Louis Claude Rosier (; 5 November 1905 – 29 October 1956) was a French racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing, Rosier won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in in a privateer Talbot-Lago T26C-GS.
Rosier competed in Formula One under his own Écurie Rosier banner, making privateer entries in machinery from Talbot-Lago, Ferrari, and Maserati; he also competed for the works teams of Talbot and Maserati, the former of which he scored back-to-back podium finishes with at the Swiss and Belgian Grands Prix in .
Rosier competed in nine editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans between and , winning in alongside his son Jean-Louis Rosier, which remains the only father-and-son victory in Le Mans history. In October 1956, Rosier died as a result of injuries sustained whilst sportscar racing in a Ferrari 750 Monza at Montlhéry.
Career highlights Rosier was born on 5 November 1905 in Chapdes-Beaufort, Puy-de-Dôme, France.
Rosier participated in 38 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 May 1950. He achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 18 championship points. He won the Dutch Grand Prix twice in consecutive years between 1950 and 1951, the Circuit d'Albi, Grand-Prix de l'Albigeois and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with his son Jean-Louis Rosier. Rosier owned the Renault dealership of Clermont-Ferrand.Rosier First In Auto Race, New York Times, June 26, 1950, Page 36.
In 2016, in an academic paper that reported a mathematical modeling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Rosier was ranked the 19th best Formula One driver of all time.
Formula One and sports car competition
Rosier finished fourth at Silverstone in a Talbot, in October 1948. The event was the RAC International Grand Prix, the first grand prix to be held in England since 1927."Grand Prix To Villoresi", New York Times, October 3, 1948, Page S10. He drove a 4.5-liter, unsupercharged Talbot-Lago to third place at the 1949 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He was a lap behind the winner with a speed of .De Graffenried Annexes Grand Prix Auto Classic, New York Times, May 15, 1949, Page S6. Rosier won an International Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in June 1949. He piloted a Talbot in the , 32-lap event, achieving a time of three hours, 15 minutes, and 17 seconds. He assumed the lead after 23 laps, coming across the finish line ahead of Luigi Villoresi."Rosier Captures Auto Race", New York Times, June 20, 1949, Page 24. Rosier won the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans in a blue Talbot. He teamed up with his son Jean-Louis Rosier who only drove two laps during the race, which means Louis won the race practically by himself. He finished one lap ahead of Pierre Meyrat who drove a car of the same marque. The Rosiers covered 256 laps, , in 23:54:2.2. Rosier captured the Grand Prix d'Albi in Albi, France in May 1953. He drove a Ferrari, covering the 18 laps of the finals, , in 56:36:8. He averaged .Frenchman Wins Automobile Race, Los Angeles Times, June 1, 1953, Page C4. Rosier placed second in a Ferrari at a Grand Prix in Aix-Les-Bains, in July 1953. His time was 2:24:48.1.Bayol Takes Auto Race, New York Times, July 27, 1953, Page 22. In April 1956, Rosier finished fourth in a Maserati, in a 201-mile race at Aintree. Stirling Moss drove a blue Maserati to victory in the 67-lap event for Formula One cars, with an average speed of .Moss' Maserati Takes 201-mile Aintree Race, April 22, 1956, Page 205. Rosier finished 5th at the 1956 German Grand Prix behind the wheel of a Maserati."Fangio Captures Race In Germany", New York Times, August 6, 1956, Page 37.
Écurie Rosier
Louis Rosier was the owner and manager of a racing team, the "Ecurie Rosier". Originally set up to run Rosier's Talbot-Lago T26 (for either Rosier or a guest driver), and later evolved to an actual team running 250Fs and finally Ferrari 500s simultaneously for Rosier and another driver. Throughout the 1950s, Écurie Rosier provided drives in Formula One for Henri Louveau, Georges Grignard, Louis Chiron, Maurice Trintignant, André Simon and Robert Manzon.
Circuit Louis Rosier Louis Rosier was one of the key sponsors of the Charade race track. After World War II, Jean Auchatraire (president of the racing section of the local Automobile Club) and Louis Rosier promoted the idea of a race track around Clermont-Ferrand.
A set of preliminary designs were drawn up for a circuit of a length between 4 and 6 km, meeting the latest safety regulations with large parking capacity at a location just outside the city limits on a hilly landscape.
The Le Mans disaster (death toll: 84 lives) on 11 June 1955 brought the project to a halt. All race events were postponed. No further events were allowed to take place on temporary urban tracks. Racing events were only to be allowed on dedicated race-tracks, providing that they met a new set of rules. In Clermont-Ferrand, as was the case for many other new race tracks, new safety devices were being imagined and discussed, reviewed and assessed. But the concept of a "mountain race track" moved forward. It would be the only one of its kind in France.
Auchatraire, Rosier and Raymond Roche (the manager of Reims-Gueux race track) worked together to get the project accepted by the political community before searching for funding. But Rosier was killed at Montlhéry on 26 October 1956 and would not witness his project come to fruition. The racetrack was opened on 27 July 1958, with the name of its famous founder "Circuit de Charade Louis Rosier". Soon after, several champions participated in racing events on the track, each of them, including Stirling Moss, making very positive statements about the track and its surrounding.
Car manufacturer
Rosier's Renault dealership in Clermont-Ferrand was one of the largest Renault dealerships in France. Rosier's dealership also sold other industrial and farming equipment. The building housing this important business has been destroyed. (fr) Rosier dealership
In 1951, Rosier designed a prototype based on the 4CV Renault. Logo louis rosier Coach Rosier
In 1953, using the concept of a barchetta that he raced at Le Mans, Barchetta Rosier Rosier, together with Italian coachbuilder Rocco Motto, designed a cabriolet, The Rogue still using 4CV Renault sub assemblies. This model was built in a quantity of about 200 units by Brissonneau. Cabriolet Brissoneau It was even introduced at a car show in New York.
Some time later, Rosier designed a roadster using Renault Frégate elements with an aluminum body developed by Rocco Motto, on a multi-tubular frame. The engine was seriously revised, the body was lightened, the results was an interesting 950 kg for 80 hp. Frégate Rosier
Death On 7 October 1956, Rosier was competing in the Coupe du Salon sports car race at Montlhéry in a Ferrari 750 Monza. During the race he crashed, sustaining head injuries. Three weeks later, on 29 October 1956, Rosier succumbed to the injuries received in the crash.French Driver Dies, Los Angeles Times, October 30, 1956, Page C4.
Racing record Post WWII Grandes Épreuves results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 1947 L. Rosier Talbot Spéciale Talbot 4.0 L6 SUI BEL ITA FRA 1948 L. Rosier Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 MON SUI FRA ITA 1949 Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 GBR SUI FRA ITA Automobiles Talbot-Darracq BEL
Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Points 1950 Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 GBR MON 500 ITA 4th 13 Automobiles Talbot-Darracq Talbot-Lago T26C-DA SUI BEL FRA Charles Pozzi Talbot-Lago T26C FRA 1951 Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP 13th 3 1952 Ecurie Rosier Ferrari 500 Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA NC 0 1953 Ecurie Rosier Ferrari 500 Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 ARG 500 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA NC 0 1954 Ecurie Rosier Ferrari 500/625 Ferrari 625 2.5 L4 ARG 500 BEL FRA GBR GER SUI NC 0 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 ITA Ecurie Rosier ESP 1955 Ecurie Rosier Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 ARG MON 500 BEL NED GBR ITA NC 0 1956 Ecurie Rosier Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA 19th 2 Notes – Shared drive with Charles Pozzi
Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 1950 Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 PAU RIC SRM PAR EMP BAR JER ALB NED NAT NOT ULS PES STT INT GOO PEN 1951 Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 SYR PAU RIC SRM BOR INT PAR ULS SCO NED ALB PES BAR GOO 1952 Ecurie Rosier Ferrari 500 Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 SYR VAL RIC LAV PAU IBS MAR AST INT ELÄ NAP EIF PAR3 MNZ LAC ESS MAR5 SAB CAE3 COM NAT BAU MOD CAD SKA MAD AVU JOE NEW Ferrari 375 Ferrari 375 4.5 V12 ALB FRO ULS DMT 1953 Ecurie Rosier Ferrari 500 Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 SYR PAU LAV AST BOR INT ELÄ NAP ULS WIN FRO COR EIF LAC BRI CHE SAB NEW CAD RED SKA LON MOD MAD JOE CUR Ferrari 375 Ferrari 375 4.5 V12 ALB PRI ESS MID ROU CRY AVU USF 1954 Ecurie Rosier Ferrari 625 Ferrari 2.5 L4 SYR PAU LAV BOR INT BAR CUR ROM FRO COR BRC CRY ROU CAE AUG COR OUL RED PES JOE CAD BER Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 GOO DTT 1955 Ecurie Rosier Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 VAL PAU GLO BOR INT NAP ALB CUR COR LON DRT RED DTT OUL AVO SYR 1956 Ecurie Rosier Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 BUE GLV SYR AIN INT NAP 100 VNW CAE BRH
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Luigi Chinetti Robert Huguet Talbot T150SS Coupe5.081DNF Ecurie Rosier Jean-Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago SpécialeS5.021DNF(Fanbelt) Louis Rosier(private entrant) Jean-Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago T26 GS BiplaceS5.0256 1st 1st Louis Rosier (private entrant) Juan Manuel Fangio Talbot-Lago T26 GS BiplaceS5.092DNF(Oil tank) Ecurie Rosier Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 340 America SpyderS5.0?DNF(Clutch) Automobiles Talbot-Darracq S.A. Élie Bayol Talbot-Lago T26 GS SpyderS5.037DNF(Transmission) Scuderia Ferrari Robert Manzon Ferrari 375 PlusS5.0177DNF(Transmission) Ecurie Rosier Georges Grignard Talbot-Lago T26 GS SpyderS5.0DNS(Engine) Automobiles Talbot Jean Behra Talbot-Lago SportS3.0220DNF(Transmission)
References