Max Mimoun Cohen-Olivar (30 April 1945 – 21 May 2018) was a Moroccan racing driver. He is considered to be one of the greatest Moroccan racing drivers of all time. He competed extensively in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race, and at the time of his final appearance in 2001 he was only the ninth driver to start the race 20 or more times. The others were Henri Pescarolo, Bob Wollek, Yojiro Terada, Derek Bell, François Migault, Claude Ballot-Léna, Claude Haldi and Pierre Yver.

Le Mans

His first appearance in the race was in 1971, when he partnered André Wicky in the Swiss driver's own Porsche 908. The gearbox failed in the twentieth hour, with the pair in 10th place in the race and second in their class. The Wicky car failed to start the race the following year, but they had better luck in 1973 as they were joined by the Swiss driver Philippe Carron. The trio were the slowest of all the finishers, 21st on the road and 9th in class. For 1974 Wicky ran a De Tomaso Pantera for Cohen-Olivar and Carron, but the duo retired in the fourth hour of the race. In 1975 Cohen-Olivar drove the lead Wicky Porsche, alongside Carron and Frenchman Joël Brachet. They were uncompetitive again, before the clutch failed in the seventeenth hour, causing Cohen-Olivar's third retirement in four Le Mans entries.

Wicky entered a De Tomaso Pantera for Cohen-Olivar, Jacques Marché and Martial Delalande for the 1976 race but the trio did not start the race. In 1977 Cohen-Olivar joined the French ROC (Racing Organisation Course) entry, driving a Chevron B36 alongside Alain Flotard and Michel Dubois. The car once again failed to make the finish, dropping out in the eighteenth hour. ROC ran two B36s in 1978, and while the other car managed to win the S 2.0 class, the car Cohen-Olivar shared with Frenchmen Jacques Henry and Albert Dufrene suffered a similar fate to the previous year, again retiring in the eighteenth hour, this time with an engine failure.

For 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, Cohen-Olivar joined up with a new French entry under the Lambretta banner, sharing a Lola T298 with Pierre Yver and Michel Elkoubi. This combination gave Cohen-Olivar his first finish since 1973, and even some silverware, as they finished 21st overall and third in the S 2.0 class.

Despite this success, the team did not enter the race again, and it wasn't until 1981 that Cohen-Olivar was able to race at Le Mans again. He again raced a T298, this time owned by Frenchman Jean-Marie Lemerle. The car was co-piloted by Lemerle and his fellow Frenchman Alain Levié. Another uncompetitive race for Cohen-Olivar ended in the seventeenth hour when the car's electrics failed. He remained with Lemerle in 1982, who with support from Italian firm Sivama Motor was able to run a new car, a Lancia Beta Monte Carlo. Levié was replaced in the team by American Joe Castellano, and the trio had much better luck than the previous year, with 12th overall and second in class. This 12th place would remain Cohen-Olivar's best ever result in the race.

Racing record

Complete World Sportscar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pts 1970 Wicky Racing Team S2.0 Porsche 910 Porsche Typ 901/21 2.0 F6 DAY SEB BRH MNZ TGA SPA NÜR LMS GLN ÖSTNo drivers' Championship. 1971 Wicky Racing Team P3.0 Porsche 908/02 Porsche 908 3.0 F8 BUE DAY SEB BRH MNZ SPA TGA NÜR LMS ÖST GLN 1972 Wicky Racing Team S3.0 Porsche 908/02 Porsche 908 3.0 F8 BUE DAY SEB BRH MNZ SPA TGA NÜR LMS ÖST 1973 Wicky Racing Team S3.0 Porsche 908/02 Porsche 908 3.0 F8 DAY VAL DIJ MNZ SPA TGA NÜR LMS ÖST GLN 1974 Supercar S2.0 Lola T294 Ford Cosworth FVC L4 MNZ SPA NÜR IMO Wicky Racing Team GT De Tomaso Pantera Ford 5.8 V8 LMS ÖST GLN LEC BRH KYA 1977 S2.0 Lola T294 Ford Cosworth BDG L4 DIJ MNZ VAL PER EST LEC IMO SALIn 1976 and 1977 the World Championship was divided into two series that ran simultaneously but separately: The World Sportscar Championship and the World Championship for Makes. 1979 Lambretta S.A.F.D. S2.0 Lola T298 BMW M12 2.0 L4 DAY MUG DIJ SIL NÜR PER GLN BRH VAL 1980 Jean-Marie Lemerle S2.0 Lola T298 ROC-Chrysler-Simca 2.0 L4 DAY BRH MUG MNZ SIL NÜR LMS GLN MOS VAL DIJ 1981 Jean-Marie Lemerle S2.0 Lola T298 BMW M12 2.0 L4 DAY SEB MUG MNZ RSD SIL NÜR LMS PER DAY GLN SPA MOS ROA BRH NC 0 1982 Jean-Marie Lemerle Gr.5 Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Lancia 1.4 L4t MNZ SIL NÜR LMS SPA MUG FUJ BRH NC 0 1983 Scuderia Sivama Motor C Lancia LC1 Lancia 1.4 L4t MNZ SIL NÜR LMS SPA FUJ KYA NC 0 1984 Helmut Gall B BMW M1 BMW M88 3.5 L6 MNZ SIL LMS NC 0 Hubert Striebig C2 Sthemo SMC2 NÜR SPA IMO FUJ KYA SAN John Bartlett C1 Lola T610 Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 BRH MOS 1985 Bartlett Racing C2 Chevron B62 Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 MUG MNZ SIL LMS HOC MOS SPA BRH FUJ SHA NC 0 1986 Bartlett Racing C2 Chevron B62 Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 MNZ 65th 3 Bardon DB1 SIL BRH Porsche Kremer Racing C1 Porsche 956 Porsche Type 935/76 2.6 F6t LMS NOR Roy Baker Racing Tiga C2 Tiga GC285 Ford Cosworth BDT 1.8 L4t JER SPA FUJ Tiga GC286 NÜR 1987 John Bartlett Racing C2 Bardon DB1 Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 JAR JER MNZ NC 0 Roy Baker Racing Tiga GC286 SIL NÜR SPA FUJ Charles Ivey Racing Tiga GC287 Porsche Type 935/76 2.6 F6t LMS NOR BRH 1988 Ark Racing C2 Ceekar 83J-1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 JER NC 0 Swiss Team Salamin C1 Porsche 962C Porsche Type 935/79 2.8 F6t JAR SIL Automobiles Louis Descartes C2 ALD 04 BMW M88 3.5 L6 MNZ Primagaz Competition Cougar C12 Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 LMS BRN Roy Baker Racing Tiga GC286 BRH NÜR SPA FUJ SAN 1989 Swiss Team Salamin C1 Porsche 962C Porsche Type 935 3.0 F6t SUZ DIJ NÜR DON SPA MEX NC 0 Team Lee-Davey JAR BRH 1990 Swiss Team Salamin C Porsche 962C Porsche Type 935 3.0 F6t SUZ MNZ SIL SPA DIJ NÜR DON CGV MEX NC 0 1991 Swiss Team Salamin C2 Porsche 962C Porsche Type 935 3.2 F6t SUZ LMS NÜR MAG MEX AUT 54th 2 Porsche Type 935 3.0 F6t MNZ SIL 1992 Equipe Alméras-Chotard C3 Porsche 962C Porsche Type 935 3.0 F6t MNZ SIL LMS DON SUZ MAG NC 0 Footnotes

24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1971 Wicky Racing Team André Wicky Porsche 908/02 P3.0 DNF DNF 1972 Wicky Racing Team André Wicky Walter Brun Porsche 908/02 S3.0 - DNS DNS 1973 Wicky Racing Team André Wicky Philippe Carron Porsche 908/02 S3.0 270 21st 9th 1974 Wicky Racing Team Philippe Carron De Tomaso Pantera-Ford GT 16 DNF DNF 1975 Wicky Racing Team Philippe Carron Joël Brachet Porsche 908/02 S3.0 161 DNF DNF 1976 Wicky Racing Team Jacques Marché Martial Delalande De Tomaso Pantera-Ford GTX - DNS DNS 1977 Société R.O.C. Alain Flotard Michel Dubois Chevron B36-ROC-Chrysler S2.0 176 DNF DNF 1978 R.O.C. La Pierre du Nord Jacques Henry Albert Dufrene Chevron B36-ROC-Chrysler S2.0 195 DNF DNF 1979 Lambretta S.A.F.D. Pierre Yver Michel Elkoubi Lola T298-BMW S2.0 248 21st 3rd 1980 Jean-Marie Lemerle Jean-Marie Lemerle Lola T298-ROC-Talbot S2.0 - DNQ DNQ 1981 Jean-Marie Lemerle Jean-Marie Lemerle Alain Levié Lola T298-BMW S2.0 104 DNF DNF 1982 Jean-Marie Lemerle Jean-Marie Lemerle Joe Castellano Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Gr.5 295 12th 2nd 1983 Scuderia Sivama Motor Oscar Larrauri Massimo Sigala Lancia LC1 C 217 NC NC 1985 Goodmands Sound Bartlett Chevron Racing Richard Jones Robin Smith Chevron B62-Ford Cosworth C2 19 DNF DNF 1986 Porsche Kremer Racing Pierre Yver Hubert Striebig Porsche 956 C1 160 DNF DNF 1987 Charles Ivey Racing John Cooper Tom Dodd-Noble Tiga GC287-Porsche C2 224 DNF DNF 1988 Primagaz Competition Patrick de Radiguès Cougar C12-Ford Cosworth C2 273 NC NC 1989 Tiga Race Team John Sheldon Robin Donovan Tiga GC289-Ford Cosworth C2 126 DNF DNF 1990 Team Davey Giovanni Lavaggi Tim Lee-Davey Porsche 962C C1 306 19th 19th 1991 Team Salamin Primagaz Antoine Salamin Marcel Tarrès Porsche 962C C2 101 DNF DNF 1992 Equipe Alméras-Chotard Jean-Marie Alméras Jacques Alméras Porsche 962C C3 85 DNF DNF 2000 Seikel Motorsport Michel Neugarten Tony Burgess Porsche 911 GT3-R GT 302 18th 3rd 2001 Seikel Motorsport Tony Burgess Andrew Bagnall Porsche 911 GT3-RS GT 272 12th 6th

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