Quote:
Originally Posted by bauble
Wonderful!!
So good to see someone recognising 'Jeannot', such a great 'racer' definitely one of the fastest of his era, but as pointed out somewhat in the shadow of Fangio and Moss.
I must correct an early statement, Jean certainly won a number of Formula 1 races, but not a World Championship round. Remember that in the fifties and sixties there were many Grands Prix around Europe, and Behra had his fair share of wins, Pau 1954 in a Gordini beating the entire Ferrari team. He won the first Moroccan Grand Prix the year before it became a WC event, he also took BRM's first win for their 1.5 litre car at Caen in 1957 also the Daily Express International Trophy. Numerous sports car wins as well mixed in with Grands Prix.
One of my all-time heroes, badly treated by Ferrari and fate, but never forgotten by those who love pure racers. As some scribe once said of him and Surtees " .. more balls than a Christmas Tree."
Thank you for recalling one of the finest men ever to race cars.
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Thanks for the correction, I wasn't entirely sure what way to word it really. He never won a Formula One championship round, but won some Formula One races? I'm going on the basis that if it wasn't a championship round, then it wasn't a 'true' F1 race, even though all it may have been missing was a sanctioning body.
For those of you who are more knowledgeable than myself, was Jean the type who could thrive being an 'underdog', but choked under pressure to perform in the limelight of championship F1? I find it very curious how someone can be so convincing away from the constrains of championship F1, but fail to make a mark when it was an 'official' event.