Johnny Servoz-Gavin, 1942-2006
#1
Posted 29 May 2006 - 20:39
RIP
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#2
Posted 29 May 2006 - 20:47
I met him just the once, at the GFOS in 1998 (or '99) and I was chuffed to do so.
#3
Posted 29 May 2006 - 21:14
Plus there is something about a Frenchman named Johnny, I think that is way cool.
#4
Posted 29 May 2006 - 21:25
Originally posted by David M. Kane
Plus there is something about a Frenchman named Johnny, I think that is way cool.
I believe Johnny was only a nickname which stuck.
Georges Francois his real name ?
RIP Johnny
#5
Posted 29 May 2006 - 21:28
#6
Posted 29 May 2006 - 22:26
Originally posted by macoran
I believe Johnny was only a nickname which stuck.
Georges Francois his real name ?
RIP Johnny
Georges-Francis according to http://www.grandprix...drv-sergeo.html
He really gave us some memorable drives.
RIP....
#7
Posted 29 May 2006 - 23:06
Rest in peace.
#8
Posted 29 May 2006 - 23:09
Originally posted by bigears
Only his drive at the 1968 Monaco GP comes to mind.
Rest in peace.
You slept through Monza 1968 ?
#10
Posted 29 May 2006 - 23:17
#11
Posted 29 May 2006 - 23:22
Originally posted by FLB
Et merde...
apparantly you stopped French lessons in kindergarten ?
#12
Posted 29 May 2006 - 23:40
Originally posted by macoran
You slept through Monza 1968 ?
Well, I wasn't born at the time!
I only remembered about his drive at Monaco from an article in a Motorsport magazine a few years ago.
#13
Posted 29 May 2006 - 23:44
I'll see if I have a race report for you
#14
Posted 30 May 2006 - 00:03
Euh... non, pas très exactement. Je suis francophoneOriginally posted by macoran
apparantly you stopped French lessons in kindergarten ?
One of my prized possesions:
#15
Posted 30 May 2006 - 00:05
#16
Posted 30 May 2006 - 02:02
#17
Posted 30 May 2006 - 02:39
#18
Posted 30 May 2006 - 04:45
#19
Posted 30 May 2006 - 06:10
http://memoiresdesta...s.html#comments
PS : oups, sorry, en relisant MdS je m'aperçois que FLB ( François Luc ? ) y écrit aussi apparemment ;)
#21
Posted 30 May 2006 - 09:22
Johnny Servoz-Gavin - Matra MS5 au Grand Prix de Monaco 1967
http://www.ultimatec...37&d=1140358315
Johnny Servoz-Gavin - Matra MS10 au Grand Prix de Monaco 1968
#22
Posted 30 May 2006 - 10:33
I saw Johnny when he won at Vallelunga the 1969 European F.2 Championship! And at Monza, when he won the final sprint against Jacky Ickx' powerful Ferrari for the second place.
One of my idols.
#23
Posted 30 May 2006 - 10:52
#24
Posted 30 May 2006 - 11:00
A sad day indeed for all motor racing fans when a driver held in so much esteem slips away.
#25
Posted 30 May 2006 - 11:37
#26
Posted 30 May 2006 - 13:23
When he retired from F1 during practice for the Monaco GP in 1970 he was quoted as saying, "Now I will have more time for my women!"
..... and so should we all !!
#27
Posted 30 May 2006 - 16:06
Johnny Servoz-Gavin - Matra MS5 au Grand Prix de Monaco 1967
Johnny Servoz-Gavin - Matra MS10 au Grand Prix de Monaco 1968
Johnny Servoz-Gavin - Matra MS84 au Grand Prix du Mexique 1969
#28
Posted 30 May 2006 - 16:55
for his literary quality probably the best f1 driver auto-biography ever written .if its not indiscret is it possible to know what was the context when the book was signedOriginally posted by FLB
Euh... non, pas très exactement. Je suis francophone
One of my prized possesions:
#29
Posted 30 May 2006 - 17:27
Originally posted by Keir
Johnny was one of those racers who epitomized "COOL" !!
When he retired from F1 during practice for the Monaco GP in 1970 he was quoted as saying, "Now I will have more time for my women!"
..... and so should we all !!
It'll get very empty here at TNF then !
#30
Posted 30 May 2006 - 17:31
#31
Posted 30 May 2006 - 18:51
Didn't Jonathan Williams do something similar?
Banging the wall at the Monaco chicane in 1968 was probably the defining moment of JSV's career.
May he rest in peace.
Edward
#32
Posted 30 May 2006 - 19:42
#33
Posted 31 May 2006 - 06:33
#34
Posted 31 May 2006 - 09:43
#35
Posted 01 June 2006 - 18:37
I was ready to adopt Johnny as a new hero after Dan retired but he walked away too soon.
#36
Posted 02 June 2006 - 13:57
Nonetheless, a great talent & a very nice man.
I am also surprised Autosport don´t have the news on the site!
Nonetheless, RIP.
#37
Posted 02 June 2006 - 14:11
Originally posted by Richie Jenkins
I am also surprised Autosport don´t have the news on the site!
Nonetheless, RIP.
Yes, odd that, as they put an obituary in the magazine yesterday.
#38
Posted 06 June 2006 - 19:09
#39
Posted 07 June 2006 - 03:26
Originally posted by SEdward
Anyone who walks away from a career in F1 to spend much of the rest of his life wandering around the Mediterranean in a horse-drawn caravan is pretty cool in my books. Wasn't his retirement precipitated by an eye injury?
Really! Tell me more, I know very little about him and would love to know more.
Cheers
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#40
Posted 07 June 2006 - 06:49
The fact is that Johnny was a very flamboyant man who lived a rather wild lifestyle, making up by sheer talent what he was maybe losing through lack of discipline ......he had a difficult start to the 1970 season, which should have been his big break as official N°2 driver to World Champion Jackie Stewart .....the March 701 was , as we all now know, a rather difficult car that even JYS had difficulties with, the eye injury probably did hamper Johnny's ability, all of a sudden this man, who so far had seen success in all fields naturally coming to him, suddenly found himself struggling , and just decided he had had enough.....
The mystery surrounding his retirement was also deepened by the way in which he chose to disappear from the limelight , and the "gipsy" lifestyle he led after that. Lived for many years in a "péniche" on the Seine, then on a sail boat in the mediterranean.....it is while living on this last boat that he suffered a very bad accident, a gas-bottle explosion that set fire to his boat and left him severely burned, to the extent of having three or four heart failures while in hospital in the following hours, which he survived but left him with a permanent weak heart condition which, probably, led to his early death.
He did do a very short comeback in saloon car racing around 1982, at least one test organised by Jean-Pierre Beltoise in which, so the story goes, he proved extremely quick, but his heart condition prevented him from pursuing the experiment . He had done a well publicised public appearance during the 2002 "Blue Days" at Le Mans, a historic meeting organised to celebrate Matra, Alpine, their drivers and generally french auto racing of the 60-70's , and he was apparently deeply touched by the warm reception he got from the professionals and general public on that occasion.
His retirement in 1970 was the end of his career, and a loss for french racing.....but , "any evil brings a good" as we say in French, and his departure opened the door for François Cevert to start a F1 career earlier, and in better conditions, than he probably would have done otherwise.....
#41
Posted 08 June 2006 - 05:28
#42
Posted 13 June 2006 - 18:22
#43
Posted 13 June 2006 - 20:20
The car a Mercedes 300 6,9l.
#44
Posted 13 June 2006 - 22:02
#45
Posted 14 June 2006 - 06:27
http://memoiresdesta...n-est-plus.html
#46
Posted 14 June 2006 - 06:34
Originally posted by macoran
This pic of Johnny and some editorial on the site:
http://memoiresdesta...hautetfort.com/
Ken Tyrrell ? ? ? or not Ken Tyrrell! ! !
#47
Posted 14 June 2006 - 09:22
Originally posted by philippe7
Merci Marc. To get directly to the article and the comments, it's better to use that link :
http://memoiresdesta...n-est-plus.html
I agree for the obituary part, but then do scroll up for some actual racing editorial of the day about an F2 race with Johnny.
#48
Posted 14 June 2006 - 09:45
___________________________________
Originally posted by macoran
This pic of Johnny and some editorial on the site:
http://memoiresdesta...hautetfort.com/
#49
Posted 14 June 2006 - 09:47
Originally posted by macoran
I agree for the obituary part, but then do scroll up for some actual racing editorial of the day about an F2 race with Johnny.
Yes, but it's just that the site may (?) not be too easy to navigate, specially for non-français speakers ;)
The reims F2 story is here........
http://memoiresdesta...sque-blanc.html
#50
Posted 06 August 2013 - 16:14