This Wednesday March 2, 2022, the death of Jean-Pierre Pernaut was announced by his wife Nathalie. The famous journalist died at the age of 71 from lung cancer. For several months, the star of the JT of TF1 had fought via chemotherapy but in recent days, his condition had worsened. He leaves behind a large family of four children, Oliver and Julia (born from his relationship with Dominique Bonnet) and Lou (who reacted on TikTok) and Tom (from his marriage to Nathalie Marquay).
With his sons, Jean-Pierre Pernaut notably shared his passion for motorsport. Indeed, the journalist may have given up on a career as a driver, his love for racing has never left him. His son Tom (17) is on his way to becoming a recognized champion. And for good reason, he has been competing in races at the wheel of powerful karts for several years now and has already won a few trophies.
In June 2020, for example, Tom reached the podium during the Trophée de la Reprise. A few months before, in February, he won victories with his teammate. Tom Pernaut also took part in the Andros Trophy, an ice rallycross type motor racing championship contested in France since 1990. In 2021, he tried to stand out during the Fun Cup but this time, victory narrowly escaped him and the teenager was even close to an accident. It was his mother Nathalie Marquay who confided, before emphasizing that her son had not been unworthy. “Magnificent last stint @tom_pernaut 1 second behind the best drivers, for his 2nd race in the Fun Cup“, she wrote proudly.
Tom was also always supported by his father, as well as his half-brother Olivier. The latter is a racing driver and has also participated several times in the Andros Trophy. In 2015, in an interview with ParisianJean-Pierre Pernaut said: “My father was a rally driver in the 1950s, my older brother in the 1960s and 1970s, and I was his assistant. When my son (Olivier, editor’s note) was 14, he went karting, then a motorsport school. Today, he is the team manager of a car racing team. And we decided to do it together. And, for eleven years, we have been running alongside Alain Prost, Olivier Panis or Sébastien Loeb“.