Johnny Dumfries: 1958-2021
The world of motorsport is once again rocked, this time by the news of the passing of John Crichton-Stuart, the 7th Marquess of Bute, better known as Johnny Dumfries, after a short illness.
Having climbed through the ladder of British motorsport, he took the 1984 British F3 title, and finished runner up in the equivalent European series. For 1985, he then moved to the Onyx team for the Formula 3000 season, but things didn't work well, and he was out of a drive by mid-season. But then fate intervened, with Ayrton Senna blocking Derek Warwick from joining the Lotus F1 team, and Dumfries was signed up for what would be a single season in Formula One.
He then moved into sportscar racing, driving for Porsche, Jaguar and Toyota. The highlight would be the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours, racing for the TWR Jaguar team where he would be victorious alongside Andy Wallace and Jan Lammers, and delighting thousands of British fans who had made the journey to La Sarthe.
After completing two seasons at Toyota, and then a single drive at Le Mans with Courage, he retired from competitive motorsport in order to return to looking after the family estate, Mount Stuart House, on the Isle of Bute in Scotland.
A family statement 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."
