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Emmanuel Longobardi 1970-2007

Emmanuel Longobardi, one of the three victims of Saturday evening's helicopter crash near Magny-Cours, was a popular member of the F1 paddock community

He was close to many drivers thanks to his roles as a PR and marketing man for several well-known brands.

The Frenchman ran his own agency in Paris, and first became familiar in the paddock while working for Oakley, supplying sunglasses to drivers and teams.

He then became the PR representative for Alpinestars, helping the sportswear company forge links with a number of F1 teams.

Latterly he performed a marketing and product placement role with surfwear brand Quiksilver, supervising a sunglasses deal with Fernando Alonso, and supplying the Renault mechanics with pit stop goggles.

Quiksilver is also involved with the Renault Driver Development programme, and thus he had worked closely with many young drivers who have been supported by the company in recent years.

I got to know Emmanuel at an RDD training camp in France in 2004, where I shared a hotel room with him.

He organised events such as karting, quad bikes and wake boarding to give Heikki Kovalainen, Lucas di Grassi, Jose Maria Lopez, Loic Duval, Giedo van der Garde and Jerome D'Ambrosio a chance to test their competitive instincts to the full.

In sole charge of the youngsters that week, he acted like a kindly elder brother, ensuring that they combined the serious business of fitness training with having a good time when off duty. The drivers in turn had a great affection and respect for him.

Outside racing his clients included Maserati, Ferrari, Bentley, Chrysler and Triumph motorcycles. Driving two wheeled machines on the road was his passion, but a brief attempt to have a go car racing in the French GT series ended when he had a big crash in a Ferrari.

Great fun to be around, Emmanuel was an articulate and intelligent man with immense Gallic charm and a keen sense of humour. He always greeted friends with a big smile, and made new ones very quickly.

He was a uniquely energetic character, who will be much missed by those who knew and worked with him. He never married, but is survived by an 18-year-old son.

Also killed in the accident was pilot Pierre Bennehard.

The Frenchman was a friend of Emmanuel and his business partner Yan Lefort.

In the mid-eighties he raced in Formula Renault against the likes of Eric Comas and Ukyo Katayama, and driving for Ecurie Elf he finished ninth in the 1988 Monaco F3 race - having qualified a row ahead of Damon Hill.

Later he moved into ice racing, sometimes teaming up with former F1 driver Jean-Denis Deletraz. He ran a corporate events and travel business, Creative Concept, that had worked with BAT on F1-related events. He also had a helicopter school.

The third victim of the helicopter crash was New Zealander Simon MacGill, who was visiting the Paddock Club that day.

The two injured were Bridgestone Europe marketing man Nicolas Duquesne, another veteran of the paddock, and his niece, Chloe Daudier de Cassini. Both are reported to be making good progress.

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