Jean Pierre Jaussaud: 1937-2021

Jean Pierre Jaussaud, two times Le Mans 24 Hours winner with Renault (1978) and Rondeau (1980), has sadly passed away aged 84.

His career rose to prominence in the French Formula Three championship, winning their single seater class in 1970 in a private Tecno. He moved up to Formula Two, and remained there until 1975 when he quit single seater racing to concentrate on endurance events, along with other projects.

He was almost always linked to French teams throughout his thirteen attempts at the 24 Hours, having already raced for Matra and Inaltera teams before bring invited to join the official Renault Sport programme in 1976. Success came at the second attempt, teamed with Didier Pironi, with their A442B winning by five laps ahead of the Martini Porsche team, and leading to both drivers sharing a drive in the winning car down the Champs-Élysées in Paris as part of the celebrations.

|In 1980 he joined up with fellow French hero Jean Rondeau, and the pair were able to win as privateers, which included surviving a last-lap spin in the heavy rain to win, again ahead of the Martini Porsche entry,

He had three more attempts with Rondeau, but sadly he failed to finish in any of these, and he effectively retired from sportscar racing. He did make contact with Peugeot when they launched their programme in 1991, but was not invited to join the team.

He finally retired from competitive racing in 2012, after racing in the Clio Cup.

After that, he made guest appearances at various events, such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and in 2018, on the fortieth anniversary of that first win, he was reunited with the winning Renault at Le Mans, and drove a ceremonial lap of the circuit.

Prescott Motorsport extends its condolences to his family and friends.