Bernard Béguin: “The only thing missing was a full WRC campaign!”

It was at the end of the 1996 edition of Monte-Carlo that the four-time French Rally Champion and WRC winner ended a career that was as rich as it was eclectic and closely linked to Porsche. A ride on the special stages of his exploits, in his 911 1982 SC.

Published 20/01/2025 à 08:00

Jean-Michel Desnoues

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Bernard Béguin: “The only thing missing was a full WRC campaign!”

© DPPI/Marc De Mattia

Hello Bernard. How does it feel to have your car from the 1982 season back?

I didn't think it would have such an effect on me! (Laughs) It was then in Kenwood colours. These are good memories, because we had performed well with my co-driver Jean-Jacques Lenne, quite a few podiums and two victories at the Critérium de Touraine and at Antibes. Porsche is a brand very attached to my career, in rally and on the circuit. The 911 SC is the car that allowed me to blossom. To compete in a season, it was the least expensive for an independent, because there was no maintenance. In 1979, when I won my first French Champion title, I competed in 16 rallies and I only rebuilt the engine once. I remember that my friend Francis Vincent, who had chosen to do the season with a Alpine A310, spent a fortune on maintenance. For the semi-pro that I was at the beginning of my career, it was the ideal car. I really regret not having kept one… This one has been restored by Team Joffroy, based in Cassis (Bouches-du-Rhône. Editor's note), which is now run by Romain Joffroy. At the time, I was seeing the father, a trainer Alpine, then Porsche, but I never drove his cars. I was Meznarie.

Have you always had a passion for rallying?

My father loved cars and took me to see them, but it didn't go any further than that. Motorsport came more from my friends and where I lived. Grenoble was the hub of all the big rallies like the Monte-Carlo, the Neige et Glace or the Charbonnière. I was lulled by these events. Then, to do motorsport, you needed money. My parents didn't deprive me of anything with my sister, but there was no question of putting a single cent into racing. My father wanted me to come and work with him.

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2 Comment (s)

G

Guillaume SANSON

22/01/2025 at 08:15 a.m.

Well seen Michel!😂

T

Teilhol

20/01/2025 at 04:13 a.m.

I think Bernard got the wrong car because he's sitting in mine and I'm surprised that auto hebdo didn't check before publishing

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