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John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute facts for kids

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The Most Honourable

The Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart nonfree.jpg
Coronet of a British Marquess.svg
Marquess of Bute COA.svg
Born
John Colum Crichton-Stuart

(1958-04-26)26 April 1958
Rothesay, Buteshire, now Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Died 22 March 2021(2021-03-22) (aged 62)
Other names Johnny Dumfries
John Bute
Education Ampleforth College
Occupation Racing driver
Spouse(s)
Carolyn Waddell
(m. 1984; div. 1993)
Serena Solitaire Wendell
(m. 1999)
Children 4, including:
John Bryson Crichton-Stuart, 8th Marquess of Bute
Parent(s) John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute
Beatrice Weld-Forester
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality United Kingdom British
Active years 1986
Teams Lotus
Entries 16 (15 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 3
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1986 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry 1986 Australian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years 1987 – 1991
Teams Kouros Racing
Silk Cut Jaguar/TWR
Toyota Team Tom's
Courage Compétition
Best finish 1st (1988)
Class wins 1 (1988)

John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute (26 April 1958 – 22 March 2021), styled Earl of Dumfries before 1993, was a Scottish peer and a racing driver, most notably winning the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans. He did not use his title and preferred to be known solely as John Bute, although he had previously been called Johnny Dumfries before his accession to the Marquessate. The family home is Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute. He attended Ampleforth College, as had his father and most male members of the Crichton-Stuart family, but did not finish the normal five years of study.

Early life

Bute was born in Rothesay, Argyll and Bute, into one of Scotland's oldest families, the son of Beatrice Nicola Grace Weld-Forester and John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute, and a descendant of the 18th-century Prime Minister, the 3rd Earl of Bute. He was formally known as Earl of Dumfries, or as Johnny Dumfries.

He had two older sisters, Sophia Crichton-Stuart, who later married the musician Jimmy Bain, and Caroline, who died in a car accident in 1984. He also had a younger brother, Anthony, who became an art dealer in the United States.

The children's nanny was Helen Lightbody, who had served as nanny to Prince Charles and Princess Anne, and they were brought up in Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute. Bute later recalled how easy it was for a child to hide in the house.

Heir to a large fortune, the young Dumfries was educated at Ampleforth College, which he left at the age of sixteen and set about pursuing a career in motor racing.

Career

In 1984, Bute, then known as Johnny Dumfries, was the sensation of the F3 season, scoring 14 race victories on his way to winning, and completely dominating, the British Formula 3 Championship for Team BP (Dave Price Racing). He also finished runner-up to Ivan Capelli in the European Formula Three Championship that year. In 1985, he graduated to the newly created FIA International Formula 3000 Championship, initially competing for Onyx Race Engineering before switching to Lola Motorsport. It was a disappointing season, with a sixth-place finish in Vallelunga being the highlight of the year.

In 1986, he made his breakthrough into F1, and raced a single season for the JPS Team Lotus. He was a late addition to the team, apparently as a result of Ayrton Senna not wanting Derek Warwick as a teammate. He competed in 15 Grands Prix for Lotus (not qualifying at Monaco), which used the turbocharged Renault engines and scored 3 championship points. During most of the 1986 season he was usually one of the midfield drivers, on par with the Tyrrell drivers Martin Brundle and Philippe Streiff. He was replaced for 1987 by the Japanese driver Satoru Nakajima as part of Lotus's deal to use Honda engines from that season onwards.

In 1988, Bute scored the biggest racing victory of his career when he won the Le Mans 24 Hours, driving a Jaguar XJR-9 for Tom Walkinshaw's Silk Cut Jaguar Team alongside Dutchman Jan Lammers and Englishman Andy Wallace.

Bute also participated in the 1-hour endurance race in the 1988 British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park with fellow ex-F1 Briton Guy Edwards for Andy Rouse's Kaliber Racing team in Ford Sierra RS500, finishing third overall and in Class A.

He died of cancer in March 2021.

Wealth

Bute ranked 616th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008, with an estimated wealth of £125m. In the 2006 list, he ranked 26th in Scotland with £122m.

He lived with his family in London and at the ancestral seat Mount Stuart House, 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. In December 2020 he was charged with breaching COVID-19 restrictions for allegedly travelling to his Isle of Bute home from London.

In 2007, another family country house, Dumfries House in Cumnock, Ayrshire, was sold to the nation for £45 million.

Marriages and children

In 1984, he married Carolyn E. R. Margaret "Freddy" Waddell, they were divorced in 1993. They had three children:

  • Lady Caroline Crichton-Stuart (b. 26 September 1984)
  • Lady Cathleen Crichton-Stuart (b. 14 September 1986)
  • John Bryson Crichton-Stuart, 8th Marquess of Bute (b. 21 December 1989)

On the Isle of Bute in February 1999, he married his second wife, fashion designer Serena Solitaire Wendell, they had one child:

  • Lady Lola Affrica Crichton-Stuart (b. 23 June 1999)

Racing record

Complete British Formula Three results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 DC Pts
1984 Team BP Volkswagen SIL
1
THR
1
SIL
1
ZOL
2
THR
1
THR
1
DON
1
SIL
4
SNE
1
DON
9
OUL SIL
1
SPA
7
ZAN BRH
18
THR
1
SIL
1
1st 106

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Pts
1985 Onyx Racing SIL
Ret
THR
7
EST
Ret
NÜR
C
VAL
6
PAU 16th 1
Lola Motorsport SPA
Ret
DIJ
10
PER ÖST ZAN DON
1988 GEM Motorsport JER VAL PAU SIL MNZ PER BRH BIR BUG ZOL
Ret
DIJ
13
NC 0

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts.
1986 John Player Special Team Lotus Lotus 98T Renault V6 t BRA
9
ESP
Ret
SMR
Ret
MON
DNQ
BEL
Ret
CAN
Ret
DET
7
FRA
Ret
GBR
7
GER
Ret
HUN
5
AUT
Ret
ITA
Ret
POR
9
MEX
Ret
AUS
6
13th 3
Source:

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Class No Tyres Car Team Co-Drivers Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1987 C1 62 M Sauber C9
Mercedes-Benz M117 5.0L Turbo V8
Switzerland Kouros Racing United States Chip Ganassi
New Zealand Mike Thackwell
37 DNF DNF
1988 C1 2 D Jaguar XJR-9LM
Jaguar 7.0L V12
United Kingdom Silk Cut Jaguar Netherlands Jan Lammers
United Kingdom Andy Wallace
394 1st 1st
1989 C1 37 B Toyota 89C-V
Toyota R32V 3.2L Turbo V8
Japan Toyota Team Tom's United Kingdom Geoff Lees
United Kingdom John Watson
58 DNF DNF
1990 C1 37 B Toyota 90C-V
Toyota R32V 3.2L Turbo V8
Japan Toyota Team Tom's Japan Aguri Suzuki
Italy Roberto Ravaglia
64 DNF DNF
1991 C2 13 G Courage C26S
Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6
France Courage Compétition Sweden Anders Olofsson
Sweden Thomas Danielsson
45 DNF DNF

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap in class - 1 point awarded all races)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 DC Pts Class
1988 Kaliber Racing Ford Sierra RS500 A SIL OUL THR DON
3‡
THR SIL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON SIL 43rd 4 16th
1989 Kaliber Racing Ford Sierra RS500 A OUL SIL THR DON
DNS
THR SIL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON SIL NC 0 NC
Source:

‡ Endurance driver.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Johnny Dumfries para niños

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