who was Didier Peroni ?

[Motorcies]

When I worked in MonteCarlo on the yacht "Blue Shadow" in 1987, I remember my heart pleasantly training pilot Didier Pironi, aboard his boat Offshore "COLIBRI" we were anchored in front of the entrance to the port and in these years his team were long time next to our boat soon after, we learned that an accident in which a tube race died and his team.
From here I want to remind everyone who was one of the boats and more Offshore
Strong Now excuse my English



Didier Pironi was linked with watersport already since his youth. He was a university swimming champion, appreciated water-skiing or enjoyed life on-board his parents' yacht. Already while being in Formula One he imported Italian Abbate speedboats as well as Lamborghini engines to France.

During his reconvalescence after the accident at Hockenheim he coped more with motorboats and together with his half-brother José Dolhem he founded a company called "Euronautique-Leader" at St. Tropez. 5000 square metres of hangars for reparation and preparation of boats were built. Additionally Leader competed with three boats in the 1986 European Offshore-Championship, with an Abbate 41 with Didier Pironi on board, a Conquest 39 ('Rocky') and a Cigarette 38. All three were of course powered by Lamborghini engines. Didier had driven the 1986 season to find out and settle down in the 'scene' and also found out about the unpleasant sides of the sport when breaking four ribs in an accident during his first race near .



In 1987 he competed in the World Championship, together with his navigator Bernard Giroux, a two times Paris-Dakar winner with Ari Vatanen, and the so called "throttleman" Jean-Claude Guénard, an ex-Ligier engineer. The boat, the 'Colibri' was revolutionary. Completely made of carbon fibre it was the lightest boat among the competitors, less than 3500 kg, built at the ACX shipyard at Brest, France.

Then in early August 1987 came the first big success - the Midial-Colibri won at Arendal in Norway, Pironi and his team became the top-competitor for the title. Among the congratulations there was even a telegram from Enzo Ferrari which touched him a lot.Totally enthusiastic they went on to England for the race off the Isle of Wight. Just after the start the 'Colibri' was already among the top five, a few minutes later they took second place.



A duel between the 'Colibri' and the Italian boat 'Pinot di Pinot', piloted by Renato della Valle, developed. The two boats, with the 'Colibri' still in second place, approached a signal where they had to turn around. Not far away the smaller Esso-tanker 'Avon' cruised the sea. To be in front after the turning-point, the 'Colibri' crew stayed on the throttle but took a narrower way around the turning-point, then hit a wave produced by the tanker. Suddenly the extremely light an unstable 'Colibri' was in the air, went head-over, crashed down onto the surface again, onto water that is as hard as concrete at speeds like these. The crew was killed instantly while the boat was only slightly damaged. The lifeless bodies of Didier Pironi, Jean-Claude Guénard and Bernard Giroux were brought back to the Isle of Wight by Navy helicopters.



Didier Pironi was buried at Grimaud near St.Tropez a few days later. He left his wife Catherine, pregnant with twins.

After the accident José Dolhem took over the role as team principal, the 'Colibri' was salved, fitted with a kind of a 'hardtop' roof and raced by (among others) Jean-Pierre Jarier. The team decided to continue the season in honour of Didier and his crew. Then, at the beginning of the 1988 season, José Dolhem, on the way to the event off St.Tropez, died in an airplane crash. By this the Leader team had practically stopped to exist. The boat was stored in a shed of the Leader property at St.Tropez.



After many years when the carbon fuselage had already begun to delaminate, the boat was finally sold for one Euro to Michel Hommell, a publisher of many car and motorsport magazines in France, at that time producer of an exclusive sportscar and owner of a beautiful museum called the Manoir de l'Automobile at Lohéac in Brittany, France.

With the help of Lamborghini and the Abbate brothers, the famous boat constructors from Lago di Como in Italy, the Colibri has been restored and is now on exhibition at the Manoir de l'Automobile.

Boat in the museun
http://www.manoir-automobile.fr

More in http://www.didierpironi.net

http://www.didierpironi.net/boat/boats_d.htm

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Pironi

View in the map museum

Those who know you do not forget

[Top Banana]

Motorcies....thanks for the background you posted here. As you were around Monaco in those days, did you know Jochen Mass? He was another Formula 1 guy who loved boats.

[Motorcies]

Originally Posted by Top Banana

Motorcies....thanks for the background you posted here. As you were around Monaco in those days, did you know Jochen Mass? He was another Formula 1 guy who loved boats.

If I appreciate and I love this old-time racing, thanks

The boat is currently in the museum in France and can be accessed

Image 360 colibri in the museum

http://www.manoir-automobile.fr/wrap...amborghini.php

position museum in france

http://maps.google.es/maps?f=q&sourc...08404&t=h&z=14

[jeff32]

I did not know! thanks!

[oreo11zeus]

Great model boats - Didier Pironi`s "Colibri"

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gi...&id=1031346146

[Black Tornado]

Thank you for having told to whom of our friends from the overseas that didn't know yet who was exactly Didier Pironi and of his project that was bringing in offshore.
Didier faced his second sporting adventure after that exciting and tragic of the F1, with great appointment and conviction.
Its project to bring to great levels for the first time in offshore a French team with Italian contribution was starting to give results when the destiny has wanted to break everything this.
I remember well when for the Viareggio-Bastia-Viareggio of that 1987 his boat had some technical problems and reached Viareggio during the night before the race, with the new engines.
During the competition with rough sea he made a race of assault with a boat that really it was not the best for those conditions.
But he exalted the spectators.
The Colibrì was an interesting project but with some defects that have been also perhaps fatal to Didier, Guenard and Giroux.
And of this we have spoken in a old thread.
But I believe that if he had been able to continue in his job Pironi would have known how to draw teachings from this to improve.
His rout was that correct.

[georges]

Thank you for the interesting story, Didier was one of my favorite F1 drivers.

[olli]

Originally Posted by Motorcies

...Additionally Leader competed with three boats in the 1986 European Offshore-Championship, with an Abbate 41 with Didier Pironi on board, a Conquest 39 ('Rocky') and a Cigarette 38.....

Thanks for the info and pics!!! Do you know if Pironi used a white aluminum raceboat for a while?

Originally Posted by Motorcies

....After the accident José Dolhem took over the role as team principal, the 'Colibri' was salved, fitted with a kind of a 'hardtop' roof and raced by (among others) Jean-Pierre Jarier. ......

So now I am sure only three of these beautiful boats were made
1. Colibri, later fitted with the canopy and after that restored to its original shape,
2. white/blue pleasure version also used as brochure boat still in good condition stored in a garage in France,
3. the white unfinished boat that is around St. Tropez.

This is the prototype of the Gepard 41' built by Decibel. Do you have any pics of the finished boat?:




PS: You have a very nice website Motorcies!

[hallj]

Pictures from the museum are located here:

Buzzi

Jeff

[GLH]

He was a piece of sh!t rich kid that bought his ride with Ferrari in the early 80's and disobeyed team orders by passing his teammate who had slow down to preserve his mechanic moments before the finish line to win the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Subsequently the following Grand Prix his teammate killed himself in qualifying trying to assure he would qualify in front of that dirtbag.

No tears shead here when he wipped himself out.

Sorry about the others involved in the accident and his wife and kids.

BTW it is spelled Pironi like in your text not your title.