Charles Basle
Charles Basle, Atlanta Speedway, 1909. Originally in the Lazarnick Collection, part of the National Automotive History Collection at Detroit Public Library. Photo taken pre-1923, so copyright lapsed. JPEG copyright, Richard Jenkins, 2014
Born: |
08 Jan 1885 |
Died: |
04 Feb 1962 |
Nationality: |
France |
Indy 500s: | 1 (1911) |
Later became a garage owner. Brother Maurice also raced, but was killed in a crash in 1911. Both brothers sailed from Cherbourg to New York in the summer of 1904 to seek a new life. Basle took up racing almost immediately, carrying on racing until 1913. He entered his own Buick for the 1911 Indianapolis 500, but retired relatively early on. After settling in Los Angeles, he eventually became a US citizen in Los Angeles when he was fifty-nine, in February 1944.
Biography last updated 23 Jan 2017