The last time we met Alain Chevallier was at Assen. One of the heroes of a time in which motorcycle racing did not just depend on the manufacturers but also (and especially) on brilliant preparers.
'Chevall', as he was known to his friend and those riders for whom he often prepared winning bikes, was a genius and also a laid-back man, correct, never over the top. His distinctive trait was his class: Chevallier would always make time to carefully explain the reasons behind a solution. And he would do so by talking softly, with a permanent smile on his face.
During the 70s and 80s, ‘Chevall’ built very competitive bikes using Yamaha engines. At first it was his brother Olivier who would race them, then when Ollie was killed at the Paul Ricard the baton was passed to Didier De Radigues who, in 1982, rode the Chevallier to victory in the 350 Yugoslavian GP, concluding the championship in second place. His team-mate, Eric Saul, won the Austrian GP, ending the season in fourth position. Thierry Espié and Jean Francois Baldè (who won the 250 in South Africa) also rode Chevalliers, names that you may not remember today but Grand Prix winners, riders who were fast and gutsy, like almost all the champions of that time.
Alain, able to work with both engines and chassis, was always seeking a new challenge, so when Honda NS 500 three-cylinder came along he threw himself into designed a half litre that, again with De Radigues, would finish the championship ninth.
We lost him yesterday, another 'wizard' who has passed on, but we will continue to talk about him and the beautiful, pure age of motorcycling in which he lived.