David Thieme

David Thieme (born in 1942) is an American designer, son of the artist and designer Anthony Thieme.^[1] He is best known for having been the former owner of the Essex Overseas Petroleum Corporation, the company that sponsored Team Lotus, between 1979 and 1981, and also the official entry for Porsche in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[2]

Education and affairs

He studied industrial design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, in 1973 he used the money that he had achieved with is work as a designer and founded Essex Overseas Petroleum Corporation an oil trading company. Based in a room of the Hotel of Paris in Monaco, the company was a one-man show, Thieme, and was capable of making lots of money (some sources talks about 70 million dollars of profit per year).^[3]

Motorsport connections

The passion for racing cars, and the fact that his become friend of Colin Chapman in 1978,^[4] brought Thieme to the Formula 1 scenario. Between 1979 and 1981 he became first a major sponsor of the team and ultimately even the main. With major parties of team presentation in 1980 and 81, in places like Royal Albert Hall, Thieme brought all the glamour and extravagant life to motorsport, having even hired the Michelin star chef Roger Vergé, to cook for all his guests at the motorhomes. Still today is remembered for it.^[5]

In 1979 Essex, also sponsored the official Porsche entries for the 24 Hours of Le Mans,^[2] but the two 936, #12 (driven by Jacky Ickx, Brian Redman and Jurgen Barth, fastest lap in the race) and the #14 (with Bob Wollek and Hurley Haywood, pole position) don't finish the race.

Fraud charges and jail

In April 1981, David Thieme was arrested at an airport in Zurich because of the accusations of fraud in the amount of 7.6 million dollars from Credit Suisse bank.^[6] After two weeks of investigation he was released on bail ( sources said that his bail of 150.000 dollars was paid by Mansour Ojjeh), the Essex empire collapsed and Thieme disappeared.^[7]

Personal life

According to what is stated Thieme now lives in Paris with his wife, the daughter of comedian André Pousse.^[8]

References