Johnny DUMFRIES

A Scottish driver (1958-2021)

John Colum Crichton-Stuart was born into one of the oldest and wealthiest families among the British nobility, the Stuart family.

He was passionate about cars from an early age, and began his motor racing career secretly in 1980. He chose the pseudonym "Dumfries", named after a Scottish town, so that his social background could be hidden. He worked as a painter and decorator to finance his debut and even became a bus driver for the Williams team: an on-the-job apprenticeship a thousand divisions above life in the castle!

He was recruited into Formula 1 to become Ayrton Senna's teammate back in 1986. Despite his qualities as a driver, Johnny Dumfries was not the team's first choice and the opportunity quickly transformed into a nightmare. 

The Scot loses his steering wheel the following season which was clearly dominated by the Brazilian champion. His reputation was in tatters and he couldn't find any other teams to take him on. 

He started in endurance racing and won the 1,000 kilometres at Spa in his first race. He was finally recognised when he joined the Jaguar team in 1988 and took the British colours to the top with a third placed finish at the 24 Hours of Daytona and a victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours just a few months later. 

'Johnny' officially became the seventh Marquis of Bute following the death of his father in 1993 and he gave up competitive racing to look after the family estate. The gates of Mount Stuart Castle on the Isle of Bute were always open to promote motor racing up until his untimely death at the age of 62.

Luigi Chinetti donated his 1949 24 Hours winnings from Ferrari to the ACO in 1988. The car has become one of the jewels of the Manceau Automobile Museum.

Jaguar reached its first peak with five victories in eight years during the period from 1951 to 1960. In 1953 was the year that Jaguar won with the first car equipped with disc brakes, while the race was overshadowed by the accident of Chinetti's American teammate Tom Cole at Maison Blanche.

He was buried in the large cemetery at Le Mans in accordance with the drivers’ wishes.