11 replies to this topic

[marksixman]

I know it has been mentioned on other Forums here, but for those TNFers who don't scan everywhere, and don't take the magazine, French amateur racing driver Roger Dorchy passed away recently, aged 78 after battling Parkinson's Disease, and I thought he deserved a wider mention.

 

A true amateur, Le Mans was often his only race of the year, and he had 13 starts, with a best finish of 4th in 1980. His, and the WM-Peugeot team's (for whom he drove), main objective was top speed on the Mulsanne straight, so his finish in '80 was really very good, especially in view of the reported handling difficulties the quest for top speed produced. He achieved an official record mark of 405 km/h in 1988, generally recognised as a nod to the newly introduced Peugeot 405  - the team's own calculations put it closer to 415 km/h. And thanks to the introduction of the chicanes in 1990, he will hold that record in perpetuity.

 

He had raced in F Renault in 1973/4, then had his first run at Le Mans in '74 in a 911 Carrera RSR. He joined the WM team in 1979.

 

Personally I have some recollection of him racing at an Historic meeting in the '80's, maybe the Nurburgring Oldtimer, or Monthléry, and possibly some rallying, but I can't find any evidence.

 

Reposez en Paix  Roger.

 

PS. No doubt Tim will correlate any appropriate links.

[Ray Bell]

It's been mentioned in the 'Gone but not Forgotten' thread, where I posted:

 

Those WMs were in their prime at Le Mans when I went there in 1981...

 

 
...and it was a real pleasure to me to see them scorching down Mulsanne.
 
I did get a pic of the engine, which used the 604 cylinder block, in their pits but that's been thrown out.
 

 
I don't know what their budget was, but it was well-spent, and I can totally understand why Dorchy stayed with them.

 

There are other comments.

 

https://forums.autos...9#entry10333007

[JacnGille]

Sad news

[marksixman]

It's been mentioned in the 'Gone but not Forgotten' thread, where I posted:

Ah, sorry I failed to spot that Ray, and those are lovely pics !

[Bordino]

Endurance -Info made an interview(in French) of Roger Dorchy in 2020 :

 

https://www.endurance-info.com/classic/article/95607-roger-dorchy-part-2-surpris-par-ce-record-car-il-est-venu-naturellement

 

I found it very interesting and very telling about the man and his modesty. He notably tells « being surprised » by this record, adding that it came « naturally ». It is un understatement for anyone who saw the car running during the few laps it was made ready to reach its maximum speed. Low downforce and high turbo pressure. It might have been quite a handful.

[ensign14]

I remember the Quest for 400 being quite the fun sub-plot in the Jaguar tilt au Mans in 1988.  Only way to follow the race was on Ceefax because the BBC didn't cough up the £2,000 or so that would have secured the rights, presumably preferring to show 18,658 future gluepots from Haydock Park ad infinitum.  And there was quite a bit on there about how WM was going to go for it and the favoured driver to manage it was Dorchy.  Must have had massive testicular fortitude to do that sort of whack on a public road when there was racing traffic with him.

[small block]

The background story to Roger Dorchy's record: https://www.dailyspo...he-fastest.html

[LittleChris]

Thought about his and WM's efforts as I drove the wrong way up Les Hunaudieres a week ago Saturday.   RIP Roger

[ellrosso]

Roger Dorchy RIP. I always looked forward to what he would try every year - great that he will always hold the record for top speed for the track as it was.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by small block
The background story to Roger Dorchy's record: https://www.dailyspo...he-fastest.html

An excellent story with good detail...

I just wish I still had the photo I took of the spare engine in the tent in 1981.

[FastReader]

I remember getting quite excited when he unexpectedly led at the start of the 1984 24 Hours. It was short lived as he managed to put the WM into the barrier on lap 3 but the memory of those glorious few laps still lingers.

[Bordino]

I remember getting quite excited when he unexpectedly led at the start of the 1984 24 Hours. It was short lived as he managed to put the WM into the barrier on lap 3 but the memory of those glorious few laps still lingers.

About 1984, this is what he said in the interview I linked, on Endurance-Info :

 

" It is a bad memory! I had however clearly explained how it went after the warm-up, but no one listened to me! At the end of the Hunaudières straight, I had a terrible time holding the car at the Mulsanne bend and frankly I thought people were going to say: "this idiot, he wanted to show that he was there! », whereas it was the brakes, the pads. It was a new set that we hadn't had time to try, and the left rear wheel locked up.

I knew I wouldn't stay in front, but I would have liked to do my full stint in the lead. I stayed first for three laps. Getting into first position in front of the grandstands was great, but going off the track just after, it hurts. Vincent Soulignac, second to Gérard Welter, told me on the starting grid, where we were on the fourth row, a first for WM: “Listen, Roger, if you see an opportunity, go for it!! This had not fallen on deaf ears. In a straight line, we were faster than the Lancias and the Porsches. Obviously, in the slower sections, they came back behind me, but they didn't have the place to pass and I held them.

I was happy to have been in the lead, but also very frustrated with the way it ended."

Edited by Bordino, 09 August 2023 - 09:39.