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.

Motorsports history

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

Matra entered Formula One in 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. The car's most innovative feature was the use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks. These allowed the chassis to be around lighter, while still being stronger than its competitors. The FIA considered the technology to be unsafe and decided to ban it for .

Matra CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère made a strategic decision for the 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, and corrected most of the weaknesses of the MS10 car.

The 1969 World Drivers' and Constructors' Championship titles were the first titles won by a French constructor, and still remain the only titles won by a car built in FranceJackie Stewart´s Matra MS80 was built in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France. Fernando Alonso's Renault R25 and Renault R26 were built in Enstone, UK. as well as 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 1969 Canadian Grand Prix. The MS84, along with Brabham's BT26A, was one of the last spaceframe cars to compete in Formula One.

For , following the agreement with Simca, Matra asked Tyrrell to use their Matra Sports V12 engine rather than the Cosworth. Stewart got to test Matra's 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 V12s powered the Shadow DN7 car in two races of the season and then cars built and entered by the Ligier Formula 1 team in –, and again (under the name Talbot Ligier) in –, 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 teamJackie 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. and a French engine, as well as the first all-French victory in the Formula One World Championship.Team, car, engine and driver were French and tyres American (Goodyear). Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Renault achieved victory at the 1979 French Grand Prix with an all-French Renault car and French Michelin tyres.

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

The Matra MS670 sports prototype 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 Matra MS1 Matra MS2 Matra MS5 Matra MS6 Matra MS7 Matra MS9 Matra MS10 Matra MS11 Matra MS80 Matra MS84 Matra MS120 Matra MS120B Matra MS120C Matra MS120D Matra MS610 Matra MS620 Matra MS630 Matra-Simca MS630 Matra-Simca MS630/650 Matra MS640 Matra-Simca MS650 Matra-Simca MS660 Matra-Simca MS660C Matra-Simca MS670 Matra-Simca MS670B Matra-Simca MS670C Matra-Simca MS680

Successes

334 races, all categories, spanning 10 years 124 victories, 104 lap records 1 Formula One World Drivers' Championship (1969, Jackie Stewart, MS80) 1 Formula One World Constructors' Championship (1969, Matra-Elf International) 5 French Formula Two Championships (1966–1970) 3 European Formula Two Championships (1967–1969) 3 French Formula Three Championships (1965–1967) 2 World Championship for Makes (1973–1974) 3 victories at 24 Hours of Le Mans (1972–1974) 2 victories at Tour de France Automobile (1970–1971)

Complete Formula One World Championship results As a constructor (key) Year Entrants Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points WCC MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER CAN ITA USA MEX0rowspan=5 Matra Sports MS5 Ford Straight-4 Jean-Pierre Beltoise 8 Jo Schlesser 10 Tyrrell Racing Organisation Jacky Ickx Ret BRM Straight-4 Hubert Hahne 9 RSA MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER CAN ITA USA MEX 0rowspan=5 Matra Sports MS5MS7 Ford Straight-4 Ret Jean-Pierre Beltoise DNQ 7 7 Ecurie Ford-France MS5 Jo Schlesser Ret Tyrrell Racing Organisation Jacky Ickx Ret RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER ITA CAN USA MEX 8 9th Matra Sports MS11 Matra V12 Henri Pescarolo Ret DNS 9 Jean-Pierre Beltoise Ret 8 9 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret Ret MS7 Ford Straight-4 6 45 3rd Matra International MS9MS10 Ford Cosworth DFV Jackie Stewart Ret 4 1 3 6 Ret 6 7 Johnny Servoz-Gavin Ret 2 Ret Ret RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER ITA CAN USA MEX661st Matra International MS10MS80MS84 Ford Cosworth DFV Jackie Stewart 1 2 1 Ret Ret 4 Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6 3 Ret 8 2 9 12 4 Ret 5 Johnny Servoz-Gavin 6 NC 8 MS7 Ford Straight-4 Ret Matra Sports Henri Pescarolo 5 RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA MEX 23 6th Equipe Matra Elf MS120 Matra V12 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 RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA 9 7th Equipe Matra Sports MS120B Matra V12 Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6 Ret 9 7 7 Ret 8 Chris Amon 5 3 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 10 12 ARG RSA ESP MON BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA 12 8th Equipe Matra Sports MS120CMS120D Matra V12 Chris Amon Ret 15 Ret 6 4 15 5 Ret 6 15

As an engine supplier (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 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA USA 0rowspan=2 UOP Shadow Shadow DN7 Matra V12 Jean-Pierre Jarier Ret Ret BRA RSA USW ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA JPN 20 6th Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS5 Matra V12 Jacques Laffite Ret Ret 4 12 3 12 4 14 DSQ Ret 2 Ret Ret Ret 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 Jacques Laffite NC Ret Ret 9 7 Ret 1 8 6 Ret Ret 2 8 7 Ret 5 Jean-Pierre Jarier Ret ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN 19 6th Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS7JS7/9JS9 Matra V12 Jacques Laffite 16 9 5 5 Ret 5 3 7 7 10 3 5 8 4 11 Ret USW BRA ARG SMR BEL MON ESP FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN CPL 44 4th Equipe Talbot Gitanes Ligier JS17 Matra V12 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 Ret 3 3 Ret Ret 1 6 RSA BRA USW SMR BEL MON DET CAN NED GBR FRA GER AUT SUI ITA CPL 20 8th Equipe Talbot Gitanes Ligier JS17JS17BJS19 Matra V12 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

References

Bibliography

External links http://www.matrasport.dk/ http://www.epaf.fr Restoration & rebuild of Matra competition cars