This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2018) |
Category | Group 5 Prototype | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constructor | Matra | ||||||||
Designer(s) | Bernard Boyer | ||||||||
Predecessor | Matra-Simca MS660C | ||||||||
Successor | Matra-Simca MS680 | ||||||||
Technical specifications [1] [2] [3] | |||||||||
Chassis | Fibreglass body on aluminium monocoque | ||||||||
Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar. | ||||||||
Suspension (rear) | 1972: Wishbones, trailing arms, coils over dampers, anti-roll bar. 1973-1974: twin lower links, single top links, twin trailing arms, coils over dampers, anti-roll bar. | ||||||||
Axle track | Front: 1,525 mm (60.0 in) Rear: 1,500 mm (59.1 in) | ||||||||
Wheelbase | 2,558 mm (100.7 in) | ||||||||
Engine | Matra MS73, 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in), 60º V12, NA, Longitudinal, mid-mounted. | ||||||||
Transmission | 1972: Matra 5-speed Manual. 1973-1974: Porsche 5-speed Manual. | ||||||||
Weight | 1972: 700 kg (1,543.2 lb) 1973: 678 kg (1,494.7 lb) 1974: 675 kg (1,488.1 lb) | ||||||||
Fuel | Lucas | ||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||
Notable entrants | Equipe Matra-Simca Shell Équipe Gitanes | ||||||||
Notable drivers | Henri Pescarolo Graham Hill François Cevert Howden Ganley Jean-Pierre Jabouille Jean-Pierre Beltoise Chris Amon Gérard Larrousse Jean-Pierre Jarier Jacky Ickx | ||||||||
Debut | 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Teams' Championships | 2 | ||||||||
Constructors' Championships | 2 |
The Matra-Simca MS670 was a Group 5 prototype race car introduced in 1972 for the World Championship for Makes. The MS670 replaced the previous Matra-Simca MS660C. [4]
The MS670 only made one appearance in 1972, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Matra entered four cars, Jean-Pierre Beltoise/Chris Amon in the older Matra-Simca MS660C, François Cevert/Howden Ganley, Henri Pescarolo/Graham Hill and Jean-Pierre Jabouille/David Hobbs. Hill/Pescarolo won the race by a lap from Cevert/Ganley. Beltoise/Amon retired with engine failure and Jabouille/Hobbs retired with a broken gearbox.
In the World Championship for Makes, Matra had scored twenty points, earning it seventh in the championship.
The first race of the season was the 1973 24 Hours of Daytona and Matra entered one car using the MS670 driven by Cevert/Beltoise/Pescarolo and retired from the race with engine failure. The driver line ups for the 1973 Vallelunga 6 Hours were Cevert/Beltoise and Cevert/Pescarolo/Gérard Larrousse, all drivers using the new Matra-Simca MS670B, Cevert/Pescarolo/Larrousse won and Cevert/Beltoise retired with engine failure. The driver line ups for the next two races, starting with the 1973 1000km of Dijon were Cevert/Beltoise and Pescarolo/Larrousse. Pescarolo/Larrousse won the race and Cevert/Beltoise finished third. The 1000km of Monza saw Pescarolo/Larrousse third and Cevert/Beltoise eleventh. The driver line ups for the 1000 km of Spa were Pescarolo/Amon/Hill and Pescarolo/Larrousse/Amon, Pescarolo/Larrousse/Amon finished third and Pescarolo/Amon/Hill retired with engine failure. The team skipped the Targa Florio but entered the 1000km of Nürburgring with Cevert/Beltoise and Pescarolo/Larrousse driving but both cars retired with engine failure. Matra entered four cars for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Pescarolo/Larrousse, Cevert/Beltoise, Jabouille/Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Patrick Depailler/Bob Wollek. Pescarolo/Larrousse won the race, Jabouille/Jaussaud finished third, Cevert/Beltoise retired with an accident caused by a puncture and Depailler/Wollek also retired with a broken oil pump and engine failure. The 1000km of Zeltweg returned to two cars with Pescarolo/Larrousse winning the race from Cevert/Beltoise. In the final race of the 1973 season, the Watkins Glen 6 Hours, Pescarolo/Larrousse won but Cevert/Beltoise retired with broken ignition.
In the World Championship for Makes, Matra had scored one hundred and twenty four points, earning it first-place in the standings.
The first race of the season was the 1000km of Monza and the driver line ups were Pescarolo/Larrousse and Beltoise/Jean-Pierre Jarier but both cars retired with engine failure using the new Matra-Simca MS670C. The driver line ups for the 1000 km of Spa were Jarier/Jacky Ickx and Pescarolo/Larrousse, Jarier/Ickx won the race and Pescarolo/Larrousse retired with a broken head gasket. The 1000km of Nürburgring saw Beltoise/Jarier and Pescarolo/Larrousse driving. Beltoise/Jarier won the race and Pescarolo/Larrousse finished fifth. Pescarolo/Larrousse won the 1000km of Imola and Beltoise/Jarier finished fourth. Matra entered four cars for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Pescarolo/Larrousse, Jabouille/François Migault, Jaussaud/Wollek/José Dolhem and Beltoise/Jarier in the new Matra-Simca MS680. Pescarolo/Larrousse won the race, Jabouille/Migault finished third, both Jaussaud/Wollek/Dolhem and Beltoise/Jarier retired with engine failure. The 1000km of Zeltweg returned to two cars with Pescarolo/Larrousse winning the race and Beltoise/Jarier finishing third. The team returned to the MS670C for the remainder of the season. Beltoise/Jarier won the Watkins Glen 6 Hours and Pescarolo/Larrousse retired with a broken gear shift lever. In both the 1000km of Le Castellet and 1000km of Brands Hatch Beltoise/Jarier won from Pescarolo/Larrousse. For the final race of the 1974 season, the Kyalami 6 Hours, Pescarolo/Larrousse won from Beltoise/Jarier.
In the World Championship for Makes, Matra had scored one hundred and forty points, earning it first in the championship for the second consecutive season but at the end of the year Matra pulled out of motor racing.
Year | Entrant | Class | Drivers | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Points | WEMCP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Equipe Matra-Simca Shell | Group 5 | BAI | DAY | SEB | BRH | MZA | SPA | TGA | NÜR | LMS | ORC | WGN | 20 | 7th | ||
Graham Hill | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Henri Pescarolo | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
François Cevert | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Howden Ganley | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 55 | ||||||||||||||||
David Hobbs | 55 | ||||||||||||||||
1973 | Equipe Matra-Simca Shell | Group 5 | DAY | VAL | DIJ | MZA | SPA | TGA | NÜR | LMS | ORC | WGN | 124 | 1st | |||
François Cevert | 27 | 1 / 15 | 3 | 11 | 26 | 39 | 2 | 16 | |||||||||
Jean-Pierre Beltoise | 27 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 26 | 39 | 2 | 16 | |||||||||
Henri Pescarolo | 27 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 / 17 | 47 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
Gérard Larrousse | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 47 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Chris Amon | 3 / 17 | ||||||||||||||||
Graham Hill | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Patrick Depailler | 46 | ||||||||||||||||
Bob Wollek | 46 | ||||||||||||||||
1974 | Équipe Gitanes | Group 5 | MZA | SPA | NÜR | IMO | LMS | ORC | WGN | RIC | BRH | KYA | 140 | 1st | |||
Jean-Pierre Beltoise | 26 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
Jean-Pierre Jarier | 26 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
Jacky Ickx | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Henri Pescarolo | 39 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
Gérard Larrousse | 39 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
François Migault | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
José Dolhem | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
Bob Wollek | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
The 1970 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on 10 May 1970. It was race 3 of 13 in both the 1970 World Championship of Drivers and the 1970 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Jochen Rindt scored the last victory for the famous Lotus 49.
The 1974 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nivelles on 12 May 1974. It was race 5 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 85-lap race was won by Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi, driving a McLaren-Ford, with Austrian Niki Lauda a close second in a Ferrari and South African Jody Scheckter third in a Tyrrell-Ford. This race also marked the debut of Tom Pryce, making his first start for the newly formed Token team.
The 1971 Formula One season was the 25th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 22nd World Championship of Drivers, the 14th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and a number of non-championship races open to Formula One cars. The World Championship was contested over eleven races between 6 March and 3 October.
Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France. His greatest success as a driver was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 and 1974, driving a Matra-Simca MS670. After the end of his career as racing car driver, he continued to be involved in Formula One as a team manager for Renault. He later founded and ran his own Formula One team, Larrousse, from 1987 to 1994.
The 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 46th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1978. In many ways it was a continuation of the race from the year before – the two main protagonists would be the very evenly-matched works teams of Alpine-Renault and Porsche, with four cars each. The race was not valid for any championship.
The 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 45th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 11 and 12 June 1977. The second year of the FIA Group 5 and Group 6 regulations, it produced an exciting race right up to the end. Porsche had withdrawn from the Group 6 Championship, citing a lack of broad competition. Renault, before their move into Formula 1, decided to put its main racing focus for the year onto Le Mans. The two works teams were the pre-race favourites.
The 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 43rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1975. Colloquially called the “Le Mans Economy Run”, stringent refuelling regulations were put in place. Unable to match the requisite 7mpg fuel economy the manufacturer teams from Ferrari, Alfa Romeo withdrew and Matra had retired from the sport at the end of 1974. Therefore, this only left Gulf and Ligier as front-running works-teams.
The 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 42nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 15 and 16 June 1974. It was the fifth round of the 1974 World Championship for Makes. After Alfa Romeo had won the first race of the season at Monza, it had been Matra all the way and they came to Le Mans as firm favourites for a third consecutive outright victory, especially after Alfa Romeo withdrew its cars just before raceweek.
The 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 41st Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 9 and 10 June 1973. It was the eighth round of the 1973 World Championship of Makes.
The 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans was a motor race staged at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France on 10 and 11 June 1972. It was the 40th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the ninth race of the 1972 World Championship for Makes.
The 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans was a motor race staged at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France on 14 and 15 June 1969. It was the 37th Grand Prix of Endurance and was the eighth round of the 1969 International Championship for Makes. The race was open to Group 6 Prototype Sports Cars, Group 4 Sports Cars and Group 3 Grand Touring Cars.
The Renault Alpine A442 is a sports prototype racing car, designed and built by Alpine, but funded and powered by Alpine's owners Renault, specifically to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Variants were entered for the event in 1976, 1977 and 1978. An A442B finally won the race on the third occasion, in the hands of Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. Also entered in 1978 was the updated Renault Alpine A443 model; essentially an A442 chassis, but powered by a new 2138 cc engine. Following this all-French victory in the premier French motorsport event, Renault withdrew from sports car racing to concentrate their efforts in Formula One.
The Matra-Simca MS650 is a Group 6 prototype race car introduced in 1969 for the International Championship for Makes. The MS650 replaced the previous Matra-Simca MS630.
The Matra MS5 is a Formula Two and Formula Three racing car, designed, developed, and made by Matra, which was used in the Formula Two class of two World Championship Grands Prix in 1966 and 1967. It was actively used in motor racing competitions between 1965 and 1969.
The Matra MS620 was a Group 6 sports prototype built by Matra in 1966, and was the second such car built by the company. Fitted with a 1.9 litre version of the BRM Formula One V8 engine, four cars were built, but were mostly used as developmental cars. In 1967, the MS620 was replaced by the 3 litre Matra MS630, although it was used in the Le Mans Test of that year, fitted with a 4.7 litre Ford V8 engine.
The Matra Company's racing team, under the names of Matra Sports, Equipe Matra Elf and Equipe Matra Sports, 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.
The Matra MS120 was the sixth and final Formula One car produced by Matra.
The Matra-Simca MS630 was a Group 5 prototype race car introduced in 1967 for the World Championship for Makes. The MS630 replaced the previous Matra MS620. The car was initially designated as the Matra M630, but when Simca sponsored Matra in 1969, it was renamed as the Matra-Simca MS630.
The Matra MS680 is a sports prototype racing car made by the French manufacturer Matra, which raced in the 1974 World Sports Prototype Championship and the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Matra-Simca MS660 is a Group 6 prototype race car introduced in 1969 for the International Championship for Makes. The MS660 replaced the previous Matra-Simca MS650.