Mary Davison with sons at the start of the 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours.
By Eric Davison
Be sure to listen to the Matra V-12, below!
The month of May is regarded by American racing fans as “Indy” month. In France and in most of Europe June belongs to Le Mans.
In January of 1972 we (me, my wife and two sons) were sent to France where I took up residence in the Paris office of McCann-Erickson Advertising as the resident guru on the General Motors/Opel business. It was a dream assignment. My wife, the lovely Mary, was ecstatic and our two sons ages 14 and 11were anxious to leave Michigan where we had returned after spending a couple of years in Mexico. They were up for another adventure. Plus, beyond all the joys of Paris, there was the sunshine of Saint Tropez, skiing in Chamonix, and to top it all off, there was Le Mans. And we were going!
It was easy to work my way into the good graces of my new GM associates. To most Europeans racing is a very important activity and when they found out that I was a rabid enthusiast, I was welcomed by Jean-Louis Maesen, the Opel Marketing Director and included in their Le Mans activity.
Jean-Louis Maesen and the new (at the time) Opel Commodore in Brittany. The occasion was the press introduction of what was the first competitive Opel.