Winner of the 1983 Paris-Dakar with Jacky Ickx, Claude Brasseur is dead

Known to the general public for his successful roles in Yves Robert's "Un Éléphant ça trompe enormous" or Robin Davis' "La Guerre des polices", which earned him a César for best actor in 1980, the actor from Neuilly-sur -Seine (Hauts-de-Seine) died on Tuesday December 22 at the age of 84.

Passionate about sport, Claude Brasseur has above all built a solid reputation in the world of rally-raid at the turn of the 1980s. As he told it at the microphone of Europe 1 in 2017, It was while watching a report on the Paris-Dakar that the idea arose. « We were at winter sports with a group of friends, including Jacky Ickx. One member of the gang suggested they stop skiing early to watch a sports show on TV. One of the friends declares from the back of the room: “I know two of them, if they weren't losers, this is what they would do! » »

The joke becomes more serious when the Belgian pilot asks him for his opinion the next day. The adventure began in the winter of 1981, during the third edition of the event. The crew operates on a Citroën CX 2 400 GTI supported by the Belgian branch of Chevron. An abandonment, which occurred after a stage victory in Korhogo (Ivory Coast) did not dampen their enthusiasm, on the contrary.

Converted into a navigator on the advice of Jean Todt, Claude Brasseur will direct the charge of Jacky Ickx equipped with a more suitable car, a Mercedes 4×4. Fifth in Dakar behind Pierre Lartigue (Range Rover) despite seven scratch times, the formula is slowly but surely beginning to bear fruit.

The third try will be the right one. In 1983, Thierry Sabine took the caravan for the first time to the unforgivable Ténéré desert, a sea of ​​sand which would enter into legend as one of the rally's justices of the peace. On their modified Mercedes 280 GE (an aerodynamic deflector helps air flow at the rear), Ickx-Brasseur scored five stage successes, including four in a row, and finished in the lead near Lac Rose.

Galvanized by this coronation, Jacky Ickx convinces Porsche to adapt their 911 Safari to the Paris-Dakar. The Belgian led the official team in 1984 but let the expert René Metge win despite a remarkable series of nine successes along the way! The 959 biturbo will replace the 911 in 1985. Here again, success will go to Metge-Lemoyne while Ickx-Brasseur will move up to second place.

More recently, he gave a nod to his interest in mechanics by wearing a cap Ferrari red in the comedy “Camping” in 2005.

All AUTO editorial staffhebdo extends its most sincere condolences to the family, loved ones and friends of Claude Brasseur.