Zapping The Blogauto Megane e tech review
Jean-Pierre Jabouille was the driver-engineer par excellence, inexhaustible on his development experience. Having started with the Gordini Cup in 1966, he was vice-champion of France in F3 in 1968 then led an Endurance program with Matra (winning two podiums at Le Mans in 1973-1974 then a victory in the 1000 Kms of Mugello 1975 with Alpine ) and an F2 program with Alpine.
After a first F1 experience with Tyrrell in 1975 at the French Grand Prix, Jabouille won the European F2 title in 1976, while at the same time ensuring the long and tedious development of the Renault turbo engine. A work of Stakhanovist and self-sacrifice which then allowed him to debut the V6 of the diamond at the 1977 British Grand Prix.
Jabouille wipes the plaster of the complicated beginnings of Renault in F1 and multiplies the retirements. Even if the progress comes in qualifying first, the reliability is disastrous in the race and the Frenchman is also unlucky. Nevertheless, he made history at Dijon in 1979, when the V6 Turbo Renault triumphed, a major historical turning point both for the manufacturer and for the discipline, even if his success was somewhat eclipsed at the time by the duel of anthology that Gilles Villeneuve and René Arnoux delivered for 2nd place.
He won another victory in Austria in 1979, but only had three points finishes in 49 races. At the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, when his departure from Renault was recorded in favor of the arrival of Alain Prost, a violent accident caused him to have his legs broken. He will never fully recover his faculties and, after a few races for Ligier in 1981, he realizes his loss of competitiveness and stops his F1 career.
Subsequently, Jean-Pierre Jabouille took over the wheel in supertourism with Peugeot then, again, he was recruited by Jean Todt to lead the development of the 905 Endurance, also participating in the 24 hours of Le Mans with the lion, where he won two 3rd places in 1992 and 1993. Jean Todt having left for Scuderia Ferrari, Jabouille took the reins of the Peugeot program in F1 but he was dismissed in 1995 after a difficult start. Subsequently, he founded the JMB team, which distinguished itself in sport-prototypes and GT. Jabouille was also very present at historic events, taking the wheel of the Renault F1 Turbo several times.
To sum up
Jean-Pierre Jabouille died at the age of 80. This great figure in French motorsport, both in size and talent, marked the history of Renault and Formula 1 by imposing the turbo engine for the first time in Dijon in 1979.
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