Jean-Luc Roy: “Patrick Tambay, such a long story! »

Impossible to summarize in a few words, in a few lines, the long story that unites us with Patrick Tambay. Between TV and radio, we commented live on more than 300 Grands Prix together, but we never counted the exact number, it had little importance in our eyes.

We started this long series with Canal + between 1997 and 2002, where we developed with the teams from the FOM a fantastic system with Kiosk, which allowed you to choose your screen from 7 channels and thus follow the races in very different ways, a system that is now in use again. We experienced together the first victories and the coronation of Jacques Villeneuve (1997 World Champion), of whom Patrick Tambay was the godfather. I remember the day when Jacques took the title at the end of the tumultuous European Grand Prix at Jerez in the south of Spain, after the steering wheel of Michael Schumacher to try to eliminate it. Patrick was so moved, devastated by emotion, that he could no longer speak. I had to finish the comments alone that day. We must of course recall the very strong friendship which linked him to Gilles, since they had started together in F1, he then took over from Gilles at Ferrari after his death during qualifying in Zolder, Belgium in 1982. A terrible and wonderful story at the same time.

I started my show Motors on RMC in 2002, and Patrick was delighted that we could comment on the Grands Prix together from 2007. An absolute treat, we were accomplices again, Patrick was picky, a perfectionist, always in search of information. When he introduced me to people I didn't yet know, he always used this expression "my old accomplice." I'm lucky to have a brother, but we shared so many adventures with Patrick, that I can say that he was “like my brother”. I saw this damn illness coming but Patrick fought until the end to continue commenting on the Grands Prix. At one point it unfortunately became impossible because the tension and emotions of the live broadcast amplified the symptoms. Quite naturally, I insisted that his son Adrien Tambay succeed him alongside me, because I knew that Adrien would be capable of it and I also knew that it would help Patrick hand over the reins, but we never talked about it. directly in these terms out of modesty…I saw Adrien born. He spent hundreds of hours between the two of us in the commentary booths, so he was completely legitimate in this role and he took up the mantle with skill.

We shared so many happy and terrible moments of his life. Few people know it, but it is largely thanks to me, or because of me, that Patrick participated in the Paris-Dakar. In 1986, during his last season with Lola Béatrice, I did several subjects with him, including one on “a pilot's day”. I gave him my book “The Lost Tree of Ténéré” which recounted my adventures on the Dakar and in particular my participation with Daniel Balavoine in 1985. Arriving at the Hungarian Grand Prix to have a coffee at his team's motor home, Patrick suddenly says to me: “I spent a sleepless night with you”, and he bursts out laughing! In fact he had read the book in one go and told me that he would participate as soon as possible, he kept his word by taking part in the 1987 edition. In the process we teamed up at rally from the Atlas to Morocco in May. Nothing was too big for him.

In the comments, we were self-regulating because I could nick Ferrari a little from time to time, when they deserved it. He who likes well punishes well, but he immediately delayed because Ferrari was the team of his life, the team of his heart, the one with which he had triumphed and lived this terrible story. Conversely, he sometimes got carried away, because Patrick Tambay was above all emotional, someone very generous and very honest, without tongue in cheek. In the end, each time, we decided to let go and we let go, with a knowing look!

Patrick Tambay (1949-2022)