André Testut (13 April 1926 – 24 September 2005, Lyon) was a racing driver from Monaco. He was born in Lyon, France.
He entered 2 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, both in Monaco, in 1958 and 1959. On both occasions he drove his Maserati 250F and both times he failed to qualify. Info from Wiki
Andre Testut: 1958 Formula One Season By Jeremy McMullen – Page 1
When it comes to famous Monegasque racing drivers there are just a couple that comes to mind, and amongst those couple, the name of Louis Chiron obvious stands above the other. However, there was another, lesser-known, racing driver that made Monaco his home. And in 1958, he would attempt to make his own name in Formula One.
Andre Testut would be born in Lyon, France on the 13th of April in 1926. Of his life, very little is easy to recall. However, he would soon make his way around the Alps to the Mediterranean coast whereupon he would become a citizen of Monaco.
By the time Testut arrived in Monaco and become a citizen of the tiny principality, Louis Chiron was already a well-known individual. The Monegasque racing driver already had a colorful and controversial racing career. In fact, just a couple of years after Testut had been born into the world, Chiron would score victories in the German, Italian and Spanish grand prix. These major victories would be further bolstered by victories in the Rome, Marne and Belgian grand prix, so the experience and success of Chiron was vast.
Testut’s own racing career would suffer an abortive start in 1948. At the age of just 22, Testut was to take part in Bol d’Or. Unfortunately, no information is known as to whether or not he actually took part in the race. In fact, it is believed the car did not arrive for the race.
His racing career would suffer yet another abortive start in the latter-part of 1956 when he was to drive an Osca in the Rheinland Nurburgring. However, Testut would not arrive for the race. Instead, his first race would come at the beginning of September 1956 at the Course de Cote de Vuillafans-Echevanne. Louis Chiron would be at the helm of an OSCA while Testut would also be driving an OSCA MT4 roadster. Chiron would go on to yet another victory while Testut would stun with a 2nd place result. This impressive performance would be followed up with a 3rd place finish driving a Porsche 356 at the Coupe d’Automne toward the end of September.
Recognizing his fellow Monacan’s talent, Chiron would determine to partner with Testut for the 1957 season. The two would form a new team called ‘Monte Carlo Autosport’. These two would partner together behind the wheel of a Citroen DS19 in the Mille Miglia. The two would finish the race but well down in 103rd place overall.
Testut’s anonymity would be surprising given his talent behind the wheel. Throughout 1957 Testut would experience a great deal of success in sportscars. This would include an overall victory at Vuillafans-Echevannes. Testut would complete the victory in style breaking Chiron’s record and earning a congratulatory letter from the Maserati brothers, the brothers that formed OSCA after being forced out of their company bearing their name.
The success garnered by Testut over the course of the ’57 season would lead him to look to Formula One for the following season. Encouraged by Louis Chiron, Testut would look to buy a car for the upcoming season. Knowing Maserati had withdrawn from Formula One, the likelihood of purchasing a Maserati 250F at a much cheaper price was greatly increased.
Chassis 2521 had been a factory Maserati throughout the ’56 season. Then, late in ’56, the car would be sold and would be entered under the team name of Ecurie du Puy and driven by Ken Wharton. However, the car would be driven quite sparingly and offered Testut a great opportunity. Therefore, Andre would purchase 2521 from Ecurie du Puy and would be sent back to the Maserati factory to be updated. The car would be received by the factory and would receive the new bodywork.
Andre would receive his car back from the factory and would look forward to his first opportunity to take part in a Formula One race. Of course, there was one race in particular in which Testut was looking forward to compete in.
Testut rarely missed an opportunity to take part in a sportscar race. This provided him a great deal of success and experience. However, Testut had only just started racing a couple of years before and needed a good deal more experience if he was to go up against the likes of Fangio, Moss and Hawthorn. Therefore, Testut looked forward to an opportunity to earn some experience behind the wheel of his Maserati. Thankfully, Testut would receive his car back from the factory in plenty of time to take part in one of the non-championship events leading up to the second round of the World Championship.
It was April, and the 8th Gran Premio di Siracusa was set to take place on the 13th. This provided Testut the perfect opportunity to take part in his first Formula One race. Held on 3.48 miles of public roads just to the west of Syracuse, the circuit provided Testut a great opportunity without having to travel very far from his home in Monaco.
Syracuse’s road course provided Testut with a great experience. The start/finish straight would be situated out amongst the rolling countryside and would be rather flat and wide open providing drivers a great opportunity to push the limits of their car’s top speed. This would be followed by a rather technical and difficult section in that the road descended, and then, broke off to the right before reaching a tight hairpin that still had a downward angle to its approach and apex. The exit of the hairpin would see the circuit begin a climb back up in altitude. Sweeping back and forth past the Commonwealth Graves Cemetery, the circuit continued to climb until it reached yet another straight. This straight would lead to a fast left-hand turn and another straight before heading back around to the start/finish line. A lap of the circuit boasted of fast average speeds and a baptism of fire, of sorts, for those, like Testut, that looked to make a career in Formula One.
A year ago, Vanwalls and Ferraris battled it out for the lead and the victory. A year later, events would cause a number of changes. The introduction of the new Constructors’ Championship and the addition of more rounds of the championship meant factory teams were less likely to take part in non-championship events. Therefore, Vandervell Products would not be present for the 60 lap race. Scuderia Ferrari would be, but it would just a single car entry for Luigi Musso. Therefore, the vast majority of the field would be small privateers teams like that of Testut’s.
In spite of the fact he was all alone at the race, Musso would prove himself fastest around the circuit. Posting a lap time of 1:58.4, Musso would earn pole for the Syracuse Grand Prix. Giorgio Scarlatti would take his Maserati 250F, the very same one in which Fangio earned his incomparable win at the Nurburgring the year before, and would earn a spot in the middle of the front row. The final spot on the front row would end up going to Jo Bonnier driving yet another Maserati 250F.
Sportscars and Formula One were quite different and Testut would find that out first hand. Though he would earn a good deal of success in sportscar racing and would prove quite fast in the process, his pace in practice for the grand prix would be less than stellar. When all of the practice sessions came to an end, Testut would be more than 24 seconds slower than Musso, and around the same circuit! Therefore, Andre would start his first grand prix from the fifth row of the grid in 12th place overall. Not surprisingly, this was dead-last on the grid.
Being that it was his first Formula One race, starting position mattered little. Gaining experience and bringing the car home was of much greater importance. He could learn very little if he pushed so hard that the car broke after just a couple of laps.
Testut wouldn’t push hard enough to break the car in the first couple of laps. In fact, the only one really seeming to push in the early going of the race would be Musso. Though he was on his own, he would prove to be more than a match for the fleet of Maseratis. Armed with the latest Ferrari, the Dino 246, Musso would go on to set what would be the fastest lap of the race and would begin to leave everyone else behind.
