Jean de Maleplane

Jean de Maleplane
From Le Matin, 12 September 1931
BornGabriel Paul Marie Jean Veyrier de Maleplane
(1907-05-12)12 May 1907
Died22 September 1978(1978-09-22) (aged 71)
Lyon, France[1]

Gabriel Paul Marie Jean Veyrier de Maleplane, who used the name Jean de Maleplane (12 May 1907 – 22 September 1978), was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver, active between 1925 and 1933.

Career

De Maleplane was from a family of French nobility which held Maleplane Castle in Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat. He started his racing career in 1925, and normally drove in voiturette races, but took part in the San Sebastian Grand Prix in 1927 (finishing 8th in a Buc) and 1930 (finishing 6th in a Bugatti Type 35C), as well as making his one national Grand Prix appearance at the 1930 French Grand Prix, finishing 7th in his 35C.[2]

His greatest success was winning the Oran Grand Prix in 1930, de Maleplane surviving on the bumpy surface when more established stars retired.[3] He sold his 35C in the spring of 1932[4] having upgraded to a Maserati Tipo 26M, but enjoyed less success. He moved to Casablanca in Morocco in 1933, as a representative of an oil company,[5] and was forced to stop racing after a serious car accident,[6] although he did become a member of the Automobile Club Marocain.[7][8]

References

  1. ↑ "VEYRIER DE MALEPLANE Gabriel Paul Marie Jean". deces.matchid.io. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  2. ↑ Etzrodt, Hans. "Independent Etancelin victorious against all odds". Golden Era. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Arcole". Motorsport. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Beautifully preserved Bugatti Type 35C Grand Prix up for auction, video". Racecar. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Tuyaux et potins". L'Intransigéant: 4. 11 January 1933.
  6. ↑ "Le champion automobiliste Jean de Maleplane à "l'Echo du Maroc"". L'Echo du Maroc: 6. 29 April 1936.
  7. ↑ "Membres Actifs de l'A.-C.-M". Le Maroc du Nord: 6. 1 June 1938.
  8. ↑ "Drivers (M)". Golden Era of Grand Prix racing. Retrieved 2 August 2026.