Alain Marguet: “I preferred Gordini to Arts et Métiers”

What brought you to the small town of Beausset, at the foot of the Castellet plateau?

With Jacques Féret, from the competition department Renault, we came down from Paris for tests with the R12 Gordini, in 1970. The circuit was barely finished. There was only the asphalt, without the stands. In fact, that day, I simply fell in love with the Var! I came back there on vacation. Then, later, when I was brought to work for Larrousse F1, I settled there and I never left, for twenty-seven years.

Are you originally from Paris? 

No, I was born in Reims (Marne), not far from a major motorsport center. There was the French GP (11 editions from 1950 to 1966. Editor’s note) and the 12 Hours. My father took me there, then I went there with some friends. We stashed one in the trunk of the R8 to save the price of a ticket. What was very cool at the time was that the stables moved into nearby garages. There Team Ferrari moved to Fiat, Alpine at Renault, etc., and I skipped classes to go around. You could see the cars up close.

Does your vocation come from there?

She was already there! She was born when my father started buying Alfa Romeo, Giulietta Sprint and others. I was around fifteen years old. I was already getting my hands on the mechanics. A friend and I were tinkering with his family's old Hotchkiss, and I was tinkering with a B2 Citroën. Afterwards, I had a buggy whose performance was improved. 

Carpooling with Alain Marguet © Bernard Asset

Mechanics therefore brought you to motorsport… 

J’ai passé un brevet de t