25 replies to this topic

[ian senior]

The F2 driver from the early 70s.

I'm a bit confused about his nationality - Polish I guess with a name like that, and I remember him being described as a Count. Other references have been made to him being French. So what was he - of Polish extraction (perhaps from a "noble" Polish family that left Poland when the Communists took over), but living in France?

[Rosemayer]

My french is not that good but it appears he was Polish and moved to France

memoiresdestands.hautetfort.com/.../adam_potocki_dans_l_actualite.html

[Rosemayer]

Another small imput.

www.ten-tenths.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-61711.html

[ReWind]

Originally posted by Rosemayer
My french is not that good but it appears he was Polish and moved to France

Your link doesn't work for me. So I'll try with this.

[philippe7]

From memory he is indeed from an aristocratic polish background (he is "count" Adam Potocki) but I'm not sure when his family moved to France- WW2 times or long before....there's a faint bell ringing about the nobility of his family having been granted by Napoleon as a reward for good service in helping to fight the Russian Empire at some stage but I may be confusing things...

In any case I very much remember Adam Potocki as being the team-mate/friend/sponsor of Jean-Pierre Jaussaud during the 1972 (?.... the year Hailwood won... ) Formula 2 season, when the two shared a couple of private Brabhams ( BT38 ? ) . The relation between them ( a quick driver with no money, and a slower, wealthier one helping to finance the team ) is very similar to the one of Jacques Lafitte and Jean-Pierre Paoli in the 1974 BP-March F2 team .

[MCS]

I thought Paoli was pretty decent in Formula Three in 1973 (alongside the obviously talented Lafitte).

I don't remember him doing F2 in 1974

Mark

[philippe7]

Well, Lafitte and Paoli indeed ran a couple of 742's with modified noses and BP sponsorship.

I agree Paoli was quick, but he was very much acting as a "mentor" to Lafitte that year, like giving him his car when Jacques' was broken...

Paoli of course also was some sort of general manager for the Paul Ricard circuit and racing school for many years.

[ry6]

I remember that he was always referred to as "the little Polish count" by the British racing press.

They generally ran him down as a slow driver, but he made up the grid and at least took part and kept supporting the formula.

He was generally at the back of the grid but one day at I think Monza he had a great race and while not at the head of the field was not too far off the pace.

Not everyone can be a winner, not everyone a World Champion but some of the underdogs and backmarkers have interesting stories to tell.

[MCS]

Originally posted by philippe7
Well, Lafitte and Paoli indeed ran a couple of 742's with modified noses and BP sponsorship.

Yes, you're right of course. The nose bit reminded me!

They moved the radiator didn't they...?

Cheers Philippe.

Mark

[philippe7]

Originally posted by MCS
They moved the radiator didn't they...?

Yes indeed, they put it back up in front ....was there any real scientific thinking behind that, is another question ( although incredibly enough, it seemed to work best on fast circuits, like Salzburg where Jacques won, if I remember well....)

[Coogar]

Didn't Adam Potocki win a Rheims F3 'slipstreamer' in a Matra, confounding the pundits of the day ?
That would have been in 68 or 69. If memory serves he drove a Lotus 69 in F2 in 1970......

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Coogar
Didn't Adam Potocki win a Rheims F3 'slipstreamer' in a Matra, confounding the pundits of the day ?
That would have been in 68 or 69. If memory serves he drove a Lotus 69 in F2 in 1970......

Not Reims, but Rouen. July 7th 1968 - support race for the French GP. Quite how good the field was I'm not sure, as it was the same date as Vila Real, which was won by Reine Wisell in a Tecno.

[gerard BARATHIEU]

the LOTUS of A.POTOCHI at ROUEN in 1970.

a photo i take myself

[gerard BARATHIEU]

another pic i take at the GP de ROUEN in 1969.

The ''count'' is sitting on the right on the rear wheel.

[philippe7]

The link posted to the french website in Rewind's post N°4 ( website which I'm pretty sure is the blog of Patrice Vatan , a well known contributor to Forix ) precisely refers to the Matra MS5 that Potocki was using for his 1968 Rouen win. It says that the chassis was "used by Jackie Ickx in 1966 for F2 ( remember the MS5 was usable both for F2 and F3 ) , then by Jabouille in the Ecurie Crio Tournesol in 67 " before being bought by Potocki. Regarding the field on that day, it says that "Cevert, Depailler, Roy Pike et les anglais" were there....

And why has the story of this obscure car been unearthed recently ? Well, because it's going to be auctioned in Paris on June 20th , together with Jackie Stewart's South Africa GP winning MS9 .....
Those of you with a few spare euros to spend can take a look at :

http://www.auction.f...h...6&domaine=1

and scroll down the list to the cars in question....

[Rob29]

Originally posted by Vitesse2

Not Reims, but Rouen. July 7th 1968 - support race for the French GP. Quite how good the field was I'm not sure, as it was the same date as Vila Real, which was won by Reine Wisell in a Tecno.

1st ,Potocki,2,Roy Pike,3,Jabouille,4,Dave Walker,5,Depallier,6,Bernard Baur,Mo Nunn.crashed,Cevert started from 2nd row but retired from gasket failure. I was at that race and have small instamatic photo of Potocki's turquoise Matra on front row at start.

[MCS]

Originally posted by Rob29
1st ,Potocki,2,Roy Pike,3,Jabouille,4,Dave Walker,5,Depallier,6,Bernard Baur,Mo Nunn.crashed,Cevert started from 2nd row but retired from gasket failure. I was at that race and have small instamatic photo of Potocki's turquoise Matra on front row at start.

Blimey! Some victory then!!

Mark

[gerard BARATHIEU]

can you scan the photo ROB ?

[Rob29]

Originally posted by gerard BARATHIEU
can you scan the photo ROB ?

[Nanni Dietrich]

Did Adam Potocki race in F. 2 for Team Pygmée? (I do not remember what year)

[anjakub]

Unfortunately, I know nothing about polish roots of Adam Potocki.

In Poland we had driver with the same name.

Adam Wladyslaw Potocki (1 December 1896 Krzeszowice, Poland - 16 November 1966 London, UK). Count, owner landed estate Krzeszowice and Zator. One of the best polish driver before WW2. Winner Rally Poland in 1929 and 1930. He belonged to exclusive group eleven best drivers – the Elite of the Polish Automobile Riders.

[gerard BARATHIEU]

thank you ROB for the photo.

No NANNI ,he nevet drove for PYGMEE.

He drove F2 with LOTUS and BRABHAM in 70s.

This was his own team.

[Stefan Ornerdal]

I'm in with philippe7 on this.
M. Napoleon Bong-apart made a lot of "friends" from the Polish nobility when he tried to conquer the rest of Europe.
There was a lot of famous persons in the Potocki family, author and scientist Jan Potocki (late 1700's) was one of the most notable. Looking at the family tree, there has been a lot of Adams.

I have a few proggies from French F2 and F3 races, where his nationality is stated as "Polonais".

Anjakub, is the pronounciation of his name in Polish something like 'Poo-tot-sky"?

Stefan

[Andrew Ford &F1]

I guess it's a bit like Pototski, with TS being pronounced like Z in MonZa, and ski like a verb TO SKI.

[Stephen W]

Adam Potocki in his MS5 Matra at Monaco in 1968.

[Hieronymus]

Good info on Potocki here:

http://www.autodiva....8&hilit=potocki