26 replies to this topic

[Megatron]

I know that most books and historians describe him as "unemotional" but what was his reaction to the events of Zolder qualifying in 1982? He he regret his Imola move, was he upset? What?

[dmj]

I believe he was never the same man again. Try to find an excellent Roebuck's article about Pironi in Motorsport, maybe a year ago - there is a good view of changes in Pironi after Zolder and Montreal (a month after Gilles, Ricardo Palleti died when he hit Pironi's stalled Ferrari at start of Canadian GP).

[mikedeering]

I think Pironi was genuinely upset to lose Gilles. They were good friends up to Imola - remember the famous Monaco - Maranello runs where the two would take turns to see who could drive with their foot to the floor for the longest period! Pironi was surprised by the reaction after Imola IIRC, and suggested time would heal the wound. Unfortunately of course, time was not something Gilles had by then...

When Didier scored pole at Montreal, he dedicated it to Gilles, stating that everyone knew who would have taken the pole had Villeneuve still be alive.

That said, he never regretted his actions at Imola, because he always believed the two were racing, and he had fairly won. This being the case, he had nothing to regret.

Despite Joann Villeneuve's reservations about Pironi, I'm sure he was sorry to lose his friend. Several years later, at the tiem of Prioni's own death, his partner of the time gave birth to twins and named them Gilles & Didier. They must be 14 by now - wonder if they are racing karts???

I doubt Pironi appeared emotional in public - that was never his way, but inside I'm sure he hurt.

[mikedeering]

Originally posted by dmj
I believe he was never the same man again. Try to find an excellent Roebuck's article about Pironi in Motorsport, maybe a year ago - there is a good view of changes in Pironi after Zolder and Montreal (a month after Gilles, Ricardo Palleti died when he hit Pironi's stalled Ferrari at start of Canadian GP).

I think Pironi changed when he took the lead of the WDC for the first time. I think Harvey Posthlethwaite commented on this at the time - how Didier was to be found in the Ferrari truck just prior to the French GP with a young lady who was not his wife. He came third that afternoon, in case you were wondering...(oh the innuendo of it all!).

Didier truly believed he was going to be the WDC in 1982 and nothing was going to stop him. Which perhaps explains why, having claimed provisional pole at Hockenheim on the Friday, he was to be found hammering around on Saturday morning despite knowing no one would beat his time in the atrocious conditions.

Pironi had changed - he was always cocky, but the longer 1982 dragged on, the more self-confident he became. He was producing excellent drives - Canada was an incredible example of this. After Paletti's accident, Pironi started in the older car, lead for a few laps, then lost several laps in the pits. He returned to the track and was clearly the fastest car on the track. He had nothing to gain - he was 5 laps down, but just for the hell of it he drove the wheels off the car. Unfortunately, as the confidence grew, so did the concerns for Didier. His accident at Hockenheim was perhaps not so surprising.

[byrkus]

I still believe that Didier was some kind of a tragic figure in that era. Noone understood him, he was blamed for a simple case of misunderstanding at Imola, then he was blamed for Villeneuve's death, and when he was on top, he had his accident... Sad, but I don't think it was to be...

[David M. Kane]

Someone needs to talk Nigel Roebuck or some other good writer to do an
interview with his half-brother Jose Dolhem. I bet some interesting insights would come out of that conversation.

[fines]

That would certainly be interesting, especially since José Dolhem died in 1988...

[Ross Stonefeld]

A good idea, but Roebuck would just turn it into a piece on how evil and disgraceful Pironi was.

[Slyder]

Pironi now is largely forgotten since nowadays he's seen as "the bad guy," while Villeneuve is sen as "The good guy"

He had nothing to do with Villeneuve's death, nobody felt sorry for him when he crashed in Hockenheim, and instead, they were glad I guess, that Pironi smashed his legs since they thought it was more of a Payback from Villeneuve's shadow.

Destroying a driver's reputation like that is just...dumb. I wish the F1 community would give the respect that Didier Pironi deserved.

His accident in Hockenheim was a very bad one. I saw the aftermath in a video, the front part of the car was total shreds.

[Chris Bloom]

I don't think the majority of fans really blamed Pironi for Gilles accident at the time. I do recall that there was some hostility to Didier in Canada which is why he dedicated his pole position to Gilles. I think the myth that Didier was somehow to blame for Gilles death has been blown right out of proportion. I was a big Gilles fan and his death was very sad however I have never thought of placing the blame on Pironi or in fact anyone.

Chris

[Rediscoveryx]

Blaming Pironi for Villeneuve's death is as stupid as blaming Schumacher for Senna's death.

[ghinzani]

I always though of Pironi as the prototype Senna. It still saddens me he wasnt the first French WDC, he more than deserved it.

[lil'chris]

I always though of Pironi as the prototype Senna.

I think I know what you mean, it being his absolute focus on reaching his goals regardless but from what I've read, wasn't Farina the original prototype of both Pironi & Senna ?

[ghinzani]

I think I know what you mean, it being his absolute focus on reaching his goals regardless but from what I've read, wasn't Farina the original prototype of both Pironi & Senna ?

Cant see an Austin A40 influencing them that much, but its always possible...

[seccotine]

What betrayed Pironi was his reputation as a cold-blooded man. In the mid-70's, the world of racing was changing drastically. To summerize, there were the romantic drivers (Peterson, Villeneuve or even Regazzoni) and the modern ones : following Stewart and Lauda, Prost or Pironi definitely represented a new era. The Imola affair was, under a certain angle, the representation of that conflict, at least among the journalists and the audience.

Pironi was well-known for being so focused on his goals that he cared about nothing else. He did incredible things in FR, such as as coming so close to the car ahead of him that he could bump into the other guy's gearbox lever with the nose of his Martini - true or not, that says much about the way people saw him. I don't even mention his wild private life...
When he had his accident, he managed to remain conscious, as he knew he could be amputated on the scene.On the Sunday, L'Equipe considered a serious hypothesis that he would lose his both legs, but Pironi was fighting against that option and had a famous French surgeon sent to that German hospital on the Monday morning. Then, he spent two years having his bones reconstructed (one of them was totally destructed on a 10cm length).
Just to say the kind of man he was. I don't think "passionate" or "brave" are enough to describe his personality.

[ghinzani]

I don't even mention his wild private life...
When he had his accident, he managed to remain conscious, as he knew he could be amputated on the scene.On the Sunday, L'Equipe considered a serious hypothesis that he would lose his both legs, but Pironi was fighting against that option and had a famous French surgeon sent to that German hospital on the Monday morning. Then, he spent two years having his bones reconstructed (one of them was totally destructed on a 10cm length).
Just to say the kind of man he was. I don't think "passionate" or "brave" are enough to describe his personality.

Brave man indeed, his drives in the Ligier were probably his bravest up until GV was killed, his trust in the ground effects was on a different level and it showed at places like Brands Hatch where bravery counted. As to his private life, well if he needed to party afterwards thats understandable! His performance for Ferrari at Canada in 82 also stands out - the humility of his pole position speech, his bravey in the flames attempting to rescue Pironi and then his speed later in the race when the situation was hopeless, but the application to precision performance probably cathartic. I wish he would have been able to come back with Ligier in 87, although given their performances probably a good thing he didnt.

[wolf sun]

his bravey in the flames attempting to rescue Pironi

You surely meant Paletti, didn´t you...

[ghinzani]

You surely meant Paletti, didn´t you...

Doh! Yes of course, he would have had a bit of trouble rescuing himself. I recall reports at the time saying he was very brave, but also that a TV cameraman was getting in the way whilst he attempted to aid poor Riccardo.

[cdrewett]

A good idea, but Roebuck would just turn it into a piece on how evil and disgraceful Pironi was.

That's not really fair to Nigel. I've just re-read his chapter on Pironi in his book "Grand Prix Greats" and it strikes me as a very balanced view of an extremely complex man.
Chris

[wolf sun]

Doh! Yes of course, he would have had a bit of trouble rescuing himself. I recall reports at the time saying he was very brave, but also that a TV cameraman was getting in the way whilst he attempted to aid poor Riccardo.

Paletti´s accident and the role of the cameraman have been discussed on TNF.
Take a look here.

[Touti]

If it was proven that Pironi didn't follow team orders and/or some agreement he had with Gilles at Imola then we could blame him for that but it's non-sense to blame him for Gilles death, he had no direct involvement whatsoever in the accident.

Nobody will ever really know what state of mind Gilles Villeneuve was in when he had his accident but if he had any anger toward Pironi and this anger is responsible for the accident then I guess the only one to blame would be Gilles himself. He was driving and in a way his destiny was in his own hands.

Edited by Touti, 23 July 2009 - 17:11.

[seccotine]

And remember, Villeneuve ignored fear.
This made him the unforgetable champion we all loved but also a fearless driver. In those days, that could be risky.

[seccotine]

A link to an interesting film :
http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

[RCH]

I've always believed we lost 2 great drivers the day Gilles died.

[paulhooft]

Seeing both tha accidents of Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi....
I pose a question:
May be the 1982 Ferrari was simply a very dangerous car???
PcH

[longhorn]

Seeing both tha accidents of Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi....
I pose a question:
May be the 1982 Ferrari was simply a very dangerous car???
PcH

Villenueve's car was launched into the air, somersaulted and then crashed nose first into the ground still travelling in excess of 140mph, causing the front of the Ferrari to break clean off. Questions were raised at the time about whether this Postlethwaite designed chassis was up to the task but I recall the calculated forces during the accident quoted as being off the scale.

Pironi's accident also launched his Ferrari into the air where it overturned and crashed back down again, smashing the front and causing massive injuries to his legs and feet. You have to remember that most if not all of the cars of the period had the drivers so far forward that their knees were level with the front suspension.

[Jones Foyer]

Despite Joann Villeneuve's reservations about Pironi, I'm sure he was sorry to lose his friend. Several years later, at the tiem of Prioni's own death, his partner of the time gave birth to twins and named them Gilles & Didier. They must be 14 by now - wonder if they are racing karts???

That is a wonderful but tragic story. Really good that she was able to pass on to her sons that history.