The Matra Company's racing team, under the names of Matra Sports, Equipe Matra Elf and Equipe Matra Sports (after a takeover by Simca in 1969 as Matra-Simca Division Automobile), was formed in 1965 and based at Champagne-sur-Seine (1965–1967), Romorantin-Lanthenay (1967–1969) and Vélizy-Villacoublay (1969–1979). In 1979 the team was taken over by Peugeot and renamed as Automobiles Talbot.[1]

Equipe Matra Sports
BaseVélizy-Villacoublay, Paris, France
Team principal(s)Jean-Luc Lagardère
Founder(s)Jean-Luc Lagardère
Marcel Chassagny
Noted staffGérard Ducarouge
Ken Tyrrell
Bernard Boyer
Noted driversJohnny Servoz-Gavin
Henri Pescarolo
Jackie Stewart
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Chris Amon
Formula One World Championship career
First entry1967 Monaco Grand Prix
Races entered61
EnginesFord, Matra
Constructors'
Championships
1 (1969)
Drivers'
Championships
1 (1969)
Race victories9
Podiums21
Points163
Pole positions4
Fastest laps12
Final entry1972 United States Grand Prix
Matra as a Formula One engine manufacturer
Formula One World Championship career
First entry1968 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix
Races entered126 (125 starts)
ChassisMatra, Shadow, Ligier
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers'
Championships
0
Race victories3
Podiums24
Points173
Pole positions4
Fastest laps5

Motorsports history edit

In the mid-1960s, Matra enjoyed considerable success in Formula 3 and F2 racing, particularly with the MS5 monocoque-based car, winning the French and European championships. In 1967, Jacky Ickx surprised the F1 establishment by posting the third-fastest qualifying time of 8:14" at the German Nürburgring in his 1600cc Matra MS7 F2, which was allowed to enter alongside the 3000cc F1 cars. In the race, he failed to finish due to a broken suspension.[2]

 
Jackie Stewart in 1969 with the Matra MS80-Ford at the Nürburgring. The car wears the Bleu de France, the national racing colour of France.
 
Jackie Stewart pictured with the Matra MS84 at the Nürburgring
 
François Cevert driving the Matra MS670 Group 5 Sports Car in the 1973 1000 km Nürburgring race.

Matra entered Formula One in 1968 when Jackie Stewart was a serious contender, winning several Grands Prix in the Tyrrell-run Matra MS10 which competed alongside the works team.

The F1 team was established at Vélizy-Villacoublay in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France.[3] The car's most innovative feature was the use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks. These allowed the chassis to be around 15 kg (33 lb) lighter, while still being stronger than its competitors. The FIA considered the technology to be unsafe and decided to ban it for 1970.

Matra CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère made a strategic decision for the 1969 championship: the Matra works team would not compete in Formula One. Matra would instead focus its efforts on Ken Tyrrell's privateer team (renamed Matra International) and build a new Ford Cosworth DFV-powered car with structural fuel tanks, even though it would only be eligible for a single season. The decision was even more radical given that Matra was seeking a partnership with Simca, which would preclude using Ford-branded engines for the following year. Stewart won the 1969 title easily with the new Cosworth-powered Matra MS80 car, which was designed by Gérard Ducarouge and Bernard Boyer,[4] and corrected most of the weaknesses of the MS10. Stewart's title was the first won in a car built by a French constructor, and still remains the only one won in a car built in France[5] as well as in a car entered by a privateer team. It was a spectacular achievement from a constructor that had only entered Formula One the previous year. France became only the third country (after the United Kingdom and Italy) to have produced a winning constructor, and Matra became the only constructor to have won the Constructors' Championship without running its own works team.

Like Cosworth, Lotus and McLaren, Matra experimented with four wheel drive during the 1969 season. Johnny Servoz-Gavin became the one and only driver to score a point with a 4WD car, finishing sixth with the Matra MS84 at the Canadian Grand Prix. The MS84, along with Brabham's BT26A, was one of the last spaceframe cars to compete in Formula One.

For 1970 following the agreement with Simca, Matra asked Tyrrell to use their V12 engine rather than the Cosworth. Stewart got to test the Matra V12, but since a large part of the Tyrrell budget was provided by Ford, and another significant sponsor was French state-owned petroleum company Elf, which had an agreement with Renault that precluded supporting a Simca partner, the partnership between Matra and Tyrrell ended.

Matra V12 engines powered the Shadow DN7 car in two races of the 1975 season and then cars built and entered by the Ligier Formula 1 team from 19761978, and again (under the name Talbot Ligier)[6] from 1981-1982, winning three races (the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix, 1981 Austrian Grand Prix and 1981 Canadian Grand Prix). Jacques Laffite´s victory at the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix was the first Formula One victory for a French-licensed team[7] and a French engine, as well as the first all-French victory in the Formula One World Championship.[8]

The company was also successful in endurance racing with cars powered by the V12 engine. The sportscar racing team was based at first at Vélizy-Villacoublay and then moved to Le Castellet, near Marseille, France.[9]

The Matra MS670 car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972, 1973, and 1974. It also delivered the World Championship for Makes to Matra in both 1973 and 1974 seasons.

Racing models edit

Successes edit

 
The F1 Matra MS80 victorious in 1969
 
V12 engine in a Matra MS11 F1, 1968
 
Chris Amon's Matra MS120B used in the 1971 Argentine Grand Prix

Complete Formula One World Championship results edit

As a constructor edit

(key)

Year Entrants Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points WCC
1966 MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER CAN ITA USA MEX
  Matra Sports MS5 Ford Straight-4 D   Jean-Pierre Beltoise 8
  Jo Schlesser 10
  Tyrrell Racing Organisation   Jacky Ickx Ret
BRM Straight-4   Hubert Hahne 9
1967 RSA MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER CAN ITA USA MEX 0 -
  Matra Sports MS5
MS7
Ford Straight-4 D G   Johnny Servoz-Gavin Ret
  Jean-Pierre Beltoise DNQ 7 7
  Ecurie Ford-France MS5 D   Jo Schlesser Ret
  Tyrrell Racing Organisation   Jacky Ickx Ret
1968 RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER ITA CAN USA MEX 8 9th[a]
  Matra Sports MS11 Matra V12 D   Henri Pescarolo Ret DNS 9
  Jean-Pierre Beltoise Ret 8 2F 9 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret Ret
MS7 Ford Straight-4 6 45 3rd[a]
  Matra International MS9
MS10
Ford Cosworth DFV D 5F
  Jackie Stewart Ret 4 1 3 6 1F Ret 6 1F 7
  Johnny Servoz-Gavin Ret 2 Ret Ret
1969 RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER ITA CAN USA MEX 66 1st
  Matra International MS10
MS80
MS84
Ford Cosworth DFV D   Jackie Stewart 1F 1 RetPF 1F 1PF 1F 2 1 Ret Ret 4
  Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6 3 Ret 8 2 9 12 3F 4 Ret 5
  Johnny Servoz-Gavin 6 NC 8
MS7 Ford Straight-4 Ret
  Matra Sports   Henri Pescarolo 5
1970 RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA MEX 23 6th
  Equipe Matra Elf MS120 Matra V12 G   Jean-Pierre Beltoise 4 Ret Ret 3 5 13 Ret Ret 6 3 8 Ret 5
  Henri Pescarolo 7 Ret 3 6 8 5 Ret 6 14 Ret 7 8 9
1971 RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA 9 7th
  Equipe Matra Sports MS120B Matra V12 G   Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6 Ret 9 7 7 Ret 8
  Chris Amon 5 3 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 6P 10 12
1972 ARG RSA ESP MON BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA 12 8th
  Equipe Matra Sports MS120C
MS120D
Matra V12 G   Chris Amon Ret 15 Ret 6 6F 3PF 4 15 5 Ret 6 15

As an engine supplier edit

(key)

Year Entrants Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points WCC
1975 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA USA 0 -
  UOP Shadow Shadow DN7 Matra V12 G   Jean-Pierre Jarier Ret Ret
1976 BRA RSA USW ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA JPN 20 6th
  Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS5 Matra V12 G   Jacques Laffite Ret Ret 4 12 3 12 4 14 DSQ Ret 2 Ret 3P Ret Ret 7F
1977 ARG BRA RSA USW ESP MON BEL SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN JPN 18 8th
  Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS7 Matra V12 G   Jacques Laffite NC Ret Ret 9 7F 7 Ret 1 8 6 Ret Ret 2 8 7 Ret 5
  Jean-Pierre Jarier Ret
1978 ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN 19 6th
  Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS7
JS7/9
JS9
Matra V12 G   Jacques Laffite 16 9 5 5 Ret 5 3 7 7 10 3 5 8 4 11 Ret
1981 USW BRA ARG SMR BEL MON ESP FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN CPL 44 4th
  Equipe Talbot Gitanes Ligier JS17 Matra V12 M   Jean-Pierre Jarier Ret 7
  Jean-Pierre Jabouille DNQ NC Ret DNQ Ret
  Patrick Tambay Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret
  Jacques Laffite Ret 6 Ret Ret 2 3 2P Ret 3 3 1F Ret Ret 1 6
1982 RSA BRA USW SMR BEL MON DET CAN NED GBR FRA GER AUT SUI ITA CPL 20 8th
  Equipe Talbot Gitanes Ligier JS17
JS17B
JS19
Matra V12 M   Eddie Cheever Ret Ret Ret WD 3 Ret 2 10 DNQ Ret 16 Ret Ret Ret 6 3
  Jacques Laffite Ret Ret Ret WD 9 Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 14 Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b In the 1968 Constructors' Championship, Matra-Ford finished 3rd (45 points), Matra(-Matra) finished 9th (8 points)

References edit

  1. ^ "Matra (France)". allcarindex.com. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  2. ^ Steve Small. The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. p. 196. ISBN 0851127029.
  3. ^ "Equipe Matra - F1technical.net". f1technical.net. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Matra MS80". StatsF1. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. ^ Jackie Stewart´s Matra MS80 was built in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France. Fernando Alonso's Renault R25 and Renault R26 were built in Enstone, UK.
  6. ^ "1981 German Grand Prix Entry list".
  7. ^ Jackie Stewart achieved victory at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix with a French Matra MS10 car, but the car was entered by the British privateer team Matra International.
  8. ^ Team, car, engine and driver were French. The gearbox was British (Hewland) and the tyres American (Goodyear). Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Renault achieved victory at the 1979 French Grand Prix with an all-Renault car and Michelin tyres.
  9. ^ "Constructors: Matra Sports SARL". grandprix.com. Retrieved 26 December 2016.

External links edit

Sporting positions
Preceded by Formula One Constructors' Champion
1969
Succeeded by