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Jacques Bernusset
 
Complete name: Jacques Bernusset
Birth date: 18.Feb.1943
Birth Place: Toulon, France
Death date: 01.May.1966
Death Place: Magny-Cours, France
Nationality: France
Gender: male
Age at death: 23
 
Event date: 01.May.1966
Series: Championnat de Formule 3 de France [French Formula 3 Championship]
Race: V Grand Prix de Nivernais
Event type: race
Country: France
Venue: Magny-Cours
Variant: 1.995-kilometer permanent road course (1961-1988)
 
Role: driver
Vehicle type: car
Vehicle sub-type: single seater
Vehicle brand/model: Cooper T76 - Ford
Vehicle number: ??
 

Notes:
A native of Toulon, France, Jacques Bernusset passed most of his life in Belgium and raced with a Belgian licence. According to a number of sources, as the magazines Auto Italiana and Autosprint issue of 12 May 1966, Jacques Bernusset was a French citizen, this is confirmed by the book "Albo della Gloria" by Emanuele Carli, Italy 1972; according to different sources he had acquired Belgian citizenship, this has not yet been confirmed.

Jacques Bernusset began his racing career in Belgium at the age of 19, driving an old Lola MK5 Formula Junior that he bought at a bargain price. In 1964 he moved to Formula 3, and joined the Team Swaelens. He won two times in a row the Belgian Formula 3 Championship, in 1964 at the wheel of a Cooper T72 - BMC, and in 1965 in a brand new Cooper T76 - Ford. He became a successful racer, winning international Formula 3 events such as the 1964 ADAC-Eifelpokal Rennen at the Nürburgring Südschleife, ahead of Manfred Mohr's Brabham BT9 - Ford and Walter Habegger's Brabham BT9 - Ford, and the Littoral Grand Prix held at Porto Roz in Yugoslavia.

Jacques Bernusset lost his life in an accident which happened at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France, during the V Grand Prix de Nivernais, Formula 3 race held on Sunday, 01 May 1966.

Due to valves trouble, Jacques Bernusset withdrew during the first heat of the event. Despite his impossibility to be classified, he decided to start the second heat. He had a good start at the wheel of his Cooper T76 - Ford and during the first laps he overtook several drivers. While approaching the faster bend of the track, he lost control of the car which went off the road, rolled several times and crashed into a tree, bursting into flames. Bernusset was killed at the scene, the rescuers found the poor driver got stuck in the tubes of the chassis.

 
Sources:
  • Book "Albo della Gloria: Al Piloti Caduti in Tutto il Mondo al Loro Posto di Combattimento", by Emanuele Carli, Modena, Italy, 1972, page 59.
  • Magazine Virage-Auto, issue of July-August 1965.
  • Magazine Auto Italiana, issue of 12 May 1966.
  • Magazine Autosprint, issue of 12 May 1966.
  • Newspaper "Stampasera" (Turin, Italy) issue of Monday, 02 May 1966, page 13, article "Il pilota francese Bernusset muore durante una corsa", retrieved by website http://www.archiviolastampa.it/ .
  • Website Racing Circuits by Daniel King, page http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk/racingcircuits/France/MagnyCours1961.html .
  • Website Atlas F1, bulletin boards, "The Nostalgia Forum", thread "Speed's Ultimate Price: The Toll", page 46, posting by "Hugo Boecker", message http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=9705&view=findpost&p=1909857 citing book "Formula 1 Registeer Record Book 1966" by P.Sheldon & D. Rabagliati.
  • E-mail by Stefan Örnerdal, dated 26 February 2004.