CHARAVEL, Èdouard (or Jean?).


An apparently affluent amateur who raced Bugattis throughout the twenties using the pseudonym “Sabipa”. According to Venables he was an engineer from Paris but Conway states that his family were in the refrigeration business in Dieppe. He was said to be familiar with Marseillaise patois and that because of the disapproval of his employers to his racing he was discussing the use of a pseudonym with a clerk at the A.C.de France he muttered “Sabipa” or “Don’t know” which was entered on his competition licence. He had purchased a 16 valve type 13 which he used with some success in local events including the 1920 Boulogne speed trials (see photo in “Bugantics” 29/4/32). Despite relatively little race experience he was one of the factory team in a type 39A at the 1926 Italian Grand Prix at Monza which he won against weak opposition. It is assumed he paid for his works drive. He competed in various events including Le Mans, but is now mainly remembered for his narrow escape at the 1930 Pau Grand Prix where he rolled his 35C and was left lying unconscious on the racing line of an 80mph bend. Birkin in a Bentley squeezed through between the trackside ditch and the face-down Charavel. He found traces of blood on his wheel afterwards but Charavel had escaped serious injury. He raced again but soon faded from the scene. However, in the sixties, when he divided his time between Paris and Monte Carlo, he still owned a 35 in bits in Dieppe and a new type 46 rolling chassis (46512) which he had purchased in 1933. It was stored in a Monte Carlo basement until being rescued by Michael Glass. Conway, in “Grand Prix Bugatti” (2nd Edition) refers to “L.Charavel” and in BM p.395 he refers to a visit to Molsheim in 1920 by Louis Charavel. VSCC Bulletin 239 refers to “Sabipa” – Louis Charavel, sometime works Bugatti driver, winner of the 1926 Italian GP,

Luis Charavel was from Nice and went to Paris, made almost his carrers with Bugatti. Behalve on long distances races Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Itala

Robert

Louis CHARAVEL "Sabipa"

RESULTS RACE BY RACE:

http://www.racing-database.com/starts.asp?Driver=Sabipa

to see too :

http://www.bugattibuilder.com/wiki/index.php?title=1068

http://www.bugattibuilder.com/wiki/index.php?title=4724

Louis Charavel alias "Sabipa" with his Bugatti Type 35 C at the Grand Prix de l'A.C.F 1930, Pau. Charavel acquired his pseudonym of Sabipa when in response to a journalist's question he answered in Provencal dialect "Sabe pas" (I don't know)

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[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]

Type 37A - St Brieuc

<a href="http://www.bugattibuilder.com/photo/albums/userpics/10107/t37a_charavel.jpg"><img src="http://www.bugattibuilder.com/photo/albums/userpics/10107/normal_t37a_charavel.jpg" alt="Type 37A #unknown"></a>

Type 37A - Targa Florio 1927

<a href="http://www.bugattibuilder.com/photo/albums/userpics/10107/TF1927%7E0.jpg"><img src="http://www.bugattibuilder.com/photo/albums/userpics/10107/normal_TF1927%7E0.jpg" alt="Type 37A"></a>

Is that car still straight? Looks like the front is twisted.

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Vive la Marque !!

In the above picture the link between the front shock absorber arm and the top of the axle is missing. Is the shock absorber larger than standard ?

Charavel Targa Florio 1927: