Part 2 : The Alpine Experience

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After lengthy discussions with Monsieur Redelé, it was decided to appoint Patrick on a three year contract as a driver/mechanic/tester at Alpine's base in Dieppe. Needless to say, he accepted without hesitation. He first had to earn his place in the team's Formula 3 team, by working as a mechanic on Mauro Bianchi's car. Bianchi was the number one driver at Alpine, at that stage. As a mechanic and car tester, the logic was, he had to learn how to prepare and set up a racing car for race conditions. Testing duties also meant that he had to drive several of the company's prototype road cars. The small salary that he received was also the first that he had ever earned in his life.

Leaving Clermont-Ferrand was not much of an issue, even though his roots were firmly settled in the Auvergne. The only real problem was to leave his girlfriend, Michelle, behind. They had known each other since their schooldays and had a firm relationship going at the time. Shortly before Patrick left for Dieppe they got engaged and also decided on a wedding date for the following June. Patrick would later describe it as one of the happiest days in his life, the day when he packed his car to head for Alpine's base in Dieppe near the end of 1966.

After the initial first few weeks of induction at the Alpine works, Patrick was given the chance to race for his new employer. His first race for Alpine was at the Coupe de Vitesse Pau on 2 April 1967. It was to be a 35 lap race on the demanding street circuit of this Pyrenean town. He and Mauro Bianchi were driving the team's Alpine A330, fitted with a 1000cc Renault engine and a modified space frame. During the practise rounds, the rookie was in no way outdone by his more experienced rivals. He qualified in a creditable 10th position on the starting grid, but was sidelined with induction problems during the race and this lead to his eventual retirement.

It turned out to be a low-keyed season for Alpine, which in the end did not mount a major effort in the French F3 Championship. Early on in the season Patrick also suddenly found himself as the sole driver, following the departure of the experienced Bianchi and Henry Grandsire from the F3 team. Patrick, though, was not deterred and enjoyed every opportunity he got behind the wheel of the A330. This was his big chance in life and surely he was not going to let it slip by. When Patrick scored his first win in F3 at the Coupe de Paris race on the Monthléry circuit, near the end of May, he gave everyone notice of his undoubted potential as a future star.

Patrick started from fourth on the grid and during the earlier laps of the race he was putting pressure on Henri Pescarolo for third position. Pescarolo eventually spun and this let Depailler through into third place with six laps still to go. On the next lap the leader at that stage, Eric Offenstadt, made a mistake. He slid off the wet circuit into a retaining wall and into retirement. Philippe Vidal's Matra was now leading from Depailler in second position. Then on the last lap, plumes of smoke suddenly came from the Matra's engine. This allowed Patrick to take the lead and also a surprise victory. He nevertheless drove a superb race in the difficult weather conditions and most certainly deserved this win, considering his relative inexperience at the time.

He had several other brave and praiseworthy performances in F3 during the rest of 1967, where he finished amongst the top six drivers. The Alpine unfortunately was no match for the all-conquering Matra MS 6's of Henri Pescarolo, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Philippe Vidal. Patrick was eventually classified fifth overall in the final classification of the French F3 Championship.

In between his race outings in the Formula 3 car he was also drafted into Alpine's sports car team, where he was entrusted with the Alpine A210. His first race in this car was at the Le Mans 24 Hour race. This race also just proved the confidence that Alpine had in Depailler. One only realises it when you look at the facts. The Alpine was fitted with a petite 1005cc Renault R8G engine for this race, which surely must have made it a frightening experience for a rookie to handle. Imagine his car being passed by powerful monsters, like the 7 litre Ford Mk IV's, on the Mulsanne straight. Patrick and his teammate, Gerard Larrousse, were not intimidated, though. They had a remarkable race and moved up from 43rd place at the start to 17th place during the event and kept going until the car's system could stand the pressure no more after 17 hours into the race. At the time they were leading both on Thermal Index and Index of Performance. Other sports car races for Alpine that year were at the Reims 12 Hour, the Nürburgring 500km and also the Paris 1000km.

Patrick's final race for 1967 was also behind the wheel of the Alpine A210, but it was now fitted with the regular 1500cc Gordini engine. It was at the Kyalami 9 Hour race in South Africa during November and it was also here that he accomplished his first international success of note in motorsport. Together with his teammate, Henry Grandsire, they attacked the race in great style and the works Alpine ran like a super-express during the event. They eventually finished in 7th position overall, out of 39 starters. Only one car of less than 3,3 litres finished in front of their 1,5 litre car. On Index of Performance they were classified in 5th place. What was significant with this performance was the fact that they were crowned as the winners of their Class. This was truly a memorable way for Depailler to finish his first full season in motorsport. One in which he gained very valuable experience.

Apart from all his racing activities, his personal life also quietly reached a milestone in June 1967. He and Michelle got married in Clermont-Ferrand. Due to his hectic travelling schedule to attend races all over France, the wedding date was hastily fitted in between the Le Mans 24 Hour and a Formula 3 race at Clermont-Ferrand. They decided to settle in Dieppe, in a little house that they rented from Mauro Bianchi, so that Patrick could be near the Alpine base.

At the beginning of the 1968 season, Alpine brought out a newer version of their A330 Formula 3 car. At the time Formula France and sports car racing were somewhat of a priority for Alpine and only a small budget was available for their F3 programme. The team, therefore, had only the one car for Depailler in F3. It was attended to by only two mechanics. Due to the low budget, there was no margin for development. The A330, with a shorter chassis than its predecessor, had a reputation for handling well, but its Renault engine developed an output in the order of 115 bhp, which was about 10 bhp less than the Ford engines of the opposition.

The season started off on a fairly good note, though. The venue was Italy for the Monza 1000km World Sportscar Championship race. Patrick and his team mate, André de Cortanze, finished in 3rd place in the Alpine A211. This was followed up with some top 3 finishes in the Tropheé Centre-Bourgogne, a three event series that was incorporated into the French F3 Championship. These races were held at Monthléry, Magny Cours and Dijon. At the GP de Paris race at Monthéry in May, Patrick gained another 3rd place. Two weeks later at the prestigious Monaco F3 race, he again had an excellent race. In the first heat, he finished second and for the final he was on the front row of the starting grid, next to the pole sitter, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. In the race he unfortunately had to retire with accident damage. After the Monaco F3 race, the wheels very much came off Alpine's efforts. Their underdeveloped car was no longer a factor in the F3 races and Patrick had to be satisfied with several non-finishes. At the end of the season Patrick found himself in a disappointing 6th position in the final points classification of the French F3 Championship.

There were also a few other sports car races during the year, apart from the one at Monza at the beginning of the season. At the Nürburgring 1000km he and Larrousse were classified in 9th place, while at Le Mans and the Paris 1000km his efforts ended in retirements. One consolation for Patrick was that he won the GT Class of the Criterium des Cevennes Rally in Southern France. As a works driver, he competed in a few Rallies for Alpine during 1967 and 1968. In these events he drove the potent Alpine A110 Berlinette. In international events this car would become one of the most successful rally cars ever.

Patrick, ever the optimist, was hoping that 1969 would bring him better luck. He had to honour his three year contract at Alpine, so there were no thoughts of joining another team. Alpine in return decided to put some more effort into their F3 team and car to compensate for their low-key efforts of the previous two years. They decided to sign Jean-Pierre Jabouille as Depailler's teammate. Jabouille had done very well in previous seasons in a privately entered Matra. This was the beginning of a relationship between the two men that would continue for several years to come. They were good friends off the circuit, but bitter rivals during races.

The start of the season saw Patrick yet again driving the previous year's Alpine A330. This time around the car was much more competitive and he got several top three finishes in the process. Heat wins were obtained at the Tropheé de Bourgogne races at Magny Cours and Dijon, and also the GP de Nogaro later in the season. His second outright victory in F3 came his way at the Challenge Raymond Sommer on the Monthléry circuit. A significant aspect of this race was that he and Jean-Pierre finished in a dead heat. The organisers sat down for several hours after the race to decide whom the actual winner was. In the end both drivers were credited with the same finishing time, but Patrick was declared as the winner. All season long this fierce battle between the two Alpine drivers would continue.

Alpine brought out the A360 model during the second half of the season. It basically started off as a long wheel base version of the A330 model. At the completion of the season, Patrick found himself in 4th position in the final classification of the F3 Championship. He and Jabouille also shared an Alpine A220 sports car at the Monza 1000km, where they finished in 6th place, and also during the Le Mans 24 Hour race. They had to retire from the race due to engine failure after 18 hours. At the Monza race they looked certain to finish in 4th place, but on the final lap Patrick had a big accident following a tangle with the Lola of Frank Gardner. The front of the Alpine was completely destroyed in the accident and Depailler was very lucky to escape with only a broken rib.

Following three full seasons of F3 racing, Patrick was hoping to move on to Formula 2. Alpine also decided to skip the 1970 F3 season in preparation for a serious effort the following season when all F3 cars would be fitted with 1600cc engines instead of the 1000cc of previous years. He thus had to look elsewhere if he wanted to progress to the bigger leagues. Patrick's opportunity in F2 came courtesy of Elf and Pygmée. Elf, the French petroleum giant, was investing lots of money into the sport to promote the careers of talented French racing drivers.

A key person in the Elf company was François Guiter who was the head of the competition department. He would play a vital role in supporting Patrick during the forthcoming seasons. Pygmée, the French team that was started by Marius Dal Bo in Annecy, had built several Formula France, F3 and F2 cars in previous years. For the 1970 season they received backing from Elf. This meant that Pygmée could run a proper works team that year, but for reasons unknown, they made the mistake of trying to run four cars.

The appointed drivers were Patrick Dal Bo (the team principal's son), Jabouille, Beltoise and Depailler. It turned out to be a disastrous season for Pygmée who was not up to the task of keeping four cars in the field. Their cars were entered for all the European F2 events, but on numerous occasions not all of their cars showed up. This fate befell Patrick on no less than five occasions, due to cars that were not ready or repaired - bitter disappointment to say the least. The Pygmée MDB 15 that was used, had a full monocoque with a tubular engine bay and double wishbone suspension all round. The first race for Patrick in this car and also in Formula 2 was on 3 May 1970 at the Eifelrennen meeting on the Nürburgring. His only other races for them were at the GP of Limburg (Zolder), GP de Rouen, GP del Mediterraneo (Enna-Pergusa) and the Tropheé de France (Paul Ricard). The best result he could master was a 9th place in one of the heats at the Rouen race. In retrospect was the time at Pygmée a major disaster for Patrick, which surely could have ruined his career forever.

Two races for the Matra sports car team, one at Le Mans and also in the Automobile Tour de France race, gave some creditability to his year in the end. At Le Mans, Depailler, Jabouille and Schenken shared a Matra MS650 Barquette, but had to retire after 7 hours with engine problems. Then in September Patrick and Beltoise were given the same car, with Jean Todt as navigator, to compete in the Automobile Tour de France. This was a truly majestic event with a history that went back as far as 1899. It was held on public roads and race circuits in France and each race attracted several cars of different manufacturers and engine capacities. Thoroughbred racing sports cars like the Matra MS650 of Depailler/Beltoise were set up specifically for public road use, with long travel suspensions, sump guards, rudimentary passenger accommodation and extra lights. Patrick attacked the road with great vigour in the first few stages before handing over the car to Beltoise to carry on with the good work. In the end they were declared as the winners of this great race. Surely Jean-Pierre Beltoise must have enjoyed great satisfaction in sharing the winning car with his former protégé.

Depailler's final race of 1970 was at an unusual venue. It was the Grand Prix of Israel on a street circuit in the town of Ashkelon. By that time Patrick had broken his ties with Pygmée. In this race he competed in a Tecno for Scuderia Jolly Club. They also entered the two Brambilla brothers, Vittorio and Tino, for this meeting. In practice, Patrick was very quick and set the 2nd fastest time. Then, yet again, there was more disappointment install. The race organisers decided to cancel the race, following unruly crowd behaviour during the practice runs. They felt that this was putting the lives of spectators as well as the drivers in danger. Gone was his chance to show what he could do in a competitive F2 car.

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