Quick Facts
Biography
Robert R. Burman (23 April 1884 – 8 April 1916) was an American racecar driver who participated in the 1911 Indianapolis 500.
Biography
He was born on April 23, 1884 in Imlay City, Michigan. He was the winner of the Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race in 1909. He competed at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. Racing for racing promoter Ernest Moross, Burman set world records in his 200-horsepower Blitzen Benz racecar on the sands of Daytona Beach and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1911.
He was killed on April 8, 1916 in a road race in Corona, California, when he rolled over in his open-cockpit Peugeot car. Three spectators were also killed, and five others were seriously injured. His death caused his friends Barney Oldfield and Harry Arminius Miller to join forces to build a race car that incorporated a roll cage inside a streamlined driver's compartment that completely enclosed the driver. It was called the Golden Submarine.
Awards
He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2011.
Indy 500 results
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Images
Bob Burman, Louis Disbrow, Jack Tower, and Joe Grennon at the 1911 Indianapolis 500
Burman's crashed Cutting) racer, built by the Clark-Carter Automobile Company at the 1912 Indianapolis 500
Bob Burman's Keeton racer finished 11th place at Indianapolis in 1913
Bob Burman's Keeton racer photo taken by George L Mooney in 1913
