It was arguably the most thrilling F1 race in history, though neither of the prime competitors, Didier Pironi in a Renault and Gilles Villeneuve in a Ferrari, finished in first place. During the 1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon the two passed and re-passed five times in one lap, banging wheels on three occasions without crashing. Those two would later become teammates at Ferrari but a driver's dispute with the FIA led to a strike by most teams in 1982, which meant the San Marino GP would be a walkover for the Ferrari team. To make things entertaining, Pironi and Villeneuve agreed that they'd put on a wheel-to-wheel show for the crowd with Villeneuve taking the last lap. Pironi welshed on the deal, baulking the Canadian and winning the race.
Just 13 days later, determined to outqualify Pironi, Villeneuve was killed at Zolder when he cartwheeled into the fences. Pironi led the championship at Hockenheim that year but suffered a wet-weather crash that ended his career. The young Italian retired from F1, took up powerboat racing, and was killed in a competition off the Isle of Wight. Thankfully today's motor races are much safer and if F1 has lost its luster for some, so be it. Personally I've been watching F1 since the late 50s and as far as I'm concerned it has never been better. Canadian artist Paul Chenard has captured the tension of that Dijon race in his newest work, showing the two drivers heading into a curve side-by-side. You can see and purchase more of his racing art here.
Mr Powell
October 24, 2008 @ 1:02 pmThough I do enjoy todays action as much as past races, that 1979 race for second in Dijon is a hard one to match. As the announcers say, “It’s extraordinary!”
Cheers!