Jean-Marie Belestre Passes Away

[Haddock]

True, but the sad thing is as a tribute we should be looking at positives but it seems people can't think of any as president of the FIA or other contributions to the sport.

Oh, there were positives, not the least his having the courage (or perhaps foolhardiness) to go up against all the major car makers and ban turbos - an expensive dead end which I can't help thinking would ultimately have destroyed F1.

Thing is, I think that the negatives outweighed the positives.

[D-Type]

I think that Balestre is a much maligned character. His WW2 activities were undoubtedly questionable. He was certainly the target for a lot of criticism and negative PR. But, he did have the good of the sport at heart. His announcement of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in 1981 was a master stroke that saved grand prix racing being totally run by the teams for their own financial gain.

[Azumanga Davo]

Well, if any of you are struggling for a positive to think about, then here is one that would be a very hard thing to praise Mosley for after.

Balestre, when in power, may have changed car and engine build rules once in a while to remove turbos and other gizmos, but he didn't make massive changes to the format of qualifying and the race, which I believe was the best system before all this garbage Mosley introduced. Alright, we may have lost the last of the pre-qualifying cars and larger grids, but that got rid of most of the dreamers that didn't acheive (certain shoe maker who couldn't even organise a Marathon in London, I suspect )

[ArrowsFA1]

For me Balestre will be best remembered for his role in the FISA/FOCA 'war', and as such he was a controversial figure, but clearly his life was much more than that and he made a big contribution to motorsport.

RIP

[Josti]

For me Balestre will be best remembered for his role in the FISA/FOCA 'war', and as such he was a controversial figure, but clearly his life was much more than that and he made a big contribution to motorsport.

Agreed. He was a president at controversional times, which didn't made his job always too easy. Banning of Group B Rallying also comes to mind in this case.

RIP Jean-Marie.

[Don Capps]

I think that Balestre is a much maligned character. His WW2 activities were undoubtedly questionable. He was certainly the target for a lot of criticism and negative PR. But, he did have the good of the sport at heart. His announcement of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in 1981 was a master stroke that saved grand prix racing being totally run by the teams for their own financial gain.

As opposed for the financial gain of the FIA, of course. Then again, as a few divined at the time, it was rather akin to being a Pole in September 1939, with Hitler on one side and Stalin on the other, neither one being "good" choices, but one of those going to win regardless of who got in the way.

Never much cared for JMB given that he came in spoiling for a fight from Day One and then ensured that he got one. Not that Mosley and Ecclestone were any better, of course, given that they pretty much snookered the teams and then, seeing how the wind was blowing, without blinking an eye climbed into bed with JMB. Hypocrisy, thy name is Ecclestone, FOCA, FOM, whatever....

As for the "masterstroke," I pretty much departed ways with that result of the FIASCO War by the end of the 1984 season. Gave it several seasons and then found other things to do and other racing to follow: IMSA, CART, and NASCAR Cup racing were far, far better than the F1 series at that time by a long shot. Plus, by then was much more interested in history than the contemporary racing scene.