British driver Johnny Dumfries, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and former teammate of Ayrton Senna at Lotus, has died at the age of 62 from a devastating illness, his family announced on Monday.
Born as John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, a Scottish island of 120 km2 and 6,000 inhabitants where his family's castle is located, Dumfries had decided to run under a pseudonym in order to hide his aristocratic profile.
Alongside Senna at Lotus then the triumph at Le Mans
Very gifted behind the wheel, he won the British Formula 3 championship in 1984 and then tested for Ferrari in 1985. He then joined the Lotus F1 team as a teammate of the young Brazilian Ayrton Senna.
He left Lotus at the end of a 1986 season when he had only reached the finish of a Grand Prix six times, with the best result a 5th place in Hungary, against an already very efficient Senna.
A lap in Adelaide (Australia) with Johnny Dumphries in 1986
Dumfries then turned to endurance racing and won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Jaguar in 1988, paired with Andy Wallace and Dutchman Jan Lammers.
The name Dumfries, chosen as a pseudonym by the pilot, is that of a small town in the southwest of Scotland, in the heart of the county of Dumfries and Galloway.
FIA pays tribute to Johnny Dumfries, who passed away today 22 March 2021.
He was Former Formula 1 driver, teammate of Ayrton Senna in 1986 in a Lotus 98T and winner of the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Jaguar XJR-9 LM.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
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- FIA (@fia) March 22, 2021
We are all saddened to learn of the passing of a true racer - Johnny Dumfries - winner of the 1988 @ 24hoursoflemans for #Jaguar in the # 2 Silk Cut XJR-9.
Our thoughts are with his friends and family.
Rest in peace Johnny.
pic.twitter.com/3TWqc7TVdL
- Jaguar (@Jaguar) March 23, 2021
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