PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Olivier Chandon de Brailles, handsome young heir to the Chandon-Moet French champagne millions, was killed when a racing car he was testing hit a retaining wall at more than 100 mph and catapulted into a canal.
The crash occurred Wednesday at the Moroso Motor Sports Park on the B-Line Highway Wednesday.
Chandon, 27, was the constant companion of high-fashion model Christie Brinkley, whom he met at Studio 54 in New York, and both were familiar figures on the New York disco scene.
Chandon, who dropped the de Brailles part of his name when he took up racing, was virtually unknown in European motor racing circles, but was hoping to make his mark on American tracks.
Because of the dangers involved, his family, estimated to be worth several tens of millions of dollars, opposed his involvement in racing, as did his Miss Brinkley.
The beautiful model frequently watched from the pits while Chandon raced, but was not with him Wednesday at Palm Beach Gardens.
Despite the doubts of family and friends, the young Frenchman was determined to succeed at the risky sport which nine years ago claimed the life of another young heir to millions, Peter Revson of the Revlon cosmetic family. Revson died in 1974 while practicing for the South African Grand Prix.
Chandon was a member of the New York-based Fred Opert Racing Team and was testing a car in preparation for the open cockpit Formula Atlantic series when he lost control of the vehicle.
Speedway manager Laurie Dunham, who witnessed the crash, said Chandon's car hit the canal bank and bounced into the water.
'It was a high-speed impact. The car was destroyed,' Ms. Dunham said. 'The car was completely cut in half. He was stuck inside the car (in the water) and it took us a while to get him out.
'I was talking to him yesterday,' she recalled. 'He was very athletic, very attractive. He spoke five languages. It's awful -- it seems like it always happens to the nice ones.'
Palm Beach County Sheriff's detective Ken Williams said drowning had been established as the cause of death, but Ms. Dunham said officials at the hospital told her he died of injuries suffered in the crash.
The French driver started racing in Europe several years ago and had always wanted to compete in big time U.S. auto racing. He attended several driving schools in this country to learn more about his chosen trade, and friends said his New York apartment was crammed with books and magazines about the sport.
Chandon's only real test in the American circuit so far had been in a Super Vee race in Detroit last June in which he finished 10th.
Olivier was the only son of Frederic Chandon de Brailles, chairman of the Moet-Hennessy group. The Moet et Chandon champagne firm, founded in 1743, is France's leading champagne producer and exporter.
It merged with Hennessy Cognac in 1971. Chandon's family owns between 5 and 10 percent of Moet-Hennessy shares, and their fortune is estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.
Moet-Hennessy took over Schieffelin & Co. in the United States as a marketing tool for its products and now does more than $200 million in U.S. business annually. The firm also owns the Christian Dior perfume line.
