Obituaries: Philippe Favre and Bev Bond

Philippe Favre

His name might not mean much to the wider world, but Philippe Favre was an immensely capable racing driver with a friendly, engaging manner. The Swiss died in a skiing accident on December 6, just short of his 52nd birthday.

Favre came to Britain in 1985 and soon established himself as a Formula Ford front-runner, going on to finish second in the following season’s RAC FF1600 series (and also finishing as runner-up in the Festival, after an epic duel with Roland Ratzenberger).

After two seasons (and one win) in British F3, he took pole position on his FIA F3000 debut at Silverstone in 1989 and finished the race in second place, behind Thomas Danielsson. Lack of sponsorship subsequently compromised his single-seater career, but he went on to race sports cars with distinction, representing Kremer Honda, Lister and Venturi, among others.

Bev Bond

As one of the leading drivers from the 1-litre Formula 3 era of the late 1960s, Bev Bond’s life went full circle when he returned to racing at the age of 70 in the burgeoning 1-litre F3 revival series. Sadly, he died from cancer aged 75 while planning another season of racing in 2014.

The product of a speedway riding family, Bond was born in London and rose through Formula 3 to race for Gold Leaf Team Lotus in a Lotus 59 in 1970. He famously won the 1970 British Empire Trophy at Oulton Park after starting from the back of the grid and was third in the British F3 Championship in both 1969 and 1971.
By now in his early 30s, his racing career ended in the mid-70s after competing in Formula Atlantic with Harry Stiller.

After 35 years away the sport, Bond rekindled his interest as the rebirth of 1-litre F3 took off over the past four years and was fortunate enough to race his Gold Leaf Lotus 59, now owned by Jim Chapman. He also worked with the 1-litre Historic F3 Racing Association and first suggested the successful revival of the Nations’ Cup race.