Pescarolo: “Will I continue to fight? »

On June 12 and 13, the 78th edition of 24 Hours of Le Mans should have marked the eleventh participation in the Le Mans classic for the Pescarolo Sport team. But let's face it, the news published here and there in recent days is not reassuring for the Greens.
At the beginning of February, during the press conference organized by the ACO to unveil the list of guests in Sarthe in mid-June, many were surprised to see that Gravity pilots were announced in the seats of the Pescarolo P01s entered in LMP1. The surprise was great, including for Henri Pescarolo himself.

« Like everyone else, I learned through the press that serious discussions existed between Jean Py, owner and manager of Pescarolo Sport, and a large group of investors, the four-time winner of the 24 Hours told AUTOhebdo.fr. But I didn't know which group it was or what the nature of these discussions was. I didn?t know anything. Then, to my great surprise, during the ACO press conference, I was able to see that Gravity drivers (Ho-Pin Tung and Jan Charouz, editor's note), sports branch of Genii Capital, were in the P01 seat. »

From there, there were no more doubts, we were heading straight towards an agreement between the Luxembourg investment fund and the Sarthoise team. But last Tuesday Gravity released a press release announcing the end of negotiations.

“At the beginning of the week, once again through the press, I learned that the two prototypes would certainly not be able to be at Le Mans and that negotiations with Gravity had broken down, continues Henri Pescarolo. But it was predictable. Basically, Jean Py bought Pescarolo Sport solely to respond to the call for tenders launched by the ACO concerning the construction of training cars. As Sora Composites does not have a design office, it had to find one. But he had no intention of taking care of the competition and the Pescarolo P01s. Subsequently he hired a manager whose role was to find the budget, but the latter resigned. Jean Py therefore decided to carry out these functions himself. »

Since his team was bought, Henri Pescarolo has held the position of Sports Director within the team bearing his name. But Jean Py recently made the surprising decision to dismiss his sports director for serious misconduct.

“As for me, I have not been paid for 6 months, so I have summoned him for interim relief. I won. Then he terminated my collaboration contract. I no longer have the right to go to the workshops and am therefore suing him for abusive breach of contract and moral damage. As everyone knows, this team had become my family. But my personal problems are trivial compared to the moral damage caused to one of the best motorsport teams in the world. Over the years, we have proven our know-how, even in the face of Peugeot and Audi with notably two LMS titles (in 2005 and 2006, editor’s note) and three podiums at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (two second places in 2005 and 2006 and a third in 2007, editor’s note).”

But more is needed to discourage Henri Pescarolo. He has given himself body and soul to make his team work and triumph, and does not intend to give up. However, the current situation is very difficult to live with both for him and for the members of his team.

“I continue to fight for this team to survive and get through this bad patch. But it is certain that the future is very dark; the arrival of this partner that was Gravity looked promising for the future. Currently the team is working, alongside the LMP1s hidden under a tarpaulin, on the training cars for which Jean Py has released the funds to pay the suppliers. The situation is very difficult for the entire team. They are waiting to know what the team will become and what they themselves will become. Teams have already shown interest. It must be said that we have the best specialists in the discipline in all positions, the best at the moment, from engineers to mechanics to IT managers, etc. »

?The strength of this team lies in the fact that it is still complete and remains very united, and that it will be there if a new project were to be launched. Concerning the next 24 Hours of Le Mans, it obviously promises to be very complicated. We would have to find a lot of money to obtain the parts we need to refurbish the cars, as we must do to be able to perform well in such a difficult event. Pescarolo Sport is my family, I will continue to fight for it to survive. Is it urgent that something happens so that this team which has proven its skills time and again can continue to live? »

Let us hope that Henri Pescarolo and his men find the necessary resources to move forward. Let's face it, the 24 Hours of Le Mans without Pescarolo would have a very bitter taste.