A native of Toulon, France, Jacques Bernusset passed most of his life in Belgium and raced with a Belgian licence. According to a number of sources, as the magazines Auto Italiana and Autosprint issue of 12 May 1966, Jacques Bernusset was a French citizen, this is confirmed by the book "Albo della Gloria" by Emanuele Carli, Italy 1972; according to different sources he had acquired Belgian citizenship, this has not yet been confirmed.
Jacques Bernusset began his racing career in Belgium at the age of 19, driving an old Lola MK5 Formula Junior that he bought at a bargain price. In 1964 he moved to Formula 3, and joined the Team Swaelens. He won two times in a row the Belgian Formula 3 Championship, in 1964 at the wheel of a Cooper T72 - BMC, and in 1965 in a brand new Cooper T76 - Ford. He became a successful racer, winning international Formula 3 events such as the 1964 ADAC-Eifelpokal Rennen at the Nürburgring Südschleife, ahead of Manfred Mohr's Brabham BT9 - Ford and Walter Habegger's Brabham BT9 - Ford, and the Littoral Grand Prix held at Porto Roz in Yugoslavia.
Jacques Bernusset lost his life in an accident which happened at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France, during the V Grand Prix de Nivernais, Formula 3 race held on Sunday, 01 May 1966.
Due to valves trouble, Jacques Bernusset withdrew during the first heat of the event. Despite his impossibility to be classified, he decided to start the second heat. He had a good start at the wheel of his Cooper T76 - Ford and during the first laps he overtook several drivers. While approaching the faster bend of the track, he lost control of the car which went off the road, rolled several times and crashed into a tree, bursting into flames. Bernusset was killed at the scene, the rescuers found the poor driver got stuck in the tubes of the chassis.
R.I.P
