Friday 31st August 1906

Born on this day, Raymond Sommer. The Frenchman was a key figure of the inter-war period of racing, especially in sports cars, where he won Le Mans in both 1931 and 1932, first with Luigi Chinetti and then with the legendary Tazio Nuvolari. Eschewing driving for teams in Formula One because of the constraints they put on him, He delighted in taking on the mighty Ferrari and Mercedes teams and beating them as often as possible. After the war he consolidated his reputation for no-holds-barred racing with an excellent fourth place at Monaco in 1950 in a Formula Two Ferrari, before being killed in a non-championship race at Cadours towards the end of the year.