The problem for the newest member of the team was a clause allocating him the status of second driver. After a near miss in ’76, Rene now had the full support of Martini and de Chaunac to enable him to go one better in 1977. Arnoux had already proven his mettle at this level. From a management point of view, his elevation to senior driver made perfect sense.
Besides, there was still a question mark over Didier’s capacity, if not within the Magny community, then certainly within certain factions of the French media as well as members of the wider racing community. ‘Last season saw him outclass his rivals,’ noted Johnny Rives, ‘but no one can say whether this is due to his obvious talents as a driver or as a director.’ Could Didier hack it at international level? He might have swept all before him in Formula Renault Europe the previous season, but at what price? Had not Arnoux achieved a similar feat with a much more modest budget? Didier would need to convince a sceptical media that his ascension was fuelled by more than just a generous supply of funds from his friends at Elf.
Rives followed the Elf-Martini team to a wet and windy Silverstone for the opening round of the 14-race season. In his report for Sport-Auto, the writer catalogued a raft of technical issues that would plague the Martini/de Chaunac-run team throughout the year. During that wintry March weekend the MK22’s teething problems became apparent for all to see, acutely so for a couple of French drivers who never lost their sense of humour despite this unpromising start to their season. As meticulous as he was, Martini was already focusing on a long-cherished dream for 1978: entry to Formula 1.
Arnoux’s unexpected victory, as welcome as it was, could not hide some niggling issues for the French outfit. Both cars had qualified well down the field. There was much work to be done. In his first F2 start, Didier had an eventful afternoon. Disputing position with Messrs Rosberg and Patrese at various stages, the debutant was mystified when his car veered off circuit while defending his fifth place: ‘Suddenly my car refused to turn. I went straight. The left front wheel did not touch anything. But it was flat.’
Following races at Thruxton and Hockenheim, Rene headed the title chase with 18 points. Didier, by contrast had yet to open his account. More engine problems had led to retirement in both races – races that had been won by three different drivers driving three different cars. As had been predicted, this 1977 Formula 2 season was wide open – any one of a dozen drivers had genuine claims of winning at any given circuit. ‘The toughest European Formula 2 Championship of the past five years,’ in the words of Motorsport, a specialist monthly UK publication.10
Zero points. It was not the start Didier had been hoping for. He never would be able to claw back those 18 points lost to his team-mate. Was it bad luck or just down to inexperience?
The situation with Rene was not dissimilar to others he would face as his career progressed. Being the second driver in a team could and did lead to disadvantages, often subtle but disadvantages nevertheless. At Silverstone for example, Didier had ceded some 600rpm in power to his team-mate following modifications to his V6 Gordini engine, a distinct handicap on a power circuit such as the British track. Not that there was too much in the way of friction between the rivals. On the contrary, the two men enjoyed good relations despite the undeniable edge inherent when chasing the same prize.
Fourth place on the Nürburgring grid behind Patrese, Mass and Giacomelli resulted in a steady fourth place come race end, one place ahead of his team-mate. Didier’s season was up and running. In this freakishly competitive season, every single point would be hard-earned. Even F1 could not claim to be as hotly contested as this category of racing. A fortnight later at Vallelunga in Italy, Didier caught and passed the Ralt-BMW of Eddie Cheever for a superb second-place finish behind runaway winner Giacomelli.
Acclimatising quickly to this new environment, momentum continued apace with a visit to Pau for round six of the championship – one of only a handful of tracks in the 1977 schedule he had experience of driving. The track, which runs through the centre of the picturesque town of the same name in south-west France, past aqueducts, churches and chateaux, had always been good to Didier. His last three visits had all ended on the podium, including victory in ’76. As he took his place on the grid on a dark, thundery afternoon, the Martini pilot was quietly confident.
Once Tambay and Cheever had collided at the start Arnoux slotted into the lead pursued by Giacomelli and Laffite, who themselves soon tangled. Now up to P3, Didier had the Chevron-BMW of Patrese in sight. As the skies turned ever darker, the Martini caught and passed the Italian. The young Martini pilot was revelling in the slippery conditions. Next up, Arnoux. Fourteen laps remained to the flag. Didier began to haul the leader in …
The race was heading for a thrilling climax when the dark clouds suddenly and violently burst: a flash thunderstorm, naked, raw, awe-inspiring. The red flags came out, but only after some dithering. As the two blue and yellow Martini-Elfs approached the start-finish line, nose to tail, such was the degradation in conditions and such was his proximity to his team-mate’s car in front, Didier failed to notice that the race was being halted. Skating on a treacherously wet race track, unable to slow for the tight virage de la gare (station hairpin) the number two Martini pilot found himself a passenger in his own car. Thud! The car went straight into the straw bales. Unaware that the race had been stopped, Didier tried to extract himself back into the race, but to no avail. Bitterly disappointed, he had no option but to ditch his mount where it stood. A good job, because seconds later the stricken car was rammed by third-placed Patrese and a succession of other drivers who had similarly lost control of their vehicles as they had crossed the start-finish line.
Approaching the halfway point in the season, Martini-Elf were in a strong position:
1. Arnoux (Martini-Elf) 30 pts
2. Cheever (Ralt-BMW) 19 pts
3. Pironi (Martini-Elf) 18 pts
Those three non-scores at the start of the season had cost Didier dearly. Nevertheless, on recent form there was very little to give between the two Martini drivers. While the European Formula 2 category was highly respected – the presence of so many F1 ‘guests’ proved as much – such was the very nature of its competitiveness, making a name for oneself was nigh on an impossibility. How could a driver hope to stand out?
Didier thought he knew how.
In between the races at Vallelunga and Pau, an opportunity arose to truly stamp his mark on the international scene. An irresistible chance to put himself right in the Formula 1 shop window in the most prestigious race outside of the sport’s premier category: the Monaco F3 race.
Nine
Monte Carlo or bust
The Monaco F3 race long had a reputation of throwing up a potential superstar driver. Jackie Stewart (1964) and Ronnie Peterson (1969) were just two of the illustrious alumni to have won this Grand Prix support race prior to permanently joining the F1 circuit. Future winners would include Elio de Angelis (1978) and Alain Prost (1979). Winning Monaco F3 was the ultimate PR for an aspiring racer.
Twelve months earlier, Didier and Tico had discussed the possibility of a smash ’n’ grab raid on the Principality, but riding high during that fabulous Formula Renault Europe season, had never quite got around to implementing their plan. As the 1977 event approached, Martini planned to run Dany Snobeck in the MK21, a car that had been specially prepared with this race in mind. Initial testing at Zolder had gone well enough to suggest the team had a realistic chance of pulling off a spectacular coup.
With Snobeck committed to Formula Renault, and a potential race-winning car on their hands, Didier knew a gift-horse when he saw one. Having sounded out possible sponsorship from the engineering company Bendix, financially the project at least had legs. And there was always the ever-faithful Elf, of course.
‘Tico, listen to me. Let me borrow the MK21 for Monaco. Hugh and I will win the Monaco F3 race!’
His employer was unconvinced: ‘But you are an F2 driver! Think of the risk to your reputat
ion if you fail to win!’
‘It’s the only way I have to catch the attention of the F1 teams, the only chance to get a contract for next season!’
Martini had a point. By stepping ‘down’ to F3, Didier was taking a huge gamble. Should he win the event, then all well and good. However, what if he were to finish down the order? To make a mistake? To get caught up in somebody else’s accident? Monaco had a reputation for drama all its own. Take a collection of F3 cars under the influence of 20 gung-ho hotheads and anything could happen. Reputations could be just as easily lost as won on its sinewy streets. Was Didier prepared to take such a risk?
‘If you lose, you’re fucked!’ cautioned Tico, secretly warming to the idea though anxious not to leave his friend under any illusions. If anyone could pull this off, this young guy he had first met as a fresh-faced kid over a decade earlier could do it.
‘But if I win, I get into Formula 1. You must help me!’
‘Okay. Hugh and I will do all we can. Count on us. But you can’t stop us from thinking this scheme is crazy.’
There was barely a chance for Didier to even test the car – just a handful of laps of Nevers – before a small team set out from Magny to Monaco in late May. Former Team Pironi engineer Benito was drafted in to prepare the Toyota engine. Hugues de Chaunac would oversee the raid.
Monte Carlo or bust.
‘I don’t hide my ambitions,’ said Didier upon arrival in the Principality. ‘I would do anything to win this race.’ He was not the only one. Over 120 applications had been received by the race’s organising body, of which just 64 were accepted. Faced with such a large entry the solution would be to run two ‘semi-finals’ out of which would emerge the 20 drivers who would line up for the final. In their wisdom, the organisers elected to simply hold two qualifying sessions, the fastest 20 times deciding the final grid, be they all from session ‘A’, ‘B’ or a combination of both. A few eyebrows raised; what if one session had say, rain or an accident? How could such a disadvantage – a glaring one – possibly be fair? C’est la vie.
On top of all this, for once the Magny raiding party arrived behind the curve. Formula 3 might have been beneath Formula 2 in the pecking order of international motorsport, but it had its own rules and regulations and it certainly had its share of idiosyncrasies. If it had not been for Nelson Piquet, the team would not even have had a suitable gearbox. ‘We arrived as amateurs,’ joked Didier. He had a point.
For some drivers this race would be a last throw of the dice, a chance to erase what had (or had not) gone before. Like Didier, Giancarlo Brancatelli was stepping down from F2. After an indifferent start to his season, the Italian hoped to re-ignite his career on the streets of Monaco. ‘As it’s not going so well in Formula 2 right now,’ smiled Carlo, ‘it’s worth a try ...’ The magic of Monaco. Old rival Alain Cudini was also present, similarly hoping to boost an ailing career. Winner way back in 1968, Jean-Pierre Jassaud was yet another wild card hoping to pull off his own version of a Monte Carlo heist. All it took was a slice of Riviera luck.
Then there was the present crop of F3 aces, de Angelis, Piquet, Warwick, Johansson and Ghinzani, all hoping to leave their own indelible mark upon the event.
‘Didier at that time was the great French hope, so to compare myself with him was a great privilege that enhanced my talent at international level,’ recalls Piercarlo Ghinzani, one of several drivers in the field who would make it all the way to Formula 1, but like so many in the sport, a driver who would never enjoy the level of equipment with which to show his true talent.
Certainly, the chance to shine in front of the F1 talent spotters such as Colin Chapman or Ken Tyrrell cannot be underestimated. Come the end of this glitzy weekend, the Monaco F3 winner would be a name on everybody’s lips.
Bottom line: whichever driver emerged as the victor would invariably be a class act, a man to watch.
Didier had calculated correctly, but could he pull this off? He was, after all, part of a makeshift team whose car, the MK21, was virtually unknown to him: ‘I do not know much about the car, since I only drove her for 20 laps at Nevers…’ confessed the pilot. Little wonder Tico had dismissed the plan as ‘crazy’. Fearful that the mission would indeed badly misfire, Martini had declined to join the Monaco party, preferring instead to hang about his Magny workshops waiting for news, on tenterhooks.
Damp, miserable conditions abounded during Thursday’s first practice session. Along with his small team of mechanics, Didier did what he could to familiarise himself with his mount’s quirks. ‘There is still a lot of work to do, but I am confident about the race,’ he declared after setting the fourth-fastest time of the session.
With a whopping 64 drivers competing for 20 grid slots, Friday’s session was set to be a nail-biting day. Split into two groups, this would be a qualifying session like no other. Finding a clear lap on these notoriously tight streets could easily boil down to luck rather than judgement. On a dry circuit, lap times 20 seconds faster than those of the previous day, a titanic battle for pole position began. As is well known, for a shot at victory around these tight and twisty harbour roads, a place on the front row of the starting grid is virtually de rigueur.
Ultimately, European F3 championship leader Piercarlo Ghinzani took pole with a lap of 1’37.93. With his lap of 1’38.26 Didier joined the Italian on the front row, a whisper in front of the Chevron of Elio de Angelis. To illustrate the competitiveness of this race, just 1.5 seconds would separate Ghinzani’s pole-winning time from that of the 20th and last placed qualifier, Geoff Brabham. Motor racing grids do not get any tighter! Indeed, such was the scintillating pace, drivers of the calibre of Piquet, Warwick and Cudini failed to qualify. A collision between two cars at the harbour chicane resulted in a broken arm for one unlucky competitor. Fast and very furious: Monaco F3. By Friday evening, more than 40 disconsolate drivers were packing up, their weekend over before it had begun.
So far so good. However, Didier was still not out of the woods, nor would he be until Sunday afternoon.
At 1pm, adrenaline pumping through their veins, 20 drivers took their places on Monaco’s distinctive curved starting grid. Today, one of their number would make a reputation. Tension was sky high. Twice a winner here before, and with just one car ahead, Didier felt serene. When the red light came on, the Bendix-sponsored car made a textbook getaway, edging into the lead as the field braked for the first right-hander at Sainte Devote. Ghinzani remembers the start well:
‘I had the best time in qualifying, but the organisers had not realised that pole position was on the zebra crossing! I only discovered myself at the start when I skated on the paint stripes and Didier overtook me with ease…’ The gods were obviously smiling upon the French driver on this day.
Behind the leading pair came two Swedes, Oloffson and Johansson, the latter who would effectively act as a breaker against a baying pack comprising de Angelis, Gabbiani, Elgh and Schlesser.
In the cockpit of the Martini, it was not all plain sailing. A worried pilot noted that his engine was not responding in the way he expected; the Toyota plant was having trouble reaching its optimum operating temperature. On his second tour, the problem resolved itself. Later it would transpire that a marshall’s discarded armband had become lodged in the car’s radiator system. Thereafter enough heat was generated to achieve optimal performance. Another piece of luck. Without this unusual aid, it is highly doubtful as to whether the quest of Monte Carlo would have got beyond a few laps.
At the Lowes hotel, third-placed Oloffson nudged Ghinzani with the result that the nosecone of his Ralt suffered minor damage, enough to allow the leaders to pull clear of the third-placed man. A lap later the Italian was involved in an almost identical incident as he chased Didier around the Portier corner out on to the seafront which precedes the tunnel section. ‘I tried an attack at the entrance of the tunnel that ended with a slight collision between my front and his right rear tyre, causing my nosecone to fly away.’ Rounding the corner,
Piercarlo had been taken by surprise at the pace of the Martini which had temporarily slowed, perhaps because of a mistake. The second-placed car then ‘nudged’ the leader. The consequent loss of downforce meant that the Italian’s race was effectively over.
Didier was riding his luck, no question. All he had to do now was hold it together for another 24 laps.
Five laps into the race and the Frenchman had pulled almost as many seconds on Ghinzani whose March was now suffering from a distinct lack of aerodynamic efficiency. With Oloffson seemingly unable to capitalise on the Italian’s misfortune, and with de Angelis over 20 seconds adrift in fourth place, Didier was looking very strong. The gamble was paying off.
The Grand Prix world looked on as behind the leader a demolition derby unfolded, Johansson singled out for especial criticism. ‘At the halfway point,’ noted Auto Hebdo, ‘Pironi had the situation well in hand, and his mastery contrasted with the cowboy style of the guys in F3.’ With a clear track in front, the Martini driver was indeed looking a cut above the competition. A heavy collision between Daly (March) and South (March) at Rascasse led to a heated post-race discussion between the two British drivers. Schlesser, meanwhile, was one of several drivers to fall foul of Johansson.
While all this was going on, out front, the implacable Frenchman was in a race all his own. It was a script that the Martini boys had not dared hope would actually happen. Parfait!
Peter Warr was one of several F1 heavyweights positioned at the famous swimming pool section. The ex-Lotus and current Team Wolf manager knew the genuine article when he saw it. Observing this young lion thread his car through the tricky left-right section left F1’s weather watchers mightily impressed. Calm assurance radiated from the cockpit. Not only this, but the pilot had conducted himself with maturity the entire weekend. The young man clearly had a touch of class. A driver with flair; a stylist. The name of ‘D. Pironi’ was on the radar.
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