Didier Pironi

Didier Pironi Pironi as a Formula Two driver in 1977. Born 26 March 1952(1952-03-26) Died 23 August 1987(1987-08-23) (aged 35) Formula One World Championship career Nationality French Active years 1978 – 1982 Teams Tyrrell, Ligier, Ferrari Races 72 (70 starts) Championships 0 Wins 3 Podiums 13 Career points 101 Pole positions 4 Fastest laps 5 First race 1978 Argentine Grand Prix First win 1980 Belgian Grand Prix Last win 1982 Dutch Grand Prix Last race 1982 German Grand Prix 24 Hours of Le Mans career Participating years 1976 – 1978, 1980 Teams Porsche Kremer Racing, J. Haran de Chaunac, Renault Sport, BMW France Best finish 1st (1978) Class wins 1 (1978)

Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a racing driver from France. During his career he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–79), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981–1982). He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 driving a Renault Alpine A442B.

Career

Pironi was born in Villecresnes, Val-de-Marne.

Initially Pironi began studying as an engineer, but this fell by the wayside following his enrollment at the Paul Ricard driving school. He was awarded the Pilot Elf sponsorship bursary in 1972, with the French national oil company funding his early career, mostly in Renault-powered vehicles. Benefiting from this same Elf sponsorship, to promote young French motorsport talent, that bequeathed the likes of Patrick Tambay and Alain Prost to Formula One, Didier Pironi made his top-flight debut on January 15, 1978. This was with Ken Tyrrell's team which, despite being British, had a strong working relationship with Elf, dating back to the late 1960s. In the same year, Pironi was part of the massive Renault squad tasked with winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Partnering Jean-Pierre Jaussaud in the team's second car, the unusual "bubble roof" A442B, he won the race by four laps from the rival Porsche 936s.

Two seasons with the underfinanced Tyrrell team demonstrated enough promise for Guy Ligier to sign Pironi to his rather erratic eponymous French team in 1980, a season in which Didier recorded his first victory, in the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, as well as several podium finishes. Indeed, such were Pironi's performances that as early as the second race of the season, Enzo Ferrari expressed an interest in the Frenchman's services, which he secured for 1981.

Teamed with Gilles Villeneuve, Pironi was rather shaded in his first season with Ferrari, though Villeneuve welcomed the Frenchman and treated him as an equal. For someone so preoccupied with becoming the first French driver to win the Formula One title, the events of this year may have played a role in the turbulent and unhappy 1982 campaign. Establishing a fine rapport with the senior members of the team, Pironi arguably exploited this good relationship in the aftermath of the notorious San Marino race where he is widely thought to have duped Villeneuve into conceding victory by giving the impression that he would follow his Canadian team-mate through the final lap, only to unexpectedly power past him into the Tosa hairpin. The Canadian was killed in qualifying at the following Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, and his furious state of mind is often considered a contributory cause to his accident.

With a fast, reliable car, the title looked to be Pironi's for the taking, but the Frenchman's own state of mind underwent severe stress due to several factors. Widespread antipathy was directed toward him in the wake of the Zolder tragedy, since he was criticized for reneging on his relationship afforded by Villeneuve. There was also the breakdown of his marriage, and he observed at first hand the death of Riccardo Paletti in the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, the young Italian ploughing into Pironi's stalled Ferrari on the starting grid. Some of these events may have resulted in the over-confidence and arrogance that team members are reported to have observed in Pironi's behaviour at subsequent events, including an absolute certainty that he would win the title. In such a mindset, he unnecessarily lapped a drenched Hockenheim during a practice session at the German Grand Prix at high speed. Passing Derek Daly's Williams, Pironi, unsighted, smashed into the back of Alain Prost's Renault, triggering a violent accident which bore some similarity to that suffered by Villeneuve. Pironi survived, but injuries to his legs meant he never raced again in Formula 1. Pironi's crash was so bad that FIA doctor Sid Watkins had considered amputating Pironi's legs to remove him from the wrecked Ferrari. At this point, he was leading with 39 points in the championship, ahead of Watson (30) and Rosberg (27), but Pironi was relegated to runner-up as Rosberg passed him to become World Champion with 44 points.

In his Formula One career Didier Pironi won 3 races, achieved 13 podiums, and scored a total of 101 championship points. He also secured 4 pole positions.

Death

In 1986 it looked as if Pironi would make a comeback when he tested for the French AGS team. Although he proved that he was still fast enough to be competitive in Formula One, Pironi decided to turn to offshore powerboat racing instead. On August 23, 1987, Pironi was killed in an accident near the Isle of Wight, that also took the life of his two crew members: journalist Bernard Giroux and his old friend Jean-Claude Guenard, when the boat rode over a rough wave caused by an oil tanker, causing the boat to flip over.

Some weeks after Pironi's death his girlfriend gave birth to twins. She decided to name them Didier and Gilles.^[1]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1978	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell 008	Cosworth V8	ARG 14	BRA 6	RSA 6	USW Ret	MON 5	BEL 6	ESP 12	SWE Ret	FRA 10	GBR Ret	GER 5	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA Ret	USA 10	CAN 7	15th	7
1979	Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell 009	Cosworth V8	ARG Ret	BRA 4	RSA Ret	USW DSQ	ESP 6												10th	14
	Candy Tyrrell Team								BEL 3	MON Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 10	GER 9	AUT 7	NED Ret	ITA 10	CAN 5	USA 3
1980	Equipe Ligier Gitanes	Ligier JS11/15	Cosworth V8	ARG Ret	BRA 4	RSA 3	USW 6	BEL 1	MON Ret	FRA 2	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA 6	CAN 3	USA 3			5th	32
1981	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 126CK	Ferrari V6	USW Ret	BRA Ret	ARG Ret	SMR 5	BEL 8	MON 4	ESP 15	FRA 5	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT 9	NED Ret	ITA 5	CAN Ret	CPL 9		13th	9
1982	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 126C2	Ferrari V6	RSA 18	BRA 6	USW Ret	SMR 1	BEL DNS	MON 2	DET 3	CAN 9	NED 1	GBR 2	FRA 3	GER DNS	AUT	SUI	ITA	CPL	2nd	39

References

1. ^ "Great Rivalries: Didier Pironi vs. Gilles Villeneuve". Automobile Magazine. http://www.automobilemag.com/features/racing/0909_didier_pironi_vs_gilles_villeneuve_great_rivalries/index.html. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Bruno Giacomelli	Monaco Formula Three Race Winner 1977	Succeeded by Elio de Angelis
Preceded by Jacky Ickx Hurley Haywood Jürgen Barth	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1978 with: Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Succeeded by Klaus Ludwig Bill Whittington Don Whittington

Persondata
Name	Pironi, Didier
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 March 1952
Place of birth
Date of death	23 August 1987
Place of death