Photo : Dave DAVIES - ACO

At the Pescarolo auction on the 15th of October 2010, Jacques Nicolet and Joël Rivière together wrote one of the most beautiful pages in the recent history of endurance racing. If we no longer the first champion LM P2 of the first edition of the Intercontinental Cup with Le Mans Racing OAK, the second tells the unusual career that has led to the creation of Prestige Racing and Vice-Chair Pescarolo Team.

How did you get into motorsport?
 "I was in the Gendarmerie from 1979 to 1999. The last position I've held was at the Institute of Criminal Research, where I was the boss of everything related to cybercrime against businesses. In 1999 I left the force with the rank of commander to create, with my wife, a company called LEXSI (Laboratory of expertise in computer security). This company has developed very rapidly, both in France that abroad. Then, thinking reached the limit of my skills, I decided to sell the group to devote myself to my passion for motorsports, and specifically the F1 and Le Mans."

A passion to create Prestige Racing ...
"First, an anecdote; by chance I was transferred to Le Mans as an officer of gendarmerie! Some twenty years ago, I ran three times in the karting 24 Hours under the Sports and Recreation Club of the Gendarmerie, and I have attended many Le Mans 24 Hours. In February 2010, I created Prestige Racing Club with a grid limited to twenty cars and a dozen races a year on the most beautiful tracks in Europe."

How did you come to be associated with Jacques Nicolet to buy the equipment of Henri Pescarolo on the 15th of October?
"Jacques Nicolet and I were told that we should not let such a treasure be spread to the four winds. We decided to try to buy everything and give it to Henri. For this, we contacted Hervé Poulain to represent us. On the 15th of October in the time that elapsed between the second and final gavel Xavier Sanson, I felt a tension at least as strong if I was leading the 24 hours with three laps ahead and 300 metres to go! After the birth of my children was one of the most magical moments of my life, a totally selfless act of passion, shared between Jacques and I. Today he is preparing for the arrival of the OAK Racing in LM P1; Autovision was the first partner join Henri Pescarolo after the 15th of October and we hope to quickly find a second, to be involved the same level. As for me, the office of vice president of the Pescarolo Team. I am looking for partners, I have free time, and also some ideas ... But I am sure of one thing: Pescarolo has been and always will have competitiveness in its genes! "

Jean-Philippe Doret - Translated by Dave Davies

Photo: 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, 17 & 18 June 2006. Second that year with Sebastien Loeb, Franck Montagny (driving) and Eric Helary, the Pescarolo was one of the cars acquired by Joël Rivière when creating Prestige Racing.