The first winner in Renault’s history in Formula 1, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, nicknamed “the tall blond”, crossed his final finish line at the age of 80.
If he is a pilot that the under 20 will not be able to know or know little, Jean-Pierre Jabouille nevertheless left its mark on the car race and the Formula 1 from the 1970s until the 90’s decade.
Her track record in the discipline-queen is not besides not the strongest with just two wins in Grand Prix in 1979 and 1980, For six pole positions And two additional podiums.
The myth of Dijon 1979
Let’s talk about this first success ! In 1979, Jabouille signed the first of his two victories on the occasion of French Grand Prixcontested on the Circuit de Dijon-Prenois.
For a French driver, it was hard to do better to open his speedometer, what’s more at the wheel of one ofs two Renault equipped with first turbo engine in F1a V6 spitting out white smoke, which in 1977 earned the Régie’s single-seaters the sweet nickname of “Yellow teapots”.
This success, achieved since the pole position, intervened as a just reward for Jabouille’s efforts in developing the turbo engine of the diamond whose beginnings only go back to Silverstone 1977.
Besides the success of Jabouille and Renault, the other great feat of arms of this famous Sunday in Dijon remains the homeric duel between Gilles Villeneuve And Rene Arnoux.
Considered one of most fascinating sequences in F1 historythe struggle between the Ferrari driver and his rival put on so much hairthree laps during, that she concealed Jabouille’s performance, amazed at the commotion caused by something other than his victory!
Artist Boogie and Alfa Romeo F1 Team team up to create a unique ‘Art Car’ to raise money for the charity ‘Save the Children’. https://t.co/ZG3J0ojfjx
— Sport Auto (@SportAutoMag) February 2, 2023
A serious accident in 1980
This success in Dijon remained as one of only sunny spells of a 79 season undermined by mechanical glitches. A bad luck, of which Jabouille was unfortunately customary during his career, which continued in 1980.
Despite two new poles, Interlagos and Kyalami, THE dropouts follow one another until a second, and final, success on the old track of Zeltweg on the occasion of Austrian Grand Prix. A meager thinning in the grayness of a season ended prematurely by a serious accident in Canada.
On the Montreal circuit, Jabouille was victim on the 26th lap of the race.a broken suspension which rushes him into the background, his two legs crashing into adventure.
Magré a final burst with Liger in 1981resulted in a series of non-qualifications, the “tall blond” draws a line for good on F1 mid-season.
Read also :
Retromobile 2023: follow the guide (programme, timetables, access, prices)
A Benetton F1 ex-Michael Schumacher auctioned at Retromobile 2023
A flourishing second career
Jean-Pierre Jabouille wasn’t done with the race though. Initially an adviser to Ligier, he took over the wheel again, but in events of Sports Cars with Peugeot. A revival that saw him finish on the podium of the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1992 and 1993.
Then went on to head Peugeot Sport after the departure of John Todt for Scuderia Ferrari, he ended his career by getting involved in several GT and Prototype projects.
All the writing of Motorsport wishes to send its most sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Jean Pierre Jabouille in these difficult times.
A Benetton-Renault Formula 1, crowned world champion in 1995 with the legendary Michael Schumacher, will go on sale at the Retromobile 2023 show! https://t.co/uGP9fWihKo
— Sport Auto (@SportAutoMag) February 1, 2023
