Writing for ‘Motor Sport’ magazine in 2007, Goodwood’s Rob Widdows related how Pesca had made a reluctant return to Matra Sports – having been dropped by them despite a decent Formula 1 record – and how he was even more reluctant to accept 43-year-old ‘has been’ Graham Hill as his Le Mans co-driver.
Rob reported how Pesca told him: “ ‘Jabby Crombac came to tell me that Matra wanted me to drive for them at Le Mans. I told him no. But in the end, I agreed to do it. I saw it was the right team and the right car, and that there was a chance to win.’
“But soon there was another sticking point. ‘I was so surprised,” admits Pesca, ‘…when they told me I would be driving with Graham Hill. At first, I said, ‘No, I don’t want him.’ I was concerned about how he would cope with the conditions, the dangers” – the Londoner hadn’t started this enduro event since 1966…
“I was still a young driver,” Pescarolo continued. “Graham Hill was a legend. I had never even spoken to him. That would have been impossible for me. But eventually, I said, ‘Okay, I will drive with him.’
“And so he came to the team, became my team-mate – and in a very short time a real friend too. It was strange. It was as if it had always been like that. It was so easy from the first contact. He was such a fantastic guy. And he was bloody quick of course.
“When I looked at his lap times during the night, and in the rain, I thought, ‘Okay, I can sleep now.’ His speed in the night was one of the reasons we won…
“A lot of teams have had problems because one of the drivers wants to prove he is the faster. This leads to many mistakes. But that never happened with Graham. He was intelligent and had the right approach. We both had: if I was quick he was pleased; if he was quick I was pleased. He knew it was important not to have your team-mate as your enemy. Not all F1 drivers, especially World Champions, have understood that.
“We beat the other Matras with their F1 drivers – François Cevert, Jean-Pierre Beltoise – because we drove as a team. It was the same with Gérard Larrousse and me in the two years after. But with Graham, it was something very, very special. I was so pleased for him because that was his big target: to win Le Mans.”