Jean-Marie Balestre
Encyclopedia
Jean-Marie Balestre was a French
auto racing executive, who was president of FISA
from 1978 to 1991 and of the FIA from 1985 to 1993.
, Bouches-du-Rhône
.
During World War II
, Balestre was a member of Jeune Front, the rightist political party founded by Robert Hersant
.
He later joined the French SS but later claimed to have been an undercover agent for the French Resistance
, although the details of his activities during World War II are, in fact, unknown. After the war he established with Robert Hersant
a successful French automobile magazine called L'Auto-Journal
. He was a founding member of the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile
, a French
national motorsport organization, in 1950, and in 1961 became the first president of the International Karting Commission of the FIA. He was elected president of the FFSA in 1973 and president of the FIA's International Sporting Commission in 1978. He was instrumental in transforming the International Sporting Commission into the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
(FISA) in 1978.
Balestre was heavily involved in what is colloquially called the FISA-FOCA war
, a political battle over finances and control of the Formula One
World Championships between 1980 and 1982. Balestre and his opponent, Bernie Ecclestone
, settled the dispute after Enzo Ferrari
brokered a compromise. Balestre signed the first Concorde Agreement
, under which FOCA was granted the commercial rights to Formula One while the FIA retained control of all sporting and technical regulations.
In 1986, a few hours after the death of Henri Toivonen
and Sergio Cresto
in a crash, Balestre announced the spontaneous decision of the FISA to ban Group B
rallying in favour of the slower, less technically advanced Group A. Yet, WRC driver fatalities peaked in 1989.
Balestre is credited with establishing specific crash test
requirements for Formula One cars, significantly improving the safety of the sport. He was also a key proponent of the switch to naturally aspirated engines in 1989, also arguing that such a move was essential for safety reasons. However, Balestre has also been accused of using his power for more than it was intended. In , after Ayrton Senna
and Alain Prost
collided at Suzuka, there were implications in Autosport
magazine that Balestre was involved in manipulating the World Championship in favor of Prost, as Senna was disqualified from race victory, fined, and suspended. This ultimately led to Max Mosley
's decision to run for the FISA presidency. However, when Senna controversially collided with Prost in 1990 at the same Suzuka circuit, Balestre did not intervene or sanction the Brazilian.
Balestre was elected as president of the FIA, while remaining president of FISA, in 1986. He was replaced as president of FISA in 1991 when he lost the election to Max Mosley
in October by a vote of 43 to 29. Facing certain defeat in the re-election to the FIA presidency in October 1993, Balestre elected to stand down, and proposed that FISA be abolished and Mosley replace him as president of the FIA. Balestre maintained the presidency of the FFSA until the end of 1996.
In 1968 for his services to France during the war Balestre received the Legion d'Honneur
.
Balestre died on 27 March 2008, aged 86.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
auto racing executive, who was president of FISA
Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile was the governing body for motor racing events. The organisation's origins date from 1922, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the CSI , an autonomous committee that would later...
from 1978 to 1991 and of the FIA from 1985 to 1993.
Biography
Balestre was born at Saint-Rémy-de-ProvenceSaint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Geography:...
, Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Balestre was a member of Jeune Front, the rightist political party founded by Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant was a French newspaper magnate with right-wing political views.- Biography :Hersant was born in Vertou, Loire-Atlantique....
.
He later joined the French SS but later claimed to have been an undercover agent for the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, although the details of his activities during World War II are, in fact, unknown. After the war he established with Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant was a French newspaper magnate with right-wing political views.- Biography :Hersant was born in Vertou, Loire-Atlantique....
a successful French automobile magazine called L'Auto-Journal
L'Auto-Journal
L'Auto-Journal is a bimonthly magazine created in 1950 by Robert Hersant and editor-in-chief Gilles Guérithault, devoted to automobiles. Notable journalists working for l'Auto-Journal were Roland Gaucher and Jean-Marie Balestre....
. He was a founding member of the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile
Fédération Française du Sport Automobile
Fédération Française du Sport Automobile , was founded in 1952, with the aim of organising, regulating and developing motorsport in France....
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
national motorsport organization, in 1950, and in 1961 became the first president of the International Karting Commission of the FIA. He was elected president of the FFSA in 1973 and president of the FIA's International Sporting Commission in 1978. He was instrumental in transforming the International Sporting Commission into the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile was the governing body for motor racing events. The organisation's origins date from 1922, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the CSI , an autonomous committee that would later...
(FISA) in 1978.
Balestre was heavily involved in what is colloquially called the FISA-FOCA war
FISA-FOCA war
The FISA–FOCA war was a political battle contested throughout the early 1980s by the two representative organizations in Formula One motor racing, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile and the Formula One Constructors Association...
, a political battle over finances and control of the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
World Championships between 1980 and 1982. Balestre and his opponent, Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
, settled the dispute after Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Anselmo Ferrari Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian race car driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari car manufacturer...
brokered a compromise. Balestre signed the first Concorde Agreement
Concorde Agreement
The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the Formula One teams and the Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money...
, under which FOCA was granted the commercial rights to Formula One while the FIA retained control of all sporting and technical regulations.
In 1986, a few hours after the death of Henri Toivonen
Henri Toivonen
Henri Pauli Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli Toivonen, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri Toivonen, became a professional circuit racer.Toivonen's first World Rally Championship victory came...
and Sergio Cresto
Sergio Cresto
Sergio Cresto was the co-driver of Henri Toivonen at the Lancia Martini team for the 1986 World Rally Championship season. He was also a former co-driver for fellow Lancia employee, the Italian driver Attilio Bettega....
in a crash, Balestre announced the spontaneous decision of the FISA to ban Group B
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the FIA. The Group B regulations fostered some of the quickest, most powerful and sophisticated rally cars ever built. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were...
rallying in favour of the slower, less technically advanced Group A. Yet, WRC driver fatalities peaked in 1989.
Balestre is credited with establishing specific crash test
Crash test
A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for various modes of transportation or related systems and components.- Types :...
requirements for Formula One cars, significantly improving the safety of the sport. He was also a key proponent of the switch to naturally aspirated engines in 1989, also arguing that such a move was essential for safety reasons. However, Balestre has also been accused of using his power for more than it was intended. In , after Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
and Alain Prost
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...
collided at Suzuka, there were implications in Autosport
Autosport
Autosport is a weekly magazine covering motorsport, published in the United Kingdom every Thursday by Haymarket Consumer Media. It was first published on 25 August 1950 by Gregor Grant, immediately prior to the Silverstone International Trophy meeting of that year...
magazine that Balestre was involved in manipulating the World Championship in favor of Prost, as Senna was disqualified from race victory, fined, and suspended. This ultimately led to Max Mosley
Max Mosley
Max Rufus Mosley is the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , a non-profit association that represents the interests of motoring organisations and car users worldwide...
's decision to run for the FISA presidency. However, when Senna controversially collided with Prost in 1990 at the same Suzuka circuit, Balestre did not intervene or sanction the Brazilian.
Balestre was elected as president of the FIA, while remaining president of FISA, in 1986. He was replaced as president of FISA in 1991 when he lost the election to Max Mosley
Max Mosley
Max Rufus Mosley is the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , a non-profit association that represents the interests of motoring organisations and car users worldwide...
in October by a vote of 43 to 29. Facing certain defeat in the re-election to the FIA presidency in October 1993, Balestre elected to stand down, and proposed that FISA be abolished and Mosley replace him as president of the FIA. Balestre maintained the presidency of the FFSA until the end of 1996.
In 1968 for his services to France during the war Balestre received the Legion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Balestre died on 27 March 2008, aged 86.