1939 in motorsport
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is an overview of the events of 1939 in motorsport including the major racing events, motorsport venues that were opened and closed during a year, championships and non-championship events that were established and disestablished in a year, and births and deaths of racing drivers and other motorsport people.
Annual events
The calendar includes only annual major non-championship events or annual events that had own significance separate from the championship. For the dates of the championship events see related season articles.
| Date | Event | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 14 May | 30th Targa Florio | [1] |
| 30 May | 27th Indianapolis 500 | [2] |
| 12–16 June | 28th Isle of Man TT | [3] |
| 17–18 June | 16th 24 Hours of Le Mans | [4] |
Births
| Date | Month | Name | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | Phil Read | British | Motorcycle racer | 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing World champion (1973-1974). | [5] |
| 29 | May | Al Unser | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (1970-1971, 1978, 1987). | [6] |
| 11 | June | Jackie Stewart | British | Racing driver | Formula One World Champion (1969, 1971, 1973). | [7] |
| 30 | Harry Källström | Swedish | Rally driver | 1976 Acropolis Rally winner. | [8] | |
| 5 | August | Roger Clark | British | Rally driver | 1976 Lombard RAC Rally winner. | [9] |
Deaths
| Date | Month | Name | Age | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | February | Bill Cummings | 32 | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (1934). | [10] |
| 30 | May | Floyd Roberts | 39 | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (1938). | [11] |
| 11 | August | Jean Bugatti | 30 | French | Automotive designer and test engineer |
