Gilles 8 May 1982

[JMC1]

So the dreaded 30th anniversary of Giles death is just a few days away.
This thread is not to debate whether he was the fastest or the best of the best or just crazy but for a certain appreciation of an amazing talent that made racing exciting.
He was one of Enzo's all time favourites and that is enough for me. I grew up watching his tremendous car control that made tuning into BBC2 for the Grand Prix highlights something to look forward to. He never seemed bothered by statistics other than who was top of the time sheets for the session.
I can remember being sat in the stand at Silverstone Grand Prix in 1981 and being so disappointed when Gilles spun out in front of us on lap 4 whilst also taking out my other favourite driver of the time Alan Jones.

Anyway do you have any good Gilles stories to post or good photos.

[JMC1]

Silverstone 1981

[DJRC]

Ahh Gilles.

The man was born to race Ferraris.

[fatboy69]

Gilles - the epitomy of a genius. Loved watching him race, loved his car control, loved the Nigel Roebuck stories in Autosport regarding his activities away from the race track.

Such as seeing how quickly he could drive his 308 from Monaco to Marenello, usually with a petrified Jody Scheckter in the passenger seat, the story that Niki Lauda once told about Gilles, his helicopter spotlight, a very small landing area, the fact it was dark, the fact that the helicopters fuel tank was empty.........

Saddest thing that I read was Keke's account of driving out of Zolder on the Monday morning. He said that the place was empty.

Apart from one solitary helicopter. It belonged to GIlles.

Keke said that it was then that it hit him that Gilles was gone.

RIP GIlles. Your legend will live on.

[JMC1]

I agree with both DJRC and fatboy69. Perhaps if he had raced for another team the legend would not have been as sacred as it is being a Ferrari boy. I am so glad he was a Ferrari boy it would not have been the same in a Brabham or Tyrrell or similar.

I also used to read Nigel Roebucks accounts of Gilles behaviour and particularly liked the 308 / Scheckter story. When Gilles was busy thrashing the guts out of his 308 Jody usualy travelled around in his 400 auto, that really shows the difference between them.

I wonder what happened to his road cars that 308 would be worth a lot of money now. Look at what Senna's old race cars fetch I think a genuine Gilles road or race car would be worth more than a Senna car.

[DJRC]

The Gilles 308 stories were another reason behind me buying one.

Yes, Im a child.

[fatboy69]

The Roebuck stories were/are the stuff of legend. How many times did we read about Gilles scaring Jody to death with his drives from Monaco, Jody saying he wouldn't get into a car with Gilles ever again - & the next week there would be yet another story of Gilles in a 308 with Jody saying never again.

Until the next time.....

Can you imagine an F1 driver today doing this? No. It would never happen. I think that, maybe, Gilles was one of the last 'playboy' drivers who enjoyed himself so much away from the track.

It's no wonder that Enzo idolised GIlles. The like of him will, i fear, never be seen again.

Time, I think, to hit YouTube to see the great man in action.

The legend lives on.

[DJRC]

And Jody was of course a willing accomplice in these games.

Jody and Gilles...the Hitman and Her of F1 partnerships Its the old opposites attract thing.

[fatboy69]

I seem l recall that Jody played an active part of some of Gilles' escapades after which he always denied everything!

Strange in many ways that they got on so well. The Senna - Berger friendship was something similar. Opposites attract dont they?

[mattikake]

Gilles was one of those rare drivers that made the sport worth watching and created new fans, all by himself. Didn't matter if it was driving at ten-tenths, charging to the last lap, never giving up (even if his car did), spectacular duelling or crashing - he was always entertaining.

The drivers of this class are rarer than the list of greats. Personally, i find them more important than true outstanding talent, genius, winners etc. That is his legacy for me.

(Nige was better in all aspects tho )

It's for these reasons that i always hope lewis messes up his quali...

[DJRC]

Gilles was the definition of outstanding talent and genius though.

[Redlake27]

F1 started being shown live when I was 10 years old.

I saw the 1979 Monaco GP and was intrigued by the 'ugly' T4s. I became addicted to F1 and started reading Motorsport and Grand Prix International, and as a kid, just loved the photos of drifting Ferraris. I became a fan.

Since then, I've watched every GP, and most of my cars have been Italian. Both of these interests came from watching Gilles.

On my way back from the Spa 6 hours yesterday, I stopped at Zolder. The corner where he died is right next to the public road so you can get a clear view of this tragic spot.

I sat there quietly for a few minutes, thankful that my fan worship led to me having a wonderful life in motorsport, before driving my hire car (a Fiat 500....) back to the airport in 'Gilles style'

Thanks for the memories.

[mattikake]

DJRC said:

Gilles was the definition of outstanding talent and genius though.

No argument there. Gilles was the clear outstanding talent of his era without a doubt. But what did it for me (especially being a kid at the time from 1980 when I started taking an interest, exclusively because of the moments Gilles would create) was his pure entertainment factor.

Gilles probably shaped my view of sport, though I only really understood it and got fully addicted through Nige.

I was a Keke fan for the same reasons. I was a Nige fan for the same reasons. I was a Montoya fan for the same reasons. I am a Lewis fan for the same reasons.

I am also a Liverpool fan for the same reasons (peer pressure meant I "had" to pick a team when I was 8yo. I went home and watched a couple of games. I saw this team in Red thrash another by pass-and-move. Looked cool and sexy as hell. I picked them having no idea that they were actually the best team in the league at the time.)

I was a John Mac fan in tennis, because he always lit up the place. Even Edberg when he played Wimbledon for serve-and-volley.

I am an O'Sullivan fan. Not because he is the outstanding natural genius, but because he is entertaining to watch, even when losing. Judd Trump is his natural replacement I think.

Gilles is also the reason I'm no fan of Cricket, Ruby or Kabaddi.

[Kaiser_Wull]

Gilles was the greatest driver I have ever seen - a hard but fair racer who never gave up. He should have been the champion in 1979 - and would've been but for a double dollop of bad luck at Zolder that year. I have no doubt that he'd have won the title in 1982. Tragically, it wasn't to be.

I doubt we'll ever see his likes again.

[dom180]

There's some interesting stories on Peter Windsor's blog:

http://peterwindsor.com/2012/05/01/gilles-and-rene...

http://peterwindsor.com/2012/03/31/some-classic-gi...

[JMC1]

As today is the day I just though that these were typical of what we appreciated about the man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh_OyIjjBNA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpUJ3Q4atBo&fea...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3tXJm9tYGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6PRRc9Iov0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SmrV-FFC1w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjbE4-ryUJA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvv-EuuXaCQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUI6cPJ6uJM&fea...

[fatboy69]

R I P.

The legend of Gilles lives on.

[SeeFive]

Jaques was out in one of Gilles old fezzas at fiorano today watched by other members of the family

[Great Dane]

I dropped my pen in his paste sauce before he wiped and signed his autograph....

[chevronb37]

I was born after Gilles died but his legend has enthralled me since. By all accounts, a special guy with a special talent. Though nothing can compare to having seen the man himself race, last year during the historic F1 race which supported the Canadian GP, an ex-Gilles 312T5 was entered, its driver wearing a replica helmet. He couldn't have dreamed to drive it like the great man but seeing that car at that circuit was hugely evocative.