I didn't speak French any better than Guy Ligier spoke English, which meant conversation was limited. Not that I ever wanted to say much to the former F1 boss simply because you could see enough standing on the sidelines and watching this colourful team operate. In any case, as a former butcher's assistant and rugby international, he always appeared to me as someone not to be messed with.
I don't know which position he played but I doubted it was on the wing as I watched Ligier lower his bulky frame into ex-work Cooper-Maseratis and Brabham-Repcos. He didn't exactly set the F1 tracks alight but the pale blue colours on the privately-entered Cooper spoke of a man very proud to be French. And determined, too, judging by the bullish expression.
That sense of purpose had seen Ligier make a small fortune as a self-made man in the construction business; another reason not to incur his displeasure. Whatever plans he had to become a serious racing driver received a serious setback in 1968 when his close friend, Jo Schlesser, was killed during the French Grand Prix.
When Ligier decided to build and sell sports cars, they carried the JS designation in honour of Schlesser and achieved reasonable success. The organisation would take a major step forward at the end of 1974 when Matra decided to quit and sold its entire racing operation to Ligier. With substantial backing (much of it government funded thanks to Ligier's connections in high places), the team moved into F1 in 1976 and won its first Grand Prix (with Jacques Laffite) a year later.
It was in 1979, however, that Ligier became a major force, the elegant JS11 with Ford DFV power winning races in the hands of Laffite and Patrick Depailler. What should have been a serious challenge for the championship tended to lose its way, both in 1979 and 1980. Somehow, this seemed typical of a happy group of racers with a car that would be quick one race, slow the next - and they never seemed sure of the reason.
At the helm sat Ligier, cigar in one hand and, more often than not, Cognac in the other. The good days would be fun but, on the bad, the boss and his short but sharp rages were something to behold - and avoid.
There tended to be more of the latter in succeeding years as the team's fortunes began to wane. In 1992, Ligier decided he had had enough, sold his team - and went off to make another fortune in the natural fertilizer business. A character, indeed.