John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute

The Marquess of Bute
(Johnny Dumfries)
Born (1958-04-26) 26 April 1958
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality United Kingdom British
Active years 1986
Teams Lotus
Entries 16 (15 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 3
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1986 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry 1986 Australian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years 19871991
Teams Kouros Racing
Silk Cut Jaguar/TWR
Toyota Team Tom's
Courage Compétition
Best finish 1st (1988)
Class wins 1 (1988)

John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (born 26 April 1958 in Rothesay, Isle of Bute), styled Earl of Dumfries before 1993 and from this courtesy title, is a British peer and a former racing driver, most notably winning the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans. He does not use his title and prefers to be known solely as John Bute, although he has also been called Johnny Dumfries.[1] The family home is Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute. He attended Ampleforth College, as had his father and most male members of the Crichton-Stuart family, but did not finish the normal six years of study.

Racing career

Born into one of Scotland's oldest aristocratic families (being a descendant of Robert II of Scotland and through him Robert the Bruce) and the descendant of a British Prime Minister, Johnny Dumfries/John Bute was heir to a large fortune. He turned his back on an expensive education at Ampleforth College and set about pursuing a career in motor racing.[2]

In 1984 Dumfries was the sensation of the F3 season, scoring 14 race victories on his way to winning, and completely dominating, the British Formula 3 Championship for Team BP (Dave Price Racing). He also finished runner-up to Ivan Capelli in the European Formula Three Championship that year. In 1985, he graduated to the newly created FIA International Formula 3000 Championship, initially competing for Onyx Race Engineering before switching to Lola Motorsport. It was a disappointing season, with a sixth-place finish in Vallelunga being the highlight of the year.

In 1986 he made his breakthrough into F1, and raced a single season for the JPS Team Lotus. He was a late addition to the team, apparently as a result of Ayrton Senna not wanting Derek Warwick as a teammate.[2] He competed in 15 Grands Prix for Lotus (not qualifying at Monaco), which used the turbocharged Renault engines and scored 3 championship points.[3]

He was replaced for 1987 by the Japanese driver Satoru Nakajima as part of Lotus's deal to use Honda engines from that season onwards. During the most part of the 1986 season, he was usually one of the midfield drivers, on par with the Tyrrell drivers Martin Brundle and Philippe Streiff.

In 1988, Dumfries scored the biggest racing victory of his career when he won the Le Mans 24 Hours driving a Jaguar XJR-9 for Tom Walkinshaw's Silk Cut Jaguar Team alongside Dutchman Jan Lammers and Englishman Andy Wallace.[4]

Wealth

He ranked 616th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008, with an estimated wealth of £125m. In the 2006 list, he ranked 26th in Scotland with £122m.

He lives with his family in London and at the ancestral seat Mount Stuart House, 5 miles south of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, PA20 9LR. In 2007, the other family home Dumfries House in Cumnock, Ayrshire was sold to the nation for £45 million.[5]

Marriages and Issue

In 1984, he married Carolyn, daughter of Bryson and Rose Waddell. They were divorced in 1993. They have three children:

He married secondly Serena Solitaire Wendell, daughter of Major Jac Wendell and former wife of Robert Delisser, in 1999. They have one child:

Ancestry

Crichton-Stuart is the son of the 6th Marquess of Bute and his former wife Beatrice Weld-Forester. On his father's side, he is a direct male-line descendant of King Robert II of Scotland through an illegitimate line, and a female-line descendant of King William IV of the United Kingdom, by his mistress Dorothy Jordan, through their daughter, Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll. As William IV was Queen Victoria's uncle, the Marquess of Bute is a distant cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. On his father's side he is also a descendant of Bernard, Earl of Granard and Beatrice Mills Forbes, an American socialite who was the daughter of Ogden Mills and Ruth "Tiny" Livingston Mills, a descendant of the Livingston family and the Schuyler family from New York.

On his mother's side, he is twice descended from King Charles II of England and Scotland through his eldest illegitimate son, James, Duke of Monmouth.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
1985 Onyx Racing SIL
Ret
THR
7
EST
Ret
VAL
6
PAU 16th 1
Lola Motorsport SPA
Ret
DIJ
10
PER ZEL ZAN DON
1988 GEM Motorsport JER VAL PAU SIL MNZ PER BRH BIR BUG ZOL
Ret
DIJ
13
NC 0

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts.
1986 John Player Special Team Lotus Lotus 98T Renault V6t BRA
9
ESP
Ret
SMR
Ret
MON
DNQ
BEL
Ret
CAN
Ret
DET
7
FRA
Ret
GBR
7
GER
Ret
HUN
5
AUT
Ret
ITA
Ret
POR
9
MEX
Ret
AUS
6
13th 3

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Class No Tyres Car Team Co-Drivers Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1987 C1 62 M Sauber C9
Mercedes-Benz M117 5.0L Turbo V8
Switzerland Kouros Racing United States Chip Ganassi
New Zealand Mike Thackwell
37 DNF DNF
1988 C1 2 D Jaguar XJR-9LM
Jaguar 7.0L V12
United Kingdom Silk Cut Jaguar Netherlands Jan Lammers
United Kingdom Andy Wallace
394 1st 1st
1989 C1 37 B Toyota 89C-V
Toyota R32V 3.2L Turbo V8
Japan Toyota Team Tom's United Kingdom Geoff Lees
United Kingdom John Watson
58 DNF DNF
1990 C1 37 B Toyota 90C-V
Toyota R32V 3.2L Turbo V8
Japan Toyota Team Tom's Japan Aguri Suzuki
Italy Roberto Ravaglia
64 DNF DNF
1991 C2 13 G Cougar C26S
Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6
France Courage Compétition Sweden Anders Olofsson
Sweden Thomas Danielsson
45 DNF DNF

References

  1. Georgina Adam (26 April 2007). "Race to save Dumfries House". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  2. 1 2 "Drivers:Johnny Dumfries". Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  3. "Painter-cum-racer". Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  4. "Johnny Dumfries profile". Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  5. "Historic mansion sold to nation". BBC News. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-13.

External links

Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by
John Crichton-Stuart
Marquess of Bute
1993 -
Succeeded by
Current Incumbent
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ayrton Senna
British Formula 3
Champion

1984
Succeeded by
Maurício Gugelmin
Preceded by
Derek Bell
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Al Holbert
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1988 with:
Jan Lammers
Andy Wallace
Succeeded by
Jochen Mass
Manuel Reuter
Stanley Dickens
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Martin Brundle
Autosport
National Racing Driver of the Year

1984
Succeeded by
Andy Rouse
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