Carpooling – Tico Martini

A Ligier JS2, that’s a relevant choice…

I could have taken my Austin-Healey, but a JS2 is better, right? This belongs to Jacques Nicolet, who brought it back from his workshops in Le Mans, where it was restored. It's fun to drive.

It has a Maserati engine. And you, are you of Italian origin?

I was born near Ventimiglia and was only naturalized French in 1975. My father was a butler on the island of Jersey before the war and returned there afterwards. So I followed my parents there at the age of 12.

Today you would be considered a migrant…

I was better received in France than in Britain because it was just after the war. British immigration law did not allow Italians to work in a garage. Each nationality had its specialty and we were confined to the hotel industry.

How did you learn to build cars?

My parents sent me back to San Remo, where I worked as an apprentice at a dealership Alfa Romeo during three years. Then the law relaxed and I came back to Jersey. But I never studied engineering or mechanics. I learned everything on the job.

Check out our Carpooling with Tico Martini, in its full version, in AUTO issue 2177hebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.