Jean-Pierre Paoli: “Half of the interest in this sport comes from the noise of the engine. Without him…”

Thank you Jean-Pierre for welcoming us in your Lexus for this ride around Toulon (Var). Where are you taking us?

On the side of Bandol and the island of Bendor (one of the islands purchased by Paul Ricard. Editor’s note). Originally, I was hired by Mr. Paul Ricard to take care of the administrative phases of the Ricard company and the factories they had planned. There, I found a friend with whom I had completed an internship: André Gauthier, bridge and road engineer who became technical director. Due to my legal training, although basic, but sufficient for this type of mission, I was able to carry out these functions for which I obtained good results in terms of building permits almost everywhere in France. In parallel with these activities, Mr. Paul Ricard asked me to take charge of a small glassworks, located on the island of Bendor, whose director, with whom he no longer got along, had just been fired. I took care of it with great interest and passion, until the day Mr. Paul Ricard wanted to close it. Having told him of my great disappointment, he offered to build me a new glassworks at Plan du Castellet for the symbolic franc on the condition that I pay him monthly rent. So I went from the island of Bendor to the Castellet plateau to settle in the factory which I had designed myself.

Was motorsport already present in your life at this time?

Absolutely not. He came into my life by chance. This day when Mr. Paul Ricard, who had this circuit project, visited the set with his technical director, the same André Gauthier mentioned above. Due to heavy rain, their first meeting took place in the glassworks, the only building on the plateau that could accommodate them. As there was only one office, they didn't ask me to leave and I started listening