Saturday 4th June 1932

French racing pioneer, André Boillot (41) in a 301 sports Peugeot crashed into a tree during hillclimb Ars-La Châtre (France) practice and died five days later. André Boillot began racing cars at a young age. However, World War I not only disrupted his career but claimed the life of his brother in 1916. After the war, André Boillot returned to racing as part of the Peugeot factory team and drove their EXS model to victory in the 1919 Targa Florio. French drivers had been a major force since the inception of the Indianapolis 500 in the United States and he was part of a large post-war contingent of entrants from France. Boillot competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1919 “500” and was in the thick of things when he crashed with only five laps remaining. He returned to race in the event in 1920 and 1921 but both times went out early with mechanical problems. In Europe, he won the 1922 and 1925 editions of the Coppa Florio and in 1926 he and co-pilot Louis Rigal won the Spa 24 Hours in Belgium.