By Brenda Williams
Raymond Sommer was born on August 31, 1906 in Mouzon, a small French town located in the Ardennes Department. Sommer had a family role model for risk-taking as in 1909 his father, Roger Sommer, broke the record set by the Wright Brothers for the longest flight. Sommer's family owned a carpet manufacturing business in the nearby town of Sedan. As their business was highly prosperous Sommer was able to pursue his love for racing. Sommer entered his first race in 1930 driving a privateer Chrysler Imperial. The following year, driving the same Chrysler, he won the Spa 24-hour race.
In 1932 Sommer purchased an Alfa Romeo "mille Miglia" 8C and entered the 24 Hours of LeMans. Luigi Chinneti was his teammate however Luigi became ill, throwing the burden of driving onto Sommer who was forced to stay behind the wheel for twenty hours. Sommer was also ill and exhausted both from the excessive driving and the exhaust fumes emitting from a ruptured collector. In spite of the problems, they won. Then in the latter half of the 1932 racing season, Sommer bought a Monza, which he entered in several events and at the end of the season won the Marseilles Grand Prix at Miramas.
He started in 1933 with a new 8CM Maserati but after several competitions and no wins, Sommer went back to the Monza. However, he had only places and no wins. Then he teamed up with Tazio Nuvolari to share an 8C at LeMans. This time he earned his second consecutive victory. Nuvolari brought the car through a thrilling finish completing the last lap just seconds ahead of Chinetti in spite of fading brakes and a leaky fuel tank.
The following year, 1934 was a bad season for Sommer as he was continually forced to retire due to mechanical problems. In 1935 he purchased a 1932 P3 from Scuderia Ferrari and finished first at Comminges and in the GP de I'UMF at Montlhery. Sommer rebounded in 1936 and won the French Grand Prix. However, he again returned to endurance racing and won the Spa 24 Hours, the Marseilles Three Hours at Miramas and the Grand Prix de Tunisie. When the Nazis invaded and occupied France at the beginning of World War II, Sommer like so many of his fellow racing drivers, joined the French Resistance movement.
As soon as the war ended, Raymond returned to racing with his first victory in the 1946 Rene Le Begue Cup race at Saint-Cloud. In 1947 he won the Turin Grand Prix in Valentino Park for Enzo Ferrari. Raymond was the first non-Italian to be hired by Ferrari. Sommer drove five Grand Prix races in 1950 but had to retire in all but one due to mechanical problems. He did win the Aix les Bains Circuit du Lac Grand-Prix in July. In September 1950 during the Haute-Garonne Grand Prix in Cadours, France, his steering mal-functioned causing the car to run off the road and crash. Sommer was killed instantly.
Sommer had been nicknamed Coeur de Lion (Lionheart) for even though his cars often failed him, he was always either in the lead or fighting for it.
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