Dudley Benjafield

Dudley Benjafield

Dudley Benjafield was a British medical doctor and racing driver.
Nationality	British
Born	(1887-08-06)6 August 1887 Edmonton, London
Died	20 January 1957(1957-01-20) (aged 69) London
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1925 – 1930, 1935
Teams	Bentley Motors Ltd. Private
Best finish	1st (1927)
Class wins	1 (1927)

Joseph Dudley "Benjy" Benjafield, MD (6 August 1887 – 20 January 1957) was a British medical doctor and racing driver.

Career

Benjafield was born in Edmonton, London, UK. He attended the University of London and received his MD from University College Hospital in 1912. Specializing in bacteriology, he served in Egypt during World War I and later used his expertise combating the great flu epidemic of 1918–1919.

Benjafield had a passion for motorsports which started with boating, but moved on to automobiles in the 1920s, following the accidental destruction of his beloved motor launch. Upon purchasing a Bentley 3-litre, he started racing in 1924 and 1925. Benjafield's success led to him being offered to drive a company racer at the behest of Bentley founder W.O. Bentley. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans seven times, and won the event in 1927 with co-driver and fellow "Bentley Boy" S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis; while their car was badly damaged, they frantically made on-the-spot repairs and wound up winning the race.

Benjafield later created the British Racing Drivers' Club, and continued racing until 1936. He died on 20 January 1957.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1925	Bentley Motors Ltd	Bertie Kensington-Moir	Bentley 3 Litre Sport	5.0	19	DNF (Out of fuel)
1926	Bentley Motors Ltd	Sammy Davis	Bentley 3 Litre Speed	3.0	137	DNF (Accident)
1927	Bentley Motors Ltd	Sammy Davis	Bentley 3 Litre Speed	3.0	137	1st	1st
1928	Bentley Motors Ltd	Frank Clement	Bentley 4½ Litre	5.0	71	DNF (Radiator)
1929	Bentley Motors Ltd	Baron André d'Erlanger	Bentley 4½ Litre	5.0	159	3rd	2nd
1930	Hon. Dorothy Paget	Giulio Ramponi	Bentley 4½ Litre 'Blower'	>3.0	144	DNF (Engine)
1935	Arthur W. Fox & Charles Nichol	Sir Roland Gunter	Lagonda M45R Rapide	5.0	196	13th	3rd
Sources:[1][2][3]

References

General

• Pugh, Martin. "Bentley Boys". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/97973. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Specific

1. "John Dudley Benjafield". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
2. "Dudley Benjafield Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
3. "Complete Archive of Dudley Benjafield". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 18 September 2023.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Robert Bloch André Rossignol	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1927 with: Sammy Davis	Succeeded by Woolf Barnato Bernard Rubin
Preceded by none	BRDC President 1928–1929	Succeeded by Francis Curzon