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o • 00 0') ....-4 .... ~ 0.. <: By Chris Carter Photos courtesy Daytona International Speedway A.sk Patrick Pons which ~ pleased him more, winning the Formula 750 World Championship title last year, or 12 his Daytona 200 win, and the quiet Frenchman would find it hard to give you an answer. Financially the title is perhaps more important of the two. Road racing in France is a boom sport, and sponsorship is generous to those who are winning, or who look as if they might! But success in America's biggest road race of the year, and the inevitable blaze of world wide publicity will do wonden not just for Pons, and his Gauloises Sonauto team, but for French road racing as a whole. Vive la Francel For years the laughing Slock of Europe, they have in recent years produced racers of tremendous ability like Pons, Christian Sarron, Patrick Fernandez, Michel Rougerie and Christian Estrosi. But until Pons did it last year they had never won a world title, and to be brutally frank few French journalists would have made Patrick favorite to be the first French road racing World Champion. His younger teammate, Christian Sarron was picked by Yamaha to join their 500cc World Championship team last year alongside Kenny Robens and Johnny Cecollo. It says areat deal for Patrick's 200d nature an character that far from being jealous of his friend and teammate he was enthusiastic and helpful in the deal. Sarron's season was ruined by a crash at Brands Hatch during the British round of the Formula 750 series. He damaged his neck and took a long time to recover. Michel Rougerie was picked by the Italian based Harley-Davidson Grand Prix team to join Walter Villa in the mid-seventies to ride their 250 and 350cc machines. Michel restored some French pride by winning several GPs towards the end of the season, but it was always made clear that he was to be number two rider. Christian Estrosi has won his share of Formula 750 races, but sadly he has lost even more by crashing at a crucial moment. But when it comes to falling off a motorcycle then Patrick Pons is a clear head and shoulders leader over not just his fellow countrymen, who are past masters at the art of crashing, but almost everyone else in the Grand Prix scene. In his fi'rst two seasons of international racing Patrick managed to fall off an incredible 59 times, mainly without serious injury to himself, though the bikes might not always land so well. With time his riding improved, but with caution came loss of form, and rarely in the past three years could Pons be considered a likely winner in any World Championship race that he took part in. It was Sarron, in the Gauloises Sonauto squad who took on the win or bust tactics, But lack of Grand Prix success did little to interfere with the loyalty and support that Pons enjoyed from French road racing enthusiasts. The Patrick Pons Fan Club has been perhaps the biggest supporters club in France for several years. But as you might expect from a man as pleasant as Patrick the club does more than just act as a PR excercise_ The money raised by the activities of its members is used each year to back a youngster on the way up. Christian Sarron was one such rider. When Sarron finished down in third place in the crucial and competitive Coupe Kawasaki competition in France that is the breeding ground for their young talent, it was the Patrick Pons Fan Club that leapt in to back Sarron's first international season. For Patrick has never had to worry about finding the cash to go racing. His parents are wealthy and though they were far from enthusiastic initially about their son's road racing activities the cash to go racing was always there. Perhaps they, like many others, were astonished that the quiet, timid French teenager should even want to race. In those early days Patrick's natural shyness was such that he even stuttered when talking to strangers. On the track, though, the Dr. Jekyll soon turned into a formidable Mr. Hyde. Perhaps racing was the one way he found to realease the forces bottled up inside him. Certainly his will to win was powerful. To those people who tried to calm him down dunng his early years when it looked as though he might seriously injure himself, Patrick would explain that the reason he rode SO fast and furiously was that, simply, he put all he had into his racing, "I must do my best," he would tell me on many occasions. Off-track Patrick is the owner of three motorcycle businesses in Paris catering to road going motorcyclists as well as racers. An accomplished skier Patrick uses the winter layoffs to ski. Well educated Patrick has always spoken good English, when he could summon up the courage to talk to the press. Perhaps now that he has added that well deserved Daytona 200 win to the last of the Formula 750 crowns Patrick will find the confidence he needs to move from a high speed, consistent racer. to one of the sport's topmen. After Sunday, March 9, anything is possible. •