For a few days, The newspaper brings you the portraits of past glories of their sport who are still passionate about it, even though they have now reached the milestone in 70 or even 80 years.
At an age when many drivers prefer to play it safe behind the wheel, a true 70-year-old racing fan “keeps himself young” at a circuit where he still enjoys every pass against drivers in their prime.
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“I’m the top-ranked spectator of the race,” exclaims Jean D’Amours, seated in the backyard of his Quebec City residence, gazing at his car, which was pulled from its trailer during the passage of the journal.
Older than Uncle Jacques Villeneuve since childhood, this motorsport enthusiast is one of the oldest drivers in Quebec. For comparison, Morgan Shepherd, holder of the title of oldest driver ever to race in one of the three major NASCAR series in the United States, was 77 years old at the time of the race.
And the talkative retiree does it all without the support of a team. He does almost everything himself. At the wheel of his car, number 54, Mr. D’Amours competes in the Sportsman Unitool Series, a stock car racing series with a few races per season. He prepares his car in his garage and gets help from a brother and nephew during races.
“not to be old”
“Why am I still running? Am not to be old! “To keep me young,” he says before laughing.
Photo courtesy of Jean D’Amours
According to Mr D’Amours, there’s nothing quite like the euphoria of an exit. Even if he is not regularly on the podium, it is his pleasure when he manages to “finish a race well”, without difficulties and above all “without sending the tank into the wall”, he emphasizes with renewed laughter. “I don’t have the same motivations as young drivers. And so it is perfect.”
Earlier this month he reached the milestone of 100 races in his career after finishing 14th at the Autodrome de Montmagny. He had planned to stop once he reached that plateau, but if you listen to him, you shouldn’t be surprised to see him rolling “down the accelerator” at a different track.
“It’s adrenaline. When a race starts. That still turns me on,” says the one dealing with much younger pilots, often in their 20s and 30s.
Photo Simon Baillargeon
Still able
Through the years, Mr. D’Amours still has lively reflexes and good cognitive skills. Despite pulmonary fibrosis, his doctor has still not forbidden him to get behind the wheel.
But in the course of the interview, the pilot admits that the job is “more and more demanding”. “Sometimes it’s hot in the tank,” he said. He recalls a race where the start was slow while the track was scorching heat. He got out of his vehicle “to get some air” and cool off while the race began. “I had said to them, ‘Are you going to start the race?’ I was too hot. I couldn’t take it anymore,” recalls the man, who then asked us to wait until he left.
The day is nearing when Mr. D’Amours will have to part with his car, but there’s work to be done for those who turn their backs on the thrill. “I would like to try dirt running. Why not?” he concludes.