Difference between revisions of "Silvio Bachot"

Revision as of 07:23, 23 June 2018

Silvio Bachot

Nationality	/ French/Belgian
Born	25th December, 1952 Metz, Grand Est, France
Current Team	Shadow Racing Team
Car Number	57
Former Teams	None
Races	1 (0 starts)
Championships	0
Victories	0
Podiums	0
Points	0
Pole Positions	0
Fastest Laps	0
First Race	1978 Spanish Grand Prix
First Victory	{{{first win}}}
Last Victory	{{{last win}}}
Last Race	1978 Spanish Grand Prix (Ongoing)
Best Finish	TBA (1978)

Silvio Bachot (born 25th December 1952 in Metz, Grand Est, France) is a French former racing driver who competed under a Belgian licence best known for his appearances in Formula One.

Early Life

He was born to Frenchman Guillon Bachot, a Formula One team owner, and Maria, a Yugoslavian defector. Bachot spent his early life in France until he was 13, where he decided to try his hand at karting when he was 5, and thus began his motorsport career. He moved to England when he was 13, in order to try and further his opportunities in racing, and in conjunction with his father's commitments. He left school at 14 in order to concentrate on his racing career.

Lower formulae (1968-1971)

Bachot would progress to British Formula Ford in 1968 at the age of 15, and would initially not achieve anything spectacular in his debut season, a single podium finish at Crystal Palace being his highlight. Bachot would improve by some way in 1969 to finish 2nd in the championship, and arguably should've won the title had he not been disqualified from his win at the last race of the season. In 1970 he would move up to British Formula Three, managing to win at Crystal Palace, and finishing an impressive 4th in the championship. He would go on to win the title in 1971 in dominant fashion, winning 3 races and 5 pole positions on the way.

Formula Two (1972-73)

Bachot progressed to European Formula Two in 1972, landing a drive at the March team. He would struggle in his 1st season, only managing 11 points, with a best finish of 4th at Pau and Imola. In his 2nd season he would improve, with the help of works BMW engines, to 2nd in the championship to Jean-Pierre Jarier, with unreliability and numerous accidents putting an end to his title bid.

Formula One (1978-)

Bachot would find a drive in Formula One for 1978, driving for the Shadow team. The team however was on his last legs, using a 3 year old chassis that didn't work at all, and with an extremely slow teammate in Freddy Kottulinsky, which lead to Bachot failing to pre-qualify for his first race at Spain.

After racing

After retiring from racing at the end of 2002, he went to support his son Jean-Maxime's racing career, as well as promoting young French racing talent. However, in 2019, he would make his international debut as a team owner, entering his team known as GB Racing into that year's season of the GT Super Series. He would also establish a driver program that year, finding young drivers and managing them as they progress through motorsport across the world.

Personal Life

His father, Guillon (1919-2004) was an avid campaigner for the rights of small Formula One teams in the 1950s, and remained a controversial figure to his dying day. His mother (1928-1994) would live a quiet life, and not much more is known about her.

He had a son, Jean-Maxime, in 1977, who went on and became a racing driver himself.

Bachot registers himself as an atheist, and has been a strong critic of religions like Christianity and Islam, which has caused controversy in the past.

He resides in Home on the Wolds in England, having bought a house there in 2003 after retiring from competitive racing. He previously resided in Fort Lauerdale, Florida during his CART career, and before that lived in Monaco and Coventry.

Complete Motorsports Career Results

Complete Formula 1 Results

*Season still in progress