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| Image Courtesy - www.allf1.info |
A doctorate in law, childhood friend and racing mate of the only posthumous World Champion in F1, winner of the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans, lap record holder at the traditional hilly race Targa Florio at Sicily, stints with restaurant and luxury properties, talent spotter who introduced the likes of Gerhard Berger, Juan Pablo Montoya to Formula One.
There are more roles he is associated with, but none more
famous than being the mentor for the reigning three-time World Champion
Sebastian Vettel. He is Helmut Marko, the consultant for Red Bull Racing. What
is lesser known is the fact that; he had long hair, drove in F1, and had the
looks that could have made him the poster boy of F1. Being at the receiving end
of a freak incident while racing, it stalled his career at F1.
When Felipe Massa was hit on the helmet by rubble in 2009
Hungarian Grand Prix, he missed few races. He came back post recovery and still
races with Ferrari. However, 41 years ago a similar incident occurred when a
stone hit the visor of Marko’s helmet damaging his left eye. The incident
signalled the end of his race and his short lived F1 career (nine races). Today,
the helmets have bullet proof polycarbonate visors to protect the eyes; a
development that took place after the accident involving Helmut Marko.
In this edition of Lost Track, I look back on a circuit located
in France whose F1 hosting rights ended in the same year as that of Marko’s
driving career.
In the 1950’s Nurburgring in Germany was a popular race track
with its elevation changes, long straights and twisty and tight corners. The
French motorsport authorities wanted to have their own version of ‘Nurburgring’
and this resulted in a race track built near the Puy (volcanic hill) de Dome
mountain, located around two extinct volcanoes; the Puy de Charade and the Puy
de Grave Noire. The circuit also passed through the hamlet of Charade and hence
the explanation for the one of the names of the circuit.
The legendary French driver Louis Rosier assisted in the
project, which was headed by Jean Auchtataire. With very less space to
incorporate pit garages and grand stands, neighbouring village roads were
included as a part of the 8 km circuit map. The first "Trophées
d'Auvergne" was held in 1958, by which Louis Rosier had passed away.
With each year and competitions being held at Charade, there
was a growing popularity to include this track in the F1 calendar. France had
other circuits which hosted the Grand Prix; the hype around the mountain track
was too tempting for Charade to be excluded from F1 and drivers such as
Stirling Moss did comment - “I don't know a more wonderful track than
Charade”. Not sure if it came from
the heart or the comment was made to appease the local authorities. Nevertheless,
the word did spread and events such as F2 and F3 races began to take place more
regularly and not to forget even the motorcycle championships.
It was the year
1965 when Charade hosted the first French Formula 1 Grand Prix. Jim Clark on
his Cooper-Climax won the race comfortably ahead of Jackie Stewart while the
future World Champion Denny Hulme scored his first points.
The French Grand
Prix was then hosted at three locations for three years running at Reims, Le
Mans and Rounen-Les-Essarts before coming back to Charade in 1969. Long before
the circuit hosted its second F1 race this mountain track also featured in the
1966 movie Grand Prix as being one of the circuits where the movie was shot.
Jackie Stewart was beginning to assert his class in 1969. He
went on win his maiden World Championship title in the very same year with
Matra-Ford. Among his six victories that season, one was at Charade where he
won by a margin of 57 seconds to his team mate and home boy Jean-Pierre
Beltoise who came second.
There was another circuit which was built in Albi, France
which was supposed to have hosted the 1970 edition.
The deal did not
materialise and the race returned to Charade for the third time. This was the
season, where the geographical location started playing its part on the race
strategy. Located in the mountains, it is not uncommon for drivers to encounter
rocks, stones on the track. As a result, there were punctures, occasional ones
hitting the drivers as they accelerate and brake at various points along the
race. Jochen Rindt was in superb form and even with an occasional hit and his
uneasiness over the circuit, he won the race. He went on to win two more races
before losing his life through an accident at Monza later that season.
The 1970 race was also the last race to be held on public
roads without the use of Armco lined barriers. These days the metal barrier
fitted at the sides of racing tracks is a must as it helps to absorb the impact
of a car at high speed and prevent it from crashing into spectators.
In 1971, France had another race track located at the
mountains. Circuit Paul Ricard, located close to Marseille hosted the 1971
French Grand Prix. The race returned to
Charade the following year. The reigning champion Jackie Stewart was under
pressure to stay in the championships led by the Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi.
The race was not about Stewart’s comeback victory. The race reached its climax
on lap eight. With Fittipaldi, not adhering to the two white safety lines cut
the corner; resulting in one of the stones thrown from his car which unfortunately
hit Helmut Marko’s visor. This incident ended his race and subsequently his racing
career.
The sharp stones falling from the mountains also posed a problem to
other drivers which resulted in ten deflated tyre and a call for unscheduled
stops.
The circuit located in the French region of Auvergne, not far
from the Michelin headquarters had to be contend with other races but F1. The
French Grand Prix moved to other tracks; and with emergence of Circuit Paul
Ricard, there was less hope for Charade circuit which is also known by its
other names such as Circuit Louis Rosier and Circuit Clermont-Ferrand to host
an F1 race. In 1980, after a horrendous accident and killing of three marshals,
there were protests and voices raised regarding the safety of the circuit.
The 8 km now shortened to half its original length in 1988 currently
hosts Formula Three and other low profile races. Due to an agreement made with
the local neighbours in 2002, only seven days in a year has been permitted for
racing.
It has been five years since France last hosted a Grand
Prix. With Magney Cours currently under renovation and modifications as
suggested by FIA, it remains to be seen if France will ever get a Grand Prix.
Mind you, there are four drivers in the current line-up and Renault being the
winning constructor’s engine for three straight years in addition to being home
of FIA; it is indeed surprising to not have an annual French Grand Prix.
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