Bernard Rubin was an Australian born racing driver and pilot who was a member of the "Bentley Boys" team at the Bentley Motor Company and winner of the 1928 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Background
The son of Australian pearl salesman Mark Rubin (1867 – 1919), Bernard was born in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton, before he eventually moved to London with his family in 1908. His mother was the former Rebecca de Vahl Davis, who came from a notable Jewish Melbourne family. On 29 March 1935, in Paris, Rubin married Audrey Mary Simpson, daughter of Charles Ringham Simpson.
Career
Rubin made his driving debut at Brooklands in 1928 where he finished in sixth place before he made his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He remained at Bentley for Le Mans in 1929, but his car failed after only seven laps. In July 1929 he came eighth in the Irish Grand Prix.
In August 1929 Rubin was injured when his Bentley overturned during the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy on the first lap.
With his injuries, Rubin turned to team ownership, and helped fund fellow "Bentley Boy" Henry Birkin"s racing efforts. Birkin later drove Rubin"s Maserati 3000 in the Tripoli Grand Prix in May 1933 during which, while reaching over for a cigarette during a pit stop, he burnt his forearm on the exhaust and died five weeks later.
In April 1934 Rubin flew to Australia in a Leopard Moth with testpilot K.F.H. Waller to get familiar with the route and arrangements for the Centenary Air Race from Mildenhall to Melbourne in October same year. Their return flight of 8 days, 12 hours was not officially timed but was ten hours faster than Jim Mollison"s World Record.
He entered his Bentley-green de Havilland Comet in the air race but was unable to compete due to severe illness.
Waller and former Royal Navy pilot O. Cathcart-Jones finished fourth in the green Comet and, returning to England, set a round-trip record of 130 flying hours. They also set a new record Darwin-London of 130 hours total and for this earned a Royal Aeronautical Club silver medal. Bernard Rubin died in England of pulmonary tuberculosis in 1936.
His body was taken back to Australia, where he is buried in Fawkner Cemetery, Melbourne.