1978 Rondeau M378.01 - JOHN STARKEY CARS€¦ · Sadly, M378/9.01, Jean Rondeau's "own" car was the first car running under his care to fail to finish the race, in four years of entries

1978 RONDEAU M378.01

1978 Rondeau M378.01

© John Starkey 2004 www.johnstarkeycars.com (727) 384 1179 USA

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In my job as a motor racing historian, I am asked to find the histories of some fascinating cars, but none more so than the subject of this story: A Rondeau Sports Prototype that raced at least eight, and perhaps as many as ten times in the Le Mans 24 Hour race, finishing as high as third overall and winning it's class at least twice. That is at least two more races than the previous claimant, the Henri Greder/Filipinetti Chevrolet Corvette that raced at Le Mans six times in all. Before telling the story of this particular old warrior, a look at the man behind the car is instructive. Jean Rondeau must have been a fascinating man. Born in the town of Le Mans, France, he naturally grew up surrounded, nay, immersed in that town's great race, the "24 Heures du Mans" or, as we know it, the Le Mans 24 Hours, held every year in the second week in June. Jean Rondeau himself raced briefly in Formula Renault before moving to saloon cars. He raced in a handful of Le

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Mans events as a guest driver in various racing cars (a Chevron B21 in 1972, a Porsche 908/2 in 1974, a Mazda S124A in 1975), before forming the A.T.A.C. team in late 1975. The ACO (Automobile Club d'Oest, organizers of the Le Mans 24 Hour race) had just

announced the formation of a new class, for what they called "GTP" (Grand Touring Prototype) cars, which were basically Sports-prototypes, able to run engines capable of giving a maximum fuel consumption of 35 liters per 100Kms (roughly 7 mpg) but having to run to a higher minimum weight (850 kgs) than the then-extant Group 6 Spyders and with a minimum height of 110 centimeters. The cars were built in a small factory in Le Mans (100, Rue Hoche) and took their name from a wallpaper manufacturer who backed the team, Charles James' Inaltera Company. Jean Rondeau had wanted to use a Peugeot V6 but James wanted the Cosworth DFV engine, detuned for sportscar reliability (down from 450 bhp to 420 at 10,000rpm) over a long distance and as James was funding the operation, the DFV it was! With the help of Robert Choulet, who had worked on the 917LH and Matra, Jean Rondeau designed the body shape and Vic Elford was appointed team manager, heading up eight employees, who built the Inalteras up in the Autumn/Winter of 1975/6. The cars themselves were a foretaste of the later Group C/GTP Sports-prototypes, with the 160-liter fuel tank located centrally, behind the driver's bulkhead. The chassis itself was a tubeframe, with aluminum plating attached to give extra strength. As in the F1 application of the Cosworth DFV engine that was a fully




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stressed member of the chassis, with the rear suspension (independent all round, with coil spring/damper units) hung off the Hewland TL200 gearbox, twin side mounted radiators were used to cool the engine. Brakes were AP10 inch diameter discs, inboard at the rear,

with 4-piston calipers, wheels were just 13 inches in diameter and tires were made by Michelin. Weight was 900Kgs. Upon completion, the first car was tested by Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo in three separate sessions and found to be basically good "straight off the drawing board". Two more Inalteras were made and they built up an enviable reputation of always finishing the 24 hours. The first year they tried, 1976, Henri Pescarolo and Jean-Pierre Beltoise finished eighth overall and won the GTP class (something that Rondeaus would make a specialty of), whilst in 1977, Jean Ragnotti and Jean Rondeau placed fourth overall and again won the GTP class, with a car now powered by a F1 spec. engine giving 480 bhp. Speed on the Mulsanne Straight was up to 320 kph (198.4 mph). They were just two kilometers behind the third placed Porsche 935 at the finish... At the end of 1977, Inaltera withdrew their backing due to Charles James having left the company and two of the cars and some equipment were sold to Heini Mader in Switzerland, the well-known engine tuner. The third car, the one that had been driven by Pescarolo and Beltoise in 1976, was bought by Chevally Racing of Switzerland. Jean Rondeau, after flirting with the design of a six-wheeled F1 car, found backing from S.F.K., Facom, S.E.V., Comac and Marchal, to build a successor to his first GTP cars. He




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then received additional backing from the Deputy Mayor of Sable and the Minister of Transport(!) His wife, Marjorie Brosse, was Jean Rondeau's P.R. assistant and Jean Rondeau used the "M" of her first name before the type number of his cars in recognition

of this help. The type number itself, incidentally, was 3 for three liters, always a Cosworth DFV at Le Mans, 1978, 1979 and 1982 for the model years. Based upon the Inaltera, the first Rondeau M378 was built in less than four months and weighed in at just 816 Kgs, having a wider rear track and a more cowled in tail, plus lighter metals for many of the fittings. "Our" car is this very first Rondeau built, the M378.01. In design, it closely followed the previous Inalteras, but with a more sophisticated tube frame chassis, it still used the "sport" Cosworth DFV engine of 3 liters, detuned to give 410 horsepower, instead of the usual 480 HP of the F1 variant for the race itself. The gearbox was a Hewland FT200. With little more than a shakedown test, the new M378 was entered at Le Mans in 1978 with Jean Rondeau, friend Jackie Haran and Bernard Darniche sharing the driving. The new white, red and blue car, with sponsorship by SFK, FACOM, SOMAC and TOTAL hardly missed a beat and the trio finished 9th overall and yet again won the GTP class! It was an auspicious start. Encouraged, and with some extra financial backing from his old sponsor, Charles James, Rondeau's little company, comprising Philippe Beloou as Technical Director, Jean-Pierre Thibault as chassis and suspension builder and Lucien Monte looking after gearboxes (all from Le Mans, of course!), built another two M379s,




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these weighing a little less than the GTP car, for them to run in the Group 6 class and the M378 was uprated to become another M379, still running in the GTP class. 1979 at Le Mans was even better for the little company, the M379 driven by Bernard Darniche and

Jean Ragnotti finishing in fifth place and winning the Group 6 class, whilst the second new M379, piloted by no less than Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo, despite suffering minor problems, finished tenth overall. Jean Rondeau told the press before the race: "Everything that gave us trouble last year has been modified, starting with the nosepiece, which has been rounded off, because in 1978 that was too 'wedgy' and spoiled the Cx. The front suspension has been completely revised and wider front tires have been fitted, but it is in matters of detail that we have made the most progress. We now have, in effect, five cars, three complete and two in pieces as spares, as well as a set of six bodyshells, ready painted in the colors of our 'friends'. As regards engines, we may use a 490 bhp Cosworth during practice but we shall content ourselves with a 460 bhp version in the race." Sadly, M378/9.01, Jean Rondeau's "own" car was the first car running under his care to fail to finish the race, in four years of entries at Le Mans. 1979 was the very wet race won by the Whittington Brothers and Klaus Ludwig in a Porsche 935K3. During one of the frequent storms to flood water across the track in the eighteenth hour, Jackie Haran aquaplaned off the track and wiped off the nose; despite this (and thanks to side mounted radiators), M378/9.01 still managed to drive back to the pits under it's own power but was




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then promptly retired. For 1980, the two Group 6 cars were used again, with a few minor modifications, becoming the M379"B", whilst the old prototype M378 was repaired and re-entered as a GTP class entrant yet again, but this time with Englishman Gordon Spice

and the two Martin brothers, Jean-Michel and Philippe, sharing the driving. The Martin brothers brought "BELGA" sponsorship with them. By 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, Jean Rondeau was an International French hero; not only had he and Jean-Pierre Jassaud just won Le Mans, making Jean Rondeau the first Frenchman from the town of Le Mans to do so in a car built in Le Mans itself (chassis number M379.003) but the old M378/9.01 had come in third overall, and won the GTP class. Of the three Rondeaus entered, the only one not to finish was the second Group 6 car, M379.002, driven by Henri Pescarolo and Jean Ragnotti. Their DFV failed after just ten hours. With increased success came more financial backing and, for 1981, Rondeau fielded no less than five M379s, now uprated to M379"C" specification. This year at Le Mans, a Porsche 936 was the overall victor but two of the Rondeaus finished second and third. Ominously, three of the M379s didn't finish and Jean-Louis Lafosse died in M379.004, when it went out of control on the Mulsanne straight. It may be that "our" car was second, or it may be that it was "pensioned off” by this time, as two/three new M379 cars (004, 005 and, perhaps, 006, had been built). Whatever, the same goes for 1982; this year saw the introduction of Group C in sportscar racing and the end of the old Group 6 and GTP classes (although there was an "IMSA GTX" class for oddballs such as the Fitzpatrick/Hobbs 4th placed




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tube framed "Moby Dick" 935). With the introduction of Group C, the Rondeaus (and some other makes, such as the Aston Martin Nimrod) had to have taller cabin structures fitted. There is a photo extant of "our" car in the factory having this cabin structure fitted but,

judging by the other cars in the photo, this could have been taken in 1983. The best that the sole M379C (or any Rondeau) could manage this year was 10th OA, in the hands of Pierre Yver, Bruno Sotty and Lucien Guitteny. Other Rondeaus that were entered this year were the new M382s, fitted with the Cosworth DFL engine, a notorious "bone shaker", whose vibrations put paid to many a Le Mans entrant. Four M382s took the start but just one finished, in fifteenth place; the others all succumbed to engine problems around the half distance mark. 1982 was also the year that Rondeau had suffered great disappointment when he believed he had won the Manufacturers' title in the World Sportscar Championship. However, an FIA ruling allowed Porsche to claim points from a privately entered 911 at the Nurburgring race, which gave the title to the German-based company. Rondeau's main sponsor, elevator company Otis, were so incensed that they withdrew their sponsorship of the French concern. In 1983, Jean Rondeau sold off all the "old" M379Cs, except for dear old M378/9.01. Somehow the chassis number became M379.006, probably to give the impression to a buyer that it was far newer than it really was! Whatever, it was last driven as a Works entry at Le Mans by no less than Vic Elford, making his last appearance at an International race. Together with Annie-Charlotte Verney and Joel Gouhier, the car ran well until going out in the tenth hour, when the DFV




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engine failed. After the race, the old warrior was sold to Jean-Philippe Grand who, together with Jean-Paul Libert and Pascal Witmeur, and with backing from Barclay, surprised everyone by coming home eleventh overall and second in the Group C Junior

category at Le Mans in 1984, beating all the later Rondeau M382s and 482s entered. Next year, 1985, the car was bought by Noel del Bello and with backing from the Company "Blanchet-Locatop", repainted in their colors and again entered at Le Mans, where the car was retired in the seventh hour with "chassis damage", although exactly what did cause retirement is difficult now to discover. The now decidedly long in the tooth old Rondeau still had some competitive life in her and was back again the next year, and amazingly managed to finish in the top twenty (although only nineteen cars finished!) with Noel del Bello, Bruno Sotty and Lucien Rossiaud bringing her home seventeenth overall. The old girl was sold once again, this time to Pierre-Alain Lombardi who did not enter her at Le Mans in 1987 but, with sponsorship obtained from "Boom Boom" and repainted yet again, she was out there yet again in 1988, where, with Bruno Sotty co-driving, the old Rondeau did finish the twenty-four hours but didn't cover enough distance to be classified, although if she had been classified, she would have been in 27th overall and 7th in the C2 class. What a record! But not only did M378/9.01 race a record amount of times at Le Mans, she also took in several World Championship races in 1984, which included coming in second in class in C2 in the Spa 1000Kms. In 1985 and 1987 she also raced at Hockenheim, the Nurburgring, Brands Hatch, Spa 1000kms (again) and even won a race




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at Monza as late as 1988. The restorer of this Rondeau reported that he had never seen a chassis as well used as on this Rondeau! Sometime in late 1988/early 1989, the car was sold to that doyen of Racing Porsches, Kerry Morse, who had the car painted in the colors of the 1980 Le Mans winner, which has caused a certain amount of confusion... Your author sold the Rondeau, on behalf of Kerry, to Chris Renwick of Symbolic Motor Cars of San Diego in 1999 and he then sold it to a collector who, in turn, had her restored mechanically and who then sold the old Girl to well known racecar collector Chris Cox in 2010. Chris engaged your author to discover the real history of this great old Rondeau and I, in turn, contacted Franco Varani in Scotland, who turned up the fact that this was, in fact, the original Rondeau of 1978. Lucien Monte, who had worked at Rondeau's small factory when the car was built, and Philippe Beloou, then confirmed the rest of the history. Today, the car belongs to Marc Devis, Belgium and it last raced at Classic Le Mans in 2014 where, in a spectacular drive by Christian Traber, it came from the back of the grid to finish sixth; you can see it on YouTube! Epilogue: Jean Rondeau, after the failure of his company in 1983, kept on racing and finished 2nd in 1984 as part of the Preston Henn race team, running with John Paul, Jr. in a Swap Shop-sponsored Porsche 956. Some time later, Jean Rondeau was killed, when he followed a police car over a level crossing when the gates were descending and a train hit his Porsche 944




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1978 Rondeau M378.01 - JOHN STARKEY CARS€¦ · Sadly, M378/9.01, Jean Rondeau's "own" car was the first car running under his care to fail to finish the race, in four years of entries