Archives. Carpooling Jean-Pierre Jabouille in 2021: “The whole of F1 very quickly went turbo and I wasn’t there for nothing”

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In the spring of 2021, AUTOhebdo went to meet Jean-Pierre Jabouille aboard a Alpine A110. The illustrious French pilot regaled us with his anecdotes about a career marked by the brand with the A arrow and the Diamond of Renault. Ride in a Berlinette with the man we still nicknamed "the Great", and not only because of his size, a gigantic contributor to the development of the A500 and its supercharged Renault engine which would forever change the face of the Formula 1.

Hello Jean-Pierre. A Alpine ! Would you have remained loyal to the company that offered you your first professional pilot contract in 1969?

There's a bit of that, but actually my personal story with Alpine had started a few years earlier when, in August 1965, I took part in my very first car competition on the slopes of Mont-Dore at the wheel of an A110. I won my class and that inspired me to continue. This one is not mine. It was lent to me for the occasion by a friend, Hassaine Logbi, known as “Log”, who is a specialist in the restoration and maintenance of classic vehicles in Garancières (Yvelines). Mine – a 1600 SC equipped with a 2-liter engine – is in the Oise, with the preparer Pierre Ferry. It was in very poor condition when I purchased it, but the restoration work was magnificent.