Former F1 racer Johnny Dumfries has died. The Scottish racer was 62 years old. Dumfries raced in Formula 1 in 1986 as teammate to Ayrton Senna at Lotus, but is best known in motorsport for claiming victory at the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours. Dumfries was a Scottish peer, whose real name was John Colum Crichton-Stuart, the 7th Marquess of Bute. His previous title was the Earl of Dumfries, but he preferred to be known as John Bute aside from his racing career. Dumfries stepped up to Formula 1 in 1986, having dominated the 1984 F3 Championship with 14 victories. Moving up to Formula 3000 in 1985, he raced for Onyx and Lola Motorsport with little success, but did enough to step up to Lotus for 1986. However, his year alongside Senna proved difficult. He scored just three of the team's 58 championship points, with the Brazilian scoring 55 with two races wins and multiple podiums. Dumfries was replaced at Lotus for 1987 but moved into sportscar racing. Taking part in the Le Mans 24 Hours for Tom Walkinshaw's Silk Cut Jaguar team, Dumfries was part of the winning trio with Dutch racer Jan Lammers and English driver Andy Wallace. A short statement from his family described him as a “devoted husband, father, brother, uncle, son and grandfather and loved by all”. “The indomitable spirit and energy which Johnny brought to his life will be greatly missed, and the immense warmth and love with which he embraced his family." Everyone at RacingNews365.com would like to express our sincere sympathies to his family and friends.
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