Gerard Crombac

Gérard "Jabby" Crombac (born March 7, 1929 in Zurich ; † November 18, 2005 in Paris ) was a motorsport journalist , co-founder of Auto-Sport magazine and the most important Formula 1 reporter .

Crombac achieved far-reaching fame in the Formula 1 circus as he embodied both personal and objective reporting through direct contact with drivers and team bosses. He enjoyed the trust of many active people and was considered a trustworthy journalist thanks to his wealth of experience, which has grown over 40 years.

Life

Crombac came into contact with motorsport as early as 1936 when he and his father, a Swiss furniture salesman, attended the Grand Prix in Montlhéry . His enthusiasm increased when he traveled to the Reims Grand Prix in 1947 shortly after the Second World War . In 1949 at Silverstone he met Gregor Grant, the editor of a small motorsport magazine, The Light Car , and agreed to become continental correspondent for the paper, which was renamed Autosport a year later . At that time Crombac was working as a mechanic for the French racing driver Raymond Sommer . When he died a year later, however, Crombac devoted himself more to his work at The Light Car / Autosport and gained profound insights into English motorsport. His stay in Great Britain earned him the nickname Jabby at the time .

In 1954 he bought a Lotus Mark VI from the designer Colin Chapman , with which he took part in various races. However, since he could not record any success as a racing driver, he ended his active career after four years. He dedicated himself to racing boats and was able to achieve 2nd place at the Motorboat Grand Prix of Monaco with his private boat .

However, he found his ultimate calling in Formula 1 journalism . In 1954, he and his partner Jean Lucas founded the French motorsport magazine Auto-Sport , of which he remained editor-in-chief until the 1970s. Despite his editorial work, he always traveled with the Grand Prix circus and maintained close relationships with many drivers, such as Graham Hill , Jack Brabham and Jim Clark , with whom he also shared an apartment in Paris, when he was before the British tax investigation fled. However, his real admiration has always been for the designers and engineers , such as B. Gordon Murray , who shaped the image of vehicles and technological progress. In 1986 he dedicated a biography to the long-time Lotus team boss Colin Chapman .

Since the founding of the new Formula 1, in 1950 he has attended almost every Grand Prix, participated as a consultant in the first successes of the Formula 1 team of the French rocket manufacturer Matra , participated in races as an official steward, and often represented smaller teams at meetings of the World Motorsport Federation FIA in Paris.

In 1985 Crombac retired from Formula 1 after more than 40 years of active activity, but was still consulted as a consultant by the automobile manufacturer Honda , which organized its return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier in the early 1980s. His penchant for smoking pipes and wearing berets is legendary and can be seen as a trademark.

In 2005 he auctioned his impressive collection of motor sport rarities, including a Lotus Elan, which was given to him by Jim Clark. On November 18, 2005, Crombac died of cancer in a Paris hospice . He left behind his wife Catherine (née Bernard) and son Colin James (who bears the first names of his father's idols Colin Chapman and Jim Clark). His ashes were buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris on November 28th . An obituary was published in the November 22nd issue of Le Figaro .

Web links

• Dedication by David Tremaine (English)
• Image of his Lotus Elan (English)