Robert Benoist

Robert Benoist
Benoist at Monza in 1927
Born	(1895-03-20)20 March 1895 Île-de-France, France
Died	11 September 1944(1944-09-11) (aged 49) Buchenwald, Germany
Nationality	French
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1928–1937
Teams	Itala Grand Garage Saint-Didier Paris Roger Labric
Best finish	1st (1937)
Class wins	2 (1928, 1937)

Robert Marcel Charles Benoist (20 March 1895 – 11 September 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver. He won several Grand Prix racing events and the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1924 and 1937.

During World War II, Benoist, resisted the German occupation of France and worked as an agent in France for the clandestine British Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization. SOE's objectives were to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers, especially those occupied by Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with French resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment. In 1943, Benoist was captured by the Germans in Paris, but escaped and fled to Britain. Returning to France, he led a sabotage campaign around Nantes, but he was captured again in June 1944 and executed.