la force supreme des mclaren 0 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 Jean-Marie Balestre Jean-Marie Balestre during World War II The controversial Jean-Marie Balestre has died at the age of 83. For 13 years, until he was toppled by Max Mosley, he was the most powerful man in the motor sport world, as president of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Balestre was a passionate racing fan and a man who did much for the sport. It has been argued, notably by the late Ayrton Senna, that in the end Balestre was corrupted by his powers and that he manipulated the outcome of the 1989 Formula 1 World Championship in favour of Alain Prost. That was a radical claim, for Senna had much to do to win the title, but there is no doubt that Balestre's interventions did Prost no harm at all. In the end Senna was forced to back down. Even the sport's biggest name could not challenge the FIA President. But there were other times when Balestre fought for the good of the sport. He believed that the turbocharged engines in F1 and the ground-effect aerodynamics were both dangerous and a waste of money. He pushed through the new normally-aspirated engine regulations in 1989, overcoming all opposition. When he changed the rules in the World Rally Championship, following the death of Henri Toivonen, he was challenged in court by the giant Peugeot company, the motorsport division being led at the time by Jean Todt. If the FIA had lost the case, the federation would likely have been bankrupted, but he stuck to his guns and won an important ruling which established considerable powers for the federation, which had not been defined up to that point. Todt repaired to the Paris-Dakar and the two spat insults at one another. Balestre had a thick skin, but then he needed one. He spent much of his adult life trying to make up for mistakes he had made during World War II, when he threw his lot in with the Germans after the invasion of France. A member of the French SS, Balestre ultimately fell foul of the occupation forces and ended up being imprisoned by them, but it was not for any heroics, as he later claimed. For years after the war Balestre took legal action against anyone who questioned his past. There might have been photographs of him in SS uniform, but this proved nothing. There were many law suits and Balestre won them all, but rarely was he granted any damages. He had an unbeatable defence which no-one could prove wrong. He had been in the resistance, he said, working underground. The only people who could vouch for him had all been killed. No-one really believed the story, but in libel cases, it was the accuser who had to prove the story. And it was just not possible to do that. In the post-war era Balestre acquired the accoutrements of a resistance hero, much to the irritation of those who had really been involved. There was more than a little irony in the fact that in the 1950s Balestre joined forces with Robert Hersant, a self-confessed collaborator who joked that it was amazing how he was the only Frenchman who had not been in the resistance. Together they started L'Auto-Journal in 1950 and built a media empire by buying newspapers, culminating in 1975 with the purchase of Le Figaro. In 1950 Balestre had proposed the establishment of a French motor sport club and was a founder member of the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile (FFSA) in 1952. He was an important figure in the world of karting and in 1961 was the first president of the International Karting Commission of the FIA. In 1973 he became FFSA president and five years later president of the International Sporting Commission of the FIA. This he transformed in 1979 into the FISA, an autonomous federation within the FIA. As FISA president Balestre then embarked on the famous fight for the control of Formula 1 racing - known as the FISA-FOCA war - against Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley and other F1 team bosses. This continued until 1982 when a compromise was reached and the first Concorde Agreement came into being. It is often said that if Balestre had hung on a little longer, the FIA would have routed the teams and kept control of the commercial rights of the sport. The compromise resulted in the teams gaining commercial control of F1, but the FIA held on to its sporting power. In his latter years, Balestre's high-handed ways alienated many and in 1991 Mosley stood against him for the FISA presidency. Balestre went into the vote convinced that he had sufficient support to defeat Mosley, even though Ecclestone warned him he would lose. He was shell-shocked to discover that some of his supposed supporters had stabbed him in the back. There was a certain innocence in that. Two years later, at the age of 69, Balestre did not oppose Mosley when he proposed the merger of the FIA and FISA and stood for the office of FIA President. Balestre remained active in the FIA as a member of various committees. He was president of the FFSA until the end of 1996. Balestre, for his many faults, had considerable charm and was a true fan of the sport, fighting for what he believed was right. There was a point at which he lost sight of what was important, although one might argue that his involvement in the World Championship in 1989 was that of a man desperate to prove that he was a patriot, to make up for the mistakes of his youth, to which he could never admit. One can only imagine the pain he felt when he went to Brazil in the wake of the Senna Affair and saw the grandstands standing to attention, their arms outstretched in Nazi salutes, chanting "Sieg Heil!" as he went about his business. A character? Certainly. A buffoon? From time to time. But somewhere in this tortured soul was a real racer. There is no better epitaph than that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rainmaster 7 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 R.I.P Jean-Marie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aussief1 4 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Rest In Peace Jean-Marie. I hope the F1 community will observe a minutes silence in Bahrain in his honour. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ayrton Senna 1 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Cheater. RIP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quiet One 15 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 RIP? No way. For all of us that still remember his arrogance, his obscene lack of scruples, Max and Bernie are boy scouts when compared to Jean Marie. "A character? Certainly. A buffoon? From time to time. But somewhere in this tortured soul was a real racer." Oh, really? So I can kill, torture and rape, because some pansy journalist will eventually write: "But somewhere in this tortured sould was a nice, charming bald guy". It sickens me. The guy was no Hitler, mind you (and for the record, I didn't even recall that the guy was a colaborationist during WWII). But to motorsport was the closest equivalent. Jean Marie cheated and stole and was one of the main causes if not the first of F1 going from a beautiful sport to a money fueled circus. I feel no sympathy for him. Never felt it while he was alive. His dead doesn't make him look any better (well, he always looked sinister) He should have been put in jail for all his wrongdoings. He died peacefully and obscenely rich at age 83. Justice was not served. No, Mr.Balestre, I object. You do not deserve a peaceful rest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Argento Reloaded 1 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Now we are losing 2 to 1. Bernie and max are still alive... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ayrton Senna 1 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 RIP? No way.For all of us that still remember his arrogance, his obscene lack of scruples, Max and Bernie are boy scouts when compared to Jean Marie. "A character? Certainly. A buffoon? From time to time. But somewhere in this tortured soul was a real racer." Oh, really? So I can kill, torture and rape, because some pansy journalist will eventually write: "But somewhere in this tortured sould was a nice, charming bald guy". It sickens me. The guy was no Hitler, mind you (and for the record, I didn't even recall that the guy was a colaborationist during WWII). But to motorsport was the closest equivalent. Jean Marie cheated and stole and was one of the main causes if not the first of F1 going from a beautiful sport to a money fueled circus. I feel no sympathy for him. Never felt it while he was alive. His dead doesn't make him look any better (well, he always looked sinister) He should have been put in jail for all his wrongdoings. He died peacefully and obscenely rich at age 83. Justice was not served. No, Mr.Balestre, I object. You do not deserve a peaceful rest. That's all true. I said RIP because it's common to show a little respect for the dead, but this guy certainly doesn't deserve it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Medilloni 6 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 RIP? No way.No, Mr.Balestre, I object. You do not deserve a peaceful rest. Thank you Quiet One! The guy re-defined the meaning of lies, cheating and corruption in our sport, let alone his murky past during the war. I wish him everlasting haemorrhoids. Strange how he and Max Meusli have 'interesting' political pasts..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
la force supreme des mclaren 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 To some members who have commented on this topic...........I'm so sorry If i come off as a preacher but you should always have respect for the dead. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eric 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Thank you, la force supreme des mclaren. That needed to be said. I understand why people may have disliked him, but he had family, friends, etc who actually did like him. Please be respectful to them and just don't say anything at all in this thread if you can't bring yourself to say something nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quiet One 15 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 I will say no more out of respect of the forum members that objected. I will not edit, though, my post, for my position on this hasn't changed. I'll let the mods edit it, if it is really found offensive by the forum members. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monza gorilla 1 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Oh, really? So I can kill, torture and rape, because some pansy journalist will eventually write: "But somewhere in this tortured sould was a nice, charming bald guy". It sickens me. He did all that, did he? Or are you fabricating things to suit your own emnity? I never met J-M Balestre. A dodgy man to be sure, from what I remember, and I do remember. But enough to provoke such bile? I wonder if there's another, unspoken, reason for such animosity. To me, he's another old man who died. End. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DOF_power 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 I kind of agree with Quiet One, not entirely but for most part. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quiet One 15 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 He did all that, did he? Or are you fabricating things to suit your own emnity? I never met J-M Balestre. A dodgy man to be sure, from what I remember, and I do remember. But enough to provoke such bile? I wonder if there's another, unspoken, reason for such animosity.To me, he's another old man who died. End. I wasn't accusing him of doing all that. I was making an example (a bad one, maybe) of how a person's wrongdoings can be erased in his/her obituary by a single phrase. That is osmething I don't agree with. There is an unspoken reason for my animosity, yes. I always thought he had the tackiest sunglasses in the paddock. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monza gorilla 1 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Yeah, pretty awful weren't they. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AutoRacer5 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 As for his grave: Digg it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elizabeth Sterling 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2008 To some members who have commented on this topic...........I'm so sorry If i come off as a preacher but you should always have respect for the dead.Why? Seriously, I've never had that question answered. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Argento Reloaded 1 Report post Posted March 30, 2008 RIP? No way.For all of us that still remember his arrogance, his obscene lack of scruples, Max and Bernie are boy scouts when compared to Jean Marie. "A character? Certainly. A buffoon? From time to time. But somewhere in this tortured soul was a real racer." Oh, really? So I can kill, torture and rape, because some pansy journalist will eventually write: "But somewhere in this tortured sould was a nice, charming bald guy". It sickens me. The guy was no Hitler, mind you (and for the record, I didn't even recall that the guy was a colaborationist during WWII). But to motorsport was the closest equivalent. Jean Marie cheated and stole and was one of the main causes if not the first of F1 going from a beautiful sport to a money fueled circus. I feel no sympathy for him. Never felt it while he was alive. His dead doesn't make him look any better (well, he always looked sinister) He should have been put in jail for all his wrongdoings. He died peacefully and obscenely rich at age 83. Justice was not served. No, Mr.Balestre, I object. You do not deserve a peaceful rest. i don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eric 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2008 Why? Seriously, I've never had that question answered. I think people should be respectful because of the people who loved the one who died. It's rough when someone you loved died, and considering those people's thoughts, to me, is important. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elizabeth Sterling 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2008 I think people should be respectful because of the people who loved the one who died. It's rough when someone you loved died, and considering those people's thoughts, to me, is important.I love people who are living, why should death make a difference? Sure, it's rough, but it doesn't change the nature of truth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DOF_power 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2008 Conterpoint to some of the issues about Balestre and why Mosley is (far) worse IMO. Mosley: - unbanned the aero-gremlins Balestre banned (winglets, X wings) making the cars more turbulent - moved the front wing up and rear wing down into dirty air making them more sensitive to turbulence - banned active suspensions (witch Balestre allowed) - chopped of directly or indirectly the underbody ground effect - introduced grooves and reduced the track (witch Balestre refused to do in the early 80s at Mosley's suggestion) - reintroduced refueling - banned ceramics, electromagnetic valve systems, berylium-aluminium alloys, then V10s altogether, + introduced the 19000 rpm restriction And Balestre didn't killed F1, in fact he created the FIA F1 Wold Championship in 1981 by killing (the old) Grand Prix Racing (World Championship). This new organization and structure gave Ecclestone and Mosley the money and power they now have. Balestre in the end felled victim to the system he himself created. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites