8 replies to this topic

[Stefan Schmidt]

I have read and heard a lot about that subject. Some people mean that Depailler has had lost the championship because of this accident. Until today some facts are very mysterious. Such as the thing regarding the time after the crash, when Depailler was 42 days (?!) without sleep as the doctors said. I know that Depailler thought, that if he would fall into sleep he would die. 55 days without any sleep ends in death of the person. But a person with bad leg injuries who is undergo an operation ...?!

Two questions:

What do you think about whole matter?

Do you remember your minds after hearing (back in 1979) that the leader of the F1 World championship was falling from sky?
___________
Depailler preparing for the “start”, behind him his son Loic


Some weeks later


More weeks after the crash


Some days before leaving the hospital to go to Argentina

[Tim Murray]

Originally posted by Stefan Schmidt
Do you remember your minds after hearing (back in 1979) that the leader of the F1 World championship was falling from sky?

Sorry, but he wasn't leading the championship. His hang-glider crash happened at the end of the first 'half' of the 1979 season, from which drivers counted their best four results. Thus at that stage the leading positions were:

1. Scheckter 30 points
2. Laffite 24 points
3. Villeneuve 20 points (2 wins)
4. Depailler 20 points (1 win)
5. Reutemann 20 points (0 wins)

Based on Ligier's downturn in performance aftere their excellent start to the season, I very much doubt that Patrick would have remained a serious championship contender if the accident had not occurred - I suspect that he and Jacques would have continued to fight each other, as in Spain, to the detriment of both their chances.

[Stefan Schmidt]

Ok, you are right. But Depailler was leading the championship after the Spanish GP.

By the way... I don’t think that the Ligier performance would get down if Patrick hasn’t had his accident at the Puy de Dome. More than this I think that his absence was the reason for bad performing of Ligier. With becoming a member of the Ligier Team Depailler has given the team his experience as a driver with a technician understanding and (even more important) better Good Year tyres which were promised the team who was getting Depailler for 1979, after his 5th place in F1 championship 1978.

The big problem for Guy was that he fired Patrick soon after his crash. Good Year cancelled supplying better tyres to Ligier with immediate effect. From that point they were lost.

[Hieronymus]

Stefan

I like the pic of Patrick and the hang-glider. Typical - cigarette in mouth. Makes one wonder, if he did not perhaps set fire to the damn thing, rather than blaming cross winds and inexperience for his crash.

Your comment, "55 days without sleep ends in death of a person", refers. Wonder who made that claim? Hopefully not a doctor. A witch-doctor, perhaps...People that usually haven't sleep for several days, carry the risk of slipping into "a deep sleep" when they do go to sleep eventually. There is a risk of them not waking up, but under controlled medical conditions, that is very unlikely to happen.

Try to stay awake for longer than 3 days, that is already an achievement of some sort. Would like to have seen Patrick's medical record, but surely he was kept under sedation for the first couple of days.

What I can assure you, though, is that you will definately die after within 55 days, without food and water...

[dmj]

I remember being very dissapointed. Just started closely following F1 that season and immediately Ligier became my favorite team. I had high hopes that Depailler will be champion, even if from what I know today I don't believ it would be possible even without the accident.

[bigears]

I doubt if the "55 days witout sleep" is valid as according various websites that the record is 11 days without sleep.

[Stefan Schmidt]

Originally posted by bigears
I doubt if the "55 days witout sleep" is valid as according various websites that the record is 11 days without sleep.

There was one in US wjo was ill and he dies after 55 days or so

[bigears]

Really?

I am interested to see your source of information about that!

[Stefan Schmidt]

Very interesting