The late Julien Garnier posted this image in the photo section of his tribute site, apparently at a historic event in 1983. Can anyone tell me when and where it was taken, what the event was and what Jacky was driving? If anyone has any other photos from this event, I would love to hear from them and I would like to consider them for inclusion in the forthcoming book.
UPDATE; Pierre van Vliet suggests it might be the 1983 Rally de Bruxelles for vintage cars: a web search discloses no details of this event, so if anyone can cast any light, please, that would be superb!
Edited by Jon Saltinstall, 31 January 2022 - 13:38.
Jon, I'm 99 per cent sure it's from the filming of 'The Marque of a Legend - Man's Quest for the Ultimate Sportscar' - Jacky drove the Le Mans-winning Birkin/Howe Alfa Romeo from 1931 - here's a direct link to the relevant segment:
If you look very closely at your photo I think you can just make out (we're talking TNF-anal here!) the collar of the Rothmans-Porsche overalls Jacky reveals to be wearing under the flying jacket, although it might just be my imagination, I don't know.
All I remembered when I saw the photo is that the film was presented and narrated by an actor who at some point played Winston Churchill and who in civilian life, as it were, was an expert archer and a student of the longbow - I remembered him firing one of the longbows, which remarkably still 'worked', salvaged from the Mary Rose. But could I remember his name? I could not!
It was Robert Hardy - I'd to search through photos of all the actors who'd played Churchill, like an identity parade, until I found him! I now remember he played Siegried Farnon in 'All Creatures Great and Small', among of course many other roles - he was a well known and distinguished actor, it was just his name that escaped me. Then it was just a case of searching YouTube for a motorsport video presented by Robert Hardy - I thought I'd seen it there a while ago - and bingo (eventually). I'd initially recorded it off the TV on VHS so I also remembered if from then, but that was a fair few years ago.
I suppose the question is, what year was the video shot? No earlier than '82, due to the Rothmans overalls and the 956, obviously. You might even have enough info/photos to date the patches on Jacky's overalls - Hertz and Bilstein(?) on the front... The 956 he goes on to drive has the original low-downforce (or pre-high-downforce, to put it another way) nose but the short tail used other than at Le Mans, an early configuration, although the livery is from '83 or later, not '82, and the footage at the end of the video is from the '83 Le Mans race. So I would reckon it's '83.
Of course, Jacky might have made an appearance, contemporary to the video, in the Alfa wearing the same jacket and flying helmet, at some other event, but I doubt it.
One thing I've only just learned is that the 1931 Le Mans-winning Alfa was BRG and not red. Makes sense, of course, given its drivers, but having only seen black and white photos I'd always just assumed - wrongly - that it was red.
It's quite an entertaining video anyway - I'm sure plenty of other TNFers will remember seeing it at the time (also features Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Derek Bell and Willie Green). Here it is from the start:
Jon, I'm 99 per cent sure it's from the filming of 'The Marque of a Legend - Man's Quest for the Ultimate Sportscar' - Jacky drove the Le Mans-winning Birkin/Howe Alfa Romeo from 1931 - here's a direct link to the relevant segment:
If you look very closely at your photo I think you can just make out (we're talking TNF-anal here!) the collar of the Rothmans-Porsche overalls Jacky reveals to be wearing under the flying jacket, although it might just be my imagination, I don't know.
All I remembered when I saw the photo is that the film was presented and narrated by an actor who at some point played Winston Churchill and who in civilian life, as it were, was an expert archer and a student of the longbow - I remembered him firing one of the longbows, which remarkably still 'worked', salvaged from the Mary Rose. But could I remember his name? I could not!
It was Robert Hardy - I'd to search through photos of all the actors who'd played Churchill, like an identity parade, until I found him! I now remember he played Siegried Farnon in 'All Creatures Great and Small', among of course many other roles - he was a well known and distinguished actor, it was just his name that escaped me. Then it was just a case of searching YouTube for a motorsport video presented by Robert Hardy - I thought I'd seen it there a while ago - and bingo (eventually). I'd initially recorded it off the TV on VHS so I also remembered if from then, but that was a fair few years ago.
I suppose the question is, what year was the video shot? No earlier than '82, due to the Rothmans overalls and the 956, obviously. You might even have enough info/photos to date the patches on Jacky's overalls - Hertz and Bilstein(?) on the front... The 956 he goes on to drive has the original low-downforce (or pre-high-downforce, to put it another way) nose but the short tail used other than at Le Mans, an early configuration, although the livery is from '83 or later, not '82, and the footage at the end of the video is from the '83 Le Mans race. So I would reckon it's '83.
Of course, Jacky might have made an appearance, contemporary to the video, in the Alfa wearing the same jacket and flying helmet, at some other event, but I doubt it.
One thing I've only just learned is that the 1931 Le Mans-winning Alfa was BRG and not red. Makes sense, of course, given its drivers, but having only seen black and white photos I'd always just assumed - wrongly - that it was red.
It's quite an entertaining video anyway - I'm sure plenty of other TNFers will remember seeing it at the time (also features Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Derek Bell and Willie Green). Here it is from the start:
Jon, I'm 99 per cent sure it's from the filming of 'The Marque of a Legend - Man's Quest for the Ultimate Sportscar' - Jacky drove the Le Mans-winning Birkin/Howe Alfa Romeo from 1931 - here's a direct link to the relevant segment:
If you look very closely at your photo I think you can just make out (we're talking TNF-anal here!) the collar of the Rothmans-Porsche overalls Jacky reveals to be wearing under the flying jacket, although it might just be my imagination, I don't know.
All I remembered when I saw the photo is that the film was presented and narrated by an actor who at some point played Winston Churchill and who in civilian life, as it were, was an expert archer and a student of the longbow - I remembered him firing one of the longbows, which remarkably still 'worked', salvaged from the Mary Rose. But could I remember his name? I could not!
It was Robert Hardy - I'd to search through photos of all the actors who'd played Churchill, like an identity parade, until I found him! I now remember he played Siegried Farnon in 'All Creatures Great and Small', among of course many other roles - he was a well known and distinguished actor, it was just his name that escaped me. Then it was just a case of searching YouTube for a motorsport video presented by Robert Hardy - I thought I'd seen it there a while ago - and bingo (eventually). I'd initially recorded it off the TV on VHS so I also remembered if from then, but that was a fair few years ago.
I suppose the question is, what year was the video shot? No earlier than '82, due to the Rothmans overalls and the 956, obviously. You might even have enough info/photos to date the patches on Jacky's overalls - Hertz and Bilstein(?) on the front... The 956 he goes on to drive has the original low-downforce (or pre-high-downforce, to put it another way) nose but the short tail used other than at Le Mans, an early configuration, although the livery is from '83 or later, not '82, and the footage at the end of the video is from the '83 Le Mans race. So I would reckon it's '83.
Of course, Jacky might have made an appearance, contemporary to the video, in the Alfa wearing the same jacket and flying helmet, at some other event, but I doubt it.
One thing I've only just learned is that the 1931 Le Mans-winning Alfa was BRG and not red. Makes sense, of course, given its drivers, but having only seen black and white photos I'd always just assumed - wrongly - that it was red.
It's quite an entertaining video anyway - I'm sure plenty of other TNFers will remember seeing it at the time (also features Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Derek Bell and Willie Green). Here it is from the start:
That's brilliant, thanks Kyle - I have sent you a PM separately!
Thanks again for your help - without the support of enthusiasts, archivists and historians like yourself, projects of this nature would be impossible.
Just to add a bit more information, this photo (and the filming for that segment in The Marque Of A Legend) took place in the run-up to the 1983 Le Mans 24 Hours. It's briefly featured in Duke Marketing's video review of Le Mans 1983, and your original photo is also published in the Le Mans 1983 edition of Grand Prix International magazine:
Just to add a bit more information, this photo (and the filming for that segment in The Marque Of A Legend) took place in the run-up to the 1983 Le Mans 24 Hours. It's briefly featured in Duke Marketing's video review of Le Mans 1983, and your original photo is also published in the Le Mans 1983 edition of Grand Prix International magazine:
Really useful information, thank you. At least that explains the "unusual" cropping of the image Julien had posted!
