People

Marcel Hubert

France

Date of birth: May 30 1923

From the suburbs of Paris, Hubert's studies at the famous Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers in Paris, although his studies were interrupted by the war. In 1946, however, he joined the Bureau d'Etudes Scietifique et Technique and began to specialise in aerodynamics, working with Lucien Romani. From 1954 to 1957 he worked on the development of an engine for the Air Liquide company but in 1962 he became involved in racing with an aerodynamic study of the CD car which went on to win the Index of Performance at Le Mans that year.

In January 1963 Hubert joined Jean Redele's Alpine company and his work helped the company win three Le Mans 24 Hours class victories in the course of the 1960s. He then worked the development of a Formula 3 Alpine chassis which took Patrick Depailler to the French title before turning his attention to the new European two-litre sportscar championship with the Alpine A441. After Alpine became part of Renault Sport Hubert continued to develop the sportscar and this led to an outright victory in the Le Mans victory in 1978 with the Alpine A443. Hubert then began to work on the Renault Formula 1 car and played an important role in training young Renault engineers such as Michel Tetu and Jean-Claude Migeot. Hubert retired from Renault Sport in 1982 and then began a long association with Yves Courage, working on his sportscar designs.

In addition to his racing activities, Hubert became a municipal counsellor for the town of Neuville-les-Dieppe.

He was appointed to the Legion d'Honneur for his services to the sport.