André Pilette

André Pilette was one of the most prolific figures in Belgian motor racing, as much for the racing school he set up after his retirement as for his numerous successes on the track.

He first caught the eye racing a supercharged Alfa Romeo 2300 in the immediate post-war years, and though he scored most of his successes at national level – he was Belgian champion in 1954 – he did contest nine World Championship Grands Prix at the wheel of various Talbots, Connaughts, Gordinis and Ferraris. His best result was with a Gordini at Spa in 1954, when he finished fifth. His final F1 appearance, after an eight-year break, was again on home soil, in 1964, with the Scirocco-Climax.

Pilette’s father Theodore had been one of the foremost racers of the early 1900s, and his son Teddy maintained the family tradition, being particularly successful in Formula 5000 during the 1970s.

To him and André’s other family and friends we extend our condolences on their sad loss. He passed away shortly after Christmas, aged 75.

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We were sorry to learn of the recent death of David Hitches, who has passed away in his adopted Spain. Hitches was a front-runner in Formula Junior events in the early 1960s, taking his privately entered Lola Mk5 to victory at Lake Garda in 1962.