| Nationality | French |
|---|---|
| Birth date | May 18, 1922 |
| Birth place | La Trimouille, France |
| Death date | December 7, 1974 (aged 52) |
| Death place | near Poitiers, France |
| Retired | 1969 |
| Last series | Sports car racing |
| Years active | 1950s–1969 |
| Teams | Privateer Porsche |
| Best finish | 1st in GT <2L class |
| Year | 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans |
| Wins | Multiple national rally wins |
Robert Buchet (known as Bubu;[1] 18 May 1922 – 7 December 1974) was a French racing driver.[2]
Biography
Robert Buchet was born 18 May 1922 in La Trimouille, France.[3]
Buchet achieved his first victories in 1956, winning successively the Rallye des Routes du Nord, the Coupe des Alpes (tied), and the Armagnac Rally, with Claude Storez as co-driver, driving a Porsche 356.[1][3] In 1957, he and Storez also won the Liège–Rome–Liège Rally.[4] He repeated his success in that event in 1959, this time with Paul Ernst Strähle, driving a Porsche 356B Abarth GTL (with Jacques Féret being the other category winner). His racing record also includes victories in the Bordeaux Rally, the Limousin Rally (1959 and 1961, both in Porsches), the Rallye de l'Ouest, the Cognac Rally, and the La Baule Rally.
From 1961 to 1968, Buchet participated six times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1964, driving a Porsche 904 with Guy Ligier, he won the GT class under 2 litres at Le Mans.[5] That same year, he finished third in the Tour de France Automobile (GT class) with German driver Herbert Linge. He won the Rallye d'Automne twice in a row, in 1965 and 1966, driving first a Porsche 904 GTS and then a Porsche 911, and also won the Rallye de l'A.C.O. (also known as the Rallye de l'Ouest) in the Grand Touring category in 1965.
In 1967, he became French Circuit Racing Champion, again with Porsche.[3]
A Porsche dealer in Poitiers, Buchet raced various Porsche models throughout his career, including the 356, 904, 906, 907, 910, and 911.[3]
He retired from driving in 1969 after an accident during the Critérium de Touraine. In the early 1970s, he founded the Écurie Robert Buchet, achieving further national and European successes with drivers such as Claude Ballot-Léna and Bob Wollek.[1][6] Other drivers who raced for Écurie Robert Buchet include Jacques Bienvenue, Vic Elford, Cyril Grandet, and Jacques Hoden.
Robert Buchet died in 1974 at the age of 52, in a road accident that occurred near Poitiers.[3] After his death, his wife ran the Écurie Robert Buchet for several years.[1]
Major Wins
| Year | Rally | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Rallye des Routes du Nord | Claude Storez | Porsche 356 |
| 1957 | Liège–Rome–Liège | Claude Storez | Porsche Carrera Speedster |
| 1958 | Critérium Neige et Glace | Claude Storez | Porsche Carrera Speedster |
| 1959 | Limousin Rally | Bouillaud | Porsche Carrera |
| 1959 | Liège–Rome–Liège | Paul Ernst Strähle | Porsche Carrera |
| 1961 | Limousin Rally | Villain | Porsche Carrera |
| 1962 | Rallye des Routes du Nord | Stanislas Motte | Porsche Carrera |
| 1965 | Rallye de l'Ouest | Eduardo Valadas | Porsche 904 GTS |
| 1965 | Limousin Rally | Eduardo Valadas | Porsche 904 GTS |
| 1966 | Rallye des Routes du Nord (GT) | Jacques Ferrand | Porsche 904 GTS |
| Source[7] | |||
References
- ^ "Robert Buchet". www.motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
- ^ "BUCHET Robert Victor Albert". deces.matchid.io. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
- ^ "La Trimouille : Robert Buchet, une vie au volant des Porsche" (in French). lanouvellerepublique.fr. 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
- ^ "The Porsche 356 on the road to Rome". PorscheSport. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
- ^ "The Porsche 904 at Le Mans (1) - 1964, Butzi Porsche's favorite design". 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
- ^ "Poitiers : le chanteur Sacha Distel achetait ses Porsche au champion Robert Buchet" (in French). lanouvellerepublique.fr. 2019-07-24. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
- ^ Morelli, Michel & Auriol, Gérard (2007). Histoire des rallyes. Boulogne-Billancourt: ETAI. ISBN 978-2-7268-8762-2.