelby's new Cobra Daytona Coupe with Dan Gurney co-driving. In 1965 Bondurant won the FIA Manufacturers' World Championship for Shelby American and Ford, winning seven out of ten races against the class dominating Ferrari 250 GTOs in Europe. In the same year he drove a 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.
Bob served as a technical consultant for the 1966 film Grand Prix and trained the film's lead actor James Garner to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. Bondurant was one of two drivers to help extricate Jackie Stewart from his fuel-leaking wrecked car during the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix, the incident that led to Stewart's crusade for motor racing safety. Bondurant also drove in five Grands Prix, finishing 4th at Monaco.
In1967 he drove in the CanAm series and in a Corvette L88 Coupe at Le Mans. At Le Mans he led the GT class until a wrist pin failed putting the car out in the early morning. Later that month while driving a McLaren, at Watkins Glen, the steering arm broke at 150 mph . Bob sustained rib, leg, foot and, most seriously, back injuries in the accident in which his car flipped eight times. Doctors told him he would likely never walk again, but through courage and hard work he overcame his injuries.
While recuperating, Bob had an idea for a driving school borrowing from the experiences he had while training James Garner for Grand Prix. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving opened in early 1968 at the Orange County International Raceway in Southern California, eventually moving to Sonoma, California.
Bob participated in four NASCAR starts, all at Riverside International Raceway, with his highest finish of 18th in 1981. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake he moved the driving school to Phoenix, Arizona.
Bob was a driving instructor to actors James Garner, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Wagner, Tim Allen, Tom Cruise, and Nicolas Cage for the movies they starred in that required skills driving a race car.
Bob Bondurant died in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on November 12, 2021, at the age of 88.∼Bob Bondurant, champion driver and founder of the Bondurant Racing School, passed away Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into 10 motorsports halls of fame. The 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. Robert Lewis Bondurant was born to John Roper Bondurant and Ruth Williams Bondurant of Evanston, Ill. His father owned two luxury car dealerships named "Bondurant Motors." When Bob turned two years old, the family moved to Westwood Village, Calif. Bob began his fascination with speed as a three-year-old on his first tricycle with playing cards clothes pinned on his spokes for the sound of the rush. At age 8, his father introduced him to racing by taking him to Thursday night midget races. By 12 years old, his parents were divorced, and he persuaded his mother to purchase a Whizzer electric bike to deliver his newspapers faster. 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. His mother's death left him inconsolable, which is where the seed of his fearlessness was realized. Bob was then inducted as the youngest member of the "Galloping Gooses," which eventually became "Hell's Angels." At 23 years old, he discovered that he had more control with four wheels than he did with two, and his racing career began in a Morgan Plus 4. From the age of 23 to 34, Bob became one of the most iconic race car drivers in the world. He had won the National Corvette Title, Le Mans GT, the World Championship, and the Baja 500… Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Corvettes. Bob is the first and only American to bring the World SportsCar Championship trophy home to America in the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe No. 26. He then rose to the highest level in racing with Ferrari in Formula 1 and prototypes. Bondurant left the Formula 1 race series to race the even faster Can-Am cars with best friend and team driver, Peter Revson, in the Lola T70 Mark II. In 1967, a fateful race at Watkins Glen changed his entire career, and the Bondurant School was born. 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. Answering the call, on February 14, 1968, Bob founded The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. 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. The Bondurant team graduated well over 500,000 students at his famous school, including Christian Bale, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Nicolas Cage, and Tom Cruise, to name a few. Bondurant was actively at the track every day, enthusiastically greeting his new students until he was well over 85 years old. He kept racing, too. Bondurant's last championship was 1997 for the World Cup Challenge, racing for Steve Saleen. Bondurant retired from racing at 79 after winning his last race at Pomona Raceway in his No. 72 ERA GT40. Bob Bondurant has had a worldwide impact on the motorsports industry, and his legacy will live on as the Bondurant Racing School moves forward into the future. Bondurant once said, "My life has been lived in two halves. The first was becoming a world champion driver. The second was teaching the world to become champions." He is survived by his wife, Pat, president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School, who vows to continue the legacy of Bob's school.
Bob was born in Evanston, Illinois. During his teens, Bondurant raced motorcycles on dirt ovals. In 1956 he switched to sports car racing and this attracted attention. Bob won the West Coast "B" production Championship, in a Chevrolet Corvette winning 18 out of 20 races.
A Santa Barbara car hired Bondurant in 1961 to drive his 1959 Corvette. Some of the best Corvette racing duels were between him and David McDonald on the West Coast during the early 1960s. At the L.A. Times Grand Prix in October 1962, Bondurant drove Washburn's new 1963 Corvette Z06 Stingray. Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Washburn's Corvettes.
In 1963 he became a member of Carroll Shelby's Ford Cobra team, winning his first race at the Continental Divide Raceway in Colorado, followed by a win at the LA Times Grand Prix GT race at Riverside in October 1963. For the 1964 FIA season after finishing 2nd at Sebring, Bondurant was in Europe racing the new 289 FIA Cobras at the Targa Florio, Spain. His best-known victory was winning the GT class at Le Mans 24 Hours in 1964 in Shelby's new Cobra Daytona Coupe with Dan Gurney co-driving. In 1965 Bondurant won the FIA Manufacturers' World Championship for Shelby American and Ford, winning seven out of ten races against the class dominating Ferrari 250 GTOs in Europe. In the same year he drove a 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.
Bob served as a technical consultant for the 1966 film Grand Prix and trained the film's lead actor James Garner to drive Formula cars in the race sequences. Bondurant was one of two drivers to help extricate Jackie Stewart from his fuel-leaking wrecked car during the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix, the incident that led to Stewart's crusade for motor racing safety. Bondurant also drove in five Grands Prix, finishing 4th at Monaco.
In1967 he drove in the CanAm series and in a Corvette L88 Coupe at Le Mans. At Le Mans he led the GT class until a wrist pin failed putting the car out in the early morning. Later that month while driving a McLaren, at Watkins Glen, the steering arm broke at 150 mph . Bob sustained rib, leg, foot and, most seriously, back injuries in the accident in which his car flipped eight times. Doctors told him he would likely never walk again, but through courage and hard work he overcame his injuries.
While recuperating, Bob had an idea for a driving school borrowing from the experiences he had while training James Garner for Grand Prix. The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving opened in early 1968 at the Orange County International Raceway in Southern California, eventually moving to Sonoma, California.
Bob participated in four NASCAR starts, all at Riverside International Raceway, with his highest finish of 18th in 1981. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake he moved the driving school to Phoenix, Arizona.
Bob was a driving instructor to actors James Garner, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Wagner, Tim Allen, Tom Cruise, and Nicolas Cage for the movies they starred in that required skills driving a race car.
Bob Bondurant died in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on November 12, 2021, at the age of 88.∼Bob Bondurant, champion driver and founder of the Bondurant Racing School, passed away Friday in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at the age of 88. Bondurant won a world championship while racing for Carroll Shelby. He won his class at Le Mans and has been inducted into 10 motorsports halls of fame. The 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. Robert Lewis Bondurant was born to John Roper Bondurant and Ruth Williams Bondurant of Evanston, Ill. His father owned two luxury car dealerships named "Bondurant Motors." When Bob turned two years old, the family moved to Westwood Village, Calif. Bob began his fascination with speed as a three-year-old on his first tricycle with playing cards clothes pinned on his spokes for the sound of the rush. At age 8, his father introduced him to racing by taking him to Thursday night midget races. By 12 years old, his parents were divorced, and he persuaded his mother to purchase a Whizzer electric bike to deliver his newspapers faster. 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. His mother's death left him inconsolable, which is where the seed of his fearlessness was realized. Bob was then inducted as the youngest member of the "Galloping Gooses," which eventually became "Hell's Angels." At 23 years old, he discovered that he had more control with four wheels than he did with two, and his racing career began in a Morgan Plus 4. From the age of 23 to 34, Bob became one of the most iconic race car drivers in the world. He had won the National Corvette Title, Le Mans GT, the World Championship, and the Baja 500… Between 1961 and 1963, he won 30 out of 32 races in Corvettes. Bob is the first and only American to bring the World SportsCar Championship trophy home to America in the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe No. 26. He then rose to the highest level in racing with Ferrari in Formula 1 and prototypes. Bondurant left the Formula 1 race series to race the even faster Can-Am cars with best friend and team driver, Peter Revson, in the Lola T70 Mark II. In 1967, a fateful race at Watkins Glen changed his entire career, and the Bondurant School was born. 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. Answering the call, on February 14, 1968, Bob founded The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. 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. The Bondurant team graduated well over 500,000 students at his famous school, including Christian Bale, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Nicolas Cage, and Tom Cruise, to name a few. Bondurant was actively at the track every day, enthusiastically greeting his new students until he was well over 85 years old. He kept racing, too. Bondurant's last championship was 1997 for the World Cup Challenge, racing for Steve Saleen. Bondurant retired from racing at 79 after winning his last race at Pomona Raceway in his No. 72 ERA GT40. Bob Bondurant has had a worldwide impact on the motorsports industry, and his legacy will live on as the Bondurant Racing School moves forward into the future. Bondurant once said, "My life has been lived in two halves. The first was becoming a world champion driver. The second was teaching the world to become champions." He is survived by his wife, Pat, president and CEO of the Bondurant Racing School, who vows to continue the legacy of Bob's school.
Inscription
WORLD CHAMPION RACER, SAVANT, HERO AND WORLD-CLASS HUSBAND TO PAT
YOUR PRESENCE HERE ON EARTH SHIFTED THE WORLD
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Half Siblings
