Many french-speaking people kown the 'Adventures of Michel Vaillant'.
The creator of this worship is Jean Graton. The french author of the many albums of this comic strips (61 albums to date) is an impassioned draughtsman of car. He especially owes his 40 years success with these scenarios but with the concern permanent, in his drawings, to respect the technical details of the cars of the engines, of the circuits...

Well before television, these albums constituted a teaching support essential to the world of the automobile competition.
It is so true that several racing drivers whose Jacques Villeneuve, acknowledge that their vocation was born with the 'Adventure of Michel Vaillant' !

In these adventures, Michel Vaillant is an eclectic racing driver running on cars bearing his own name, the Vaillante, hero with comes up of iron and ladykiller, always opposite Steve Warson and in malicious Bob Kramer.

In 1967, ORTF, French television, created a series of 13 episodes, very freely inspired by these albums.

   

In fact, the amateurs of Michel Vaillant do not find anything in the albums of Jean Graton. It is a pity perhaps because the scenario of these episodes is quite insipid: some passing fancies in the motor race world.

But, this series becomes very enriching for the Alpine fans when it is known that the Vaillante cars are the Alpine one, Michel Vaillant is Henri Grandsire, the brother of Michel Vaillant is Alain Le Guellec, we findsthere José Rosinski, Mauro Bianchi, Jo Schlesser, Robby Weber, Johnny Servoz, Bob Bondurant, and Amédée Gordini and the Alpine mechanics in their own roles. Only Jean Rédélé is 'replaced' by the french professional actor Yves Brainville.

  

The scenario does not have great any more importance then! These 13 episodes become then a true document. Find Alpine, their divers, the factory, true mechanics, on rallys such as the Routes du Nord, on Targa Fioro, the circuits of Rouen Les Essarts, Sebring, Rheims...

Personally, the memory of their repeat broadcast in the Seventies, it is this music: Plus Vite (More quickly in french), of Charles Dumont and interpreted by Romuald, very required 45trs disk today but very quickly boring now!

 

But especially, the great memory, it was to see in action, the men, the Alpine cars who fascinated me already enormously!

We saw these 13 episodes a few months ago on the Canal Jimmy TV, a evening dedicated to Jean Graton... Today, the integrality of this ' work ', close to 5h40, is available out of box of 3 VHS video tapes and DVD-ROM.

An idea of gift for Christmas!