Woolf Barnato
(Joel) Woolf Barnato (
27 September 1895 –
27 July 1948) was a
British financier and
racing driver, one of the "
Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. He achieved three consecutive wins out of three entries in the
24 Hours of Le Mans race.
He was the son of
Barney Barnato, a
diamond magnate and associate of
Cecil Rhodes who had made a fortune in the
Kimberley mines. He inherited a multi-million
pound fortune at the age of two. He was educated at
Charterhouse School and
Trinity College, Cambridge and served as an officer in the
Royal Field Artillery, British Army in
World War I.
In the 1920s he was a member of a social set known as the "Bentley Boys", daredevil drivers who favoured the cars of
W. O. Bentley. Many were independently wealthy, often with a background in war service. Woolf Barnato was nicknamed
"Babe" Barnato, in ironic deference to his
heavyweight boxer's stature.
Inspired by the 1924 Le Mans win by
John Duff and
Frank Clement, Woolf Barnato agreed to finance Bentley's business, and became majority shareholder and chairman in 1925.
Barnato went on to be Duff's co-driver when he set the world 24 hour record at 95.03 mph at
Montlhéry.
With renewed financial input, W. O. Bentley was able to design another generation of cars, the six-cylinder
6½ Litre. However, the
supercharged version of the 4½ Litre (the famous
"Blower" Bentley) which Barnato pushed through against Bentley's wishes, had poor durability and failed on the track.
The
Wall Street Crash affected the Bentley business greatly, and Barnato and Bentley were forced to sell to arch-rival
Rolls-Royce.
As a driver, Woolf Barnato won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race three times:
*
1928 — with
Bernard Rubin in a Bentley 4½ Litre
*
1929 — with
Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin in a
Bentley Speed Six*
1930 — with
Glen Kidston in a Bentley Speed Six
As these were the only years in which he entered the race, Barnato is the only Le Mans driver with a perfect wins-to-starts ratio.
Bentley, under his chairmanship, also won the race in
1927, with
Dr. J. Dudley "Benjy" Benjafield and
S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis in a Bentley 3 Litre.
In March 1930 Woolf Barnato accepted a challenge to race his Bentley against an express train,
Le Train Bleu, from
Cannes to London. Barnato wagered £200 that at the wheel of his Speed Six, he could arrive in London before the French train had arrived at
Calais. At 17:45,
Le Train Bleu left the station at Cannes, and Barnato drove off in his Bentley Speed Six, accompanied by amateur golfer Dale Bourne. They maintained an average speed of 43.43 mph across a distance of over 570 miles, and reached Calais at 10:30 the next morning. After crossing the
English Channel by ferry they arrived at the Conservative Club in St. James' Street, London at 15:20.
Le Train Bleu arrived at Calais station at 15:24, four minutes adrift of Barnato's time.
Barnato also played
first-class cricket, appearing as
wicket-keeper with
Surrey County Cricket Club in 1928-30.
* Malcolm Bobbitt -
Bentley: The Man behind the Marque (2003) ISBN 1859833528
* Diana Barnato Walker -
Spreading My Wings: One of Britain's Top Women Pilots Tells Her Remarkable Story from Pre-War Flying to Breaking the Sound Barrier (2003) ISBN 1904010318
*
Biography at Historic Racing*
Biography at Cricinfo*
"Bentley Boys"*
Blue Train Bentley - Auto Aficionado
