Dijon 1979 (2 weeks later)

Hi, I interviewed René Arnoux recently about Dijon 1979 and other subjects. He told me something very interesting about what happens two weeks after his famous fight with Gilles Villeneuve.

Here is his comment (interview was in french, so translation is mine) :

« We were in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. On Sunday, after the warm-up session, the speaker told that Gilles and I were requested by the Race director. So we went to the building wondering what hell we could have done during the session. We were very relax. When we saw the race director, he said : « personally, I have nothing to express but six men are waiting for you in this room ». We came in and faced five or six other drivers, like pupils in front of a disciplinary committee ! One of them talked for the others and said that what Gilles and I did in Dijon was dangerous and a bad thing for Formula 1 !
Gilles replied : « If, one day, I have the opportunity to do it again, no doubt : I will do it again exactly the same way ! ». And I replied to the spokesman : « if the fight was against you, no doubt : I would have definitely finished second because you would have saved the points of the third place instead of taking any risk for the second ! » We laughed and get out ! »

René doesn’t want to let out the name of the drivers. I’m sure that the spokesman was Niki Lauda. I know that Regazzoni was part of the story, even in a dilettante manner. But what about the others ?
Is someone have informations about that ?

Very nice pice of history there Racing Lines.

But if this spokesman would know then what all of us think know, he would maybe have talked different.
Don't we all now say that that race of Gilles and René is one of the most well known great fights in "reascent" F1 history. That is what F1 is all about and we miss it so dearly these days.

This episode is also mentioned in Donaldson's biography of Gilles Villeneuve. I seem to remember that Lauda was the main instigator of the inquisition.

Edward

In the light of events the year before it is interesting to see the role that the senior drivers continued to play in policing their more 'youthful' colleagues. I've read (unfortunately I forget the source) that Mario Andretti had a respectful 'word' with Keke Rosberg when he arrived in F1, but it seems that some other 'senior' drivers were rather more heavy handed.

Odd that Arnoux doesn't now name the other drivers. Donaldson quotes Arnoux saying they were Scheckter, Fittipaldi, Regazzoni and Lauda. They "said it was too dangerous. 'You guys are completely crazy! You could have a big crash. Etc. Etc.' After Lauda said it was too dangerous, I said, 'Yes, maybe for you and Gilles. But not for me and Gilles.' I said to Niki, 'There is no possibility for you to do that because you would take your foot off the accelerator!' Gilles said to them all that it is not dangerous and you are completely stupid to have a meeting for that!"

Didn't Mario relaxedly describe the two of them as ' just a couple of young lion cubs pawing at each other ' or something along those lines ?

Well,

Let me play the Devils Advocate here... and it even won't cost me much trouble. Okay it was a great fight, one for the history books... but watch the 'jurispedence', the circumstances these older drivers had to observe.


In 1977 Gilles Villeneuve crashed into the crowd in Japan and killed several spectators (his fault? Don't know. But...

In 1978 Ronnie Petterson died at Monza because of, an allegedly dangerous overtaking maneouvre by Riccardo Patrese (alleged and not entirely justified.) But...

During the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix (prior to France, I believe) Didier Pironi drove so crazily during that he made two other cars crash, then himself and Lauda an his wheel missed Lauda's head by a couple of inches. His fault? Don't know. But...

So, I don't think it was that idiotic of the older drivers to ask their younger rivals to take some more prudence.

Originally posted by Maldwyn
In the light of events the year before it is interesting to see the role that the senior drivers continued to play in policing their more 'youthful' colleagues. I've read (unfortunately I forget the source) that Mario Andretti had a respectful 'word' with Keke Rosberg when he arrived in F1, but it seems that some other 'senior' drivers were rather more heavy handed.

I am pretty sure the source for that was Roebuck's Grand Prix Greats (or possibly Inside Formula One -- or, knowing Roebuck, possibly both). Andretti apparently welcomed Keke to F1 and told him to watch how the other guys did things and to emulate them - "do it like we all do it in Formula One". I think the story was told in the context of Keke always having been immensely proud to get into a bigger and faster racing car, and Keke's disillusionment with youngsters who came into F1 and treated the cars like a big Formula 3 - with corresponding driving manners. It's not made explicit who he's referring to, but I suspect someone who won several championships...

It was indeed Senna who he was referring to. If Senna had been born ten years earlier, he would have been killed ten years earlier. The risk that man was taking... very, very special like Gilles... but as I've read elsewhere (Was it Peter Revson?) 'Motorracing is a discipline in which a mistake can quickly ramify into something lethal.'