Carpooling with Jean-Pierre Jaussaud

Between Norman kartmen who have frequented the Caen-Carpiquet track, we are not going to give each other “you”. How did you develop your passion for racing?

It started on me when I was 10 and I don't know why. There was Trintignant, Behra and a Norman pilot, Philippe Etancelin. I thought it was cool and I said to myself that I would like to be like them. I got off to a good start at Carpiquet, but at the airfield, where my father taught me to drive his Citroën Trèfle, whose particularity was to have the accelerator in the middle. I remember getting my foot stuck between the pedals because my shoes were too wide.

So you started with the karting ?

No… in 2 CVs, during my honeymoon in Italy. In Abruzzo, I was painfully climbing a pass when I was passed by a Porsche and Ferrari. I had fun following them on the descent and ended up blowing a tire. That was my start in racing. As for karting, it was the beginnings of this sport. My first, equipped with two 50 cc VAP engines, was given to me by my grandmother. In any case, the 3 CV and karting were two extraordinary training schools. It was again this damn 2 CV that took me to England to take courses at the Jim Russell school.

For a Frenchman, it was a precursor!

Absolutely. I had read an article in Sport Auto which made an “appeal to the people” and I immediately rushed to Snetterton. It was a dream there. I did so well that Jim Russell offered me 5 or 6 free races for the following season. Then they opened the Magny-Cours school and, in February 1963, Russell asked me to enroll there. I was disappointed not to compete in the promised races, but it was certain that I was going to win the Volant.

Check out our Carpooling complete with Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, in issue 2173 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.