Georges-Francis "Johnny" Servoz-Gavin (18 January 1942 – 29 May 2006) was a French

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

driver in both sportscars and single seaters. He participated in 13

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Championship Grands Prix between

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, failing to qualify in one. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of nine championship points. He drove for the Tyrrell Formula One team, mainly as Jackie Stewart's teammate.

Early life

Servoz-Gavin was born in Grenoble, a city in the foothills of the Alps. As a teenager he worked as a ski instructor, during which time he became known as "Johnny".

Career

Lower formulae

Servoz-Gavin's early work included developing sports cars for

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and we ...

. After initially competing in rallying, Servoz-Gavin moved to single-seater racing. He had previously attended the racing drivers' school at the Magny-Cours circuit in the centre of France, (from which he was "thrown out") and in 1965 entered the French Formula Three Championship in a private

Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...

BT18. By the late 1960s, Servoz-Gavin was a rising star, following in the footsteps of

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...

and Jean-Pierre Beltoise. He became French Formula Three Champion in 1966 driving a works

Matra MS5 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 b ...

, and in 1969 he won the European Formula Two Championship.

Formula One

His Formula Three racing performances won Servoz-Gavin the attention of

, resulting in his moving into Formula One. His best season was

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, particularly the

1968 Italian Grand Prix The 1968 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monza Autodrome on 8 September 1968. It was race 9 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 68-la ...

in which he finished second and scored six points, driving a

. He also impressed at the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...

, entering as Jackie Stewart's stand-in, starting from the front row of the grid, and leading from

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

at the start, until his race ended early after clipping a barrier and breaking a driveshaft in a similar incident to the one that resulted in the death of Lorenzo Bandini in the Monaco Grand Prix the previous year. Next year, he also scored a sixth place in the

1969 Canadian Grand Prix The 1969 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Mosport Park on September 20, 1969. It was race 9 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One ...

Mosport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-Race track, track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road cou ...

, which secured him a place in history as the only driver ever to score a world championship point with a four-wheel-driven Formula One car, the

Matra MS84 The Matra MS84 was the fifth Formula One car produced by Matra (following the MS9, MS10, MS11 and MS80). Development The car was built at Matra's Formula One base at Vélizy-Villacoublay in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, designed under the ...

. Servoz-Gavin suffered an eye injury in an off-road event in the winter of 1969–70, and had been worrying that his eyesight had been damaged. Driving a

March 701 The March 701 is a Formula One racing car model, designed by Robin Herd with Peter Wright, and built by March Engineering. The 701 was March's first Formula One design – following their one-off March 693P Formula Three prototype of 1969 – a ...

, for the Tyrrell team he finished fifth (yet last) in the

1970 Spanish Grand Prix The 1970 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Jarama circuit on 19 April 1970. It was race 2 of 13 in both the 1970 World Championship of Drivers and the 1970 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Prior to the ra ...

at Jarama. Then after hitting a barrier again, and failing to qualify for the

1970 Monaco Grand Prix 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 sc ...

he decided to retire. Servoz-Gavin felt that the risks inherent in Formula One and racing in general were not worthwhile but the problems with his vision may have influenced his decision.

Other motorsport interests

In 1969, Servoz-Gavin participated in Matra endurance events, co-driving with Pedro Rodríguez.

Later life

A man of good looks and high society, he was among a number of Formula One drivers rumoured to be the unknown driver in

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, screenwriter, writer, cinematographer, actor and film producer, producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish Family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1 ...

's 1977 short footage film ''

C'était un rendez-vous ''C'était un rendez-vous'' (English: ''It Was a Date'') is a 1976 French short film directed by Claude Lelouch, showing a high-speed drive through Paris. Plot The film shows an eight-minute drive through Paris during the early hours (05:30) o ...

'', although Lelouch claimed to have driven the car himself. After his racing career was over, Servoz-Gavin lived on a

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...

and suffered serious burns when a gas bottle exploded on his boat in 1982. He died in May 2006 as the result of a pulmonary embolism, following a period of ill health. He was 64 years old.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Servoz-Gavin, Johnny 1942 births 2006 deaths French racing drivers French Formula One drivers Matra Formula One drivers Cooper Formula One drivers Tyrrell Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers French Formula Three Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Sportspeople from Grenoble World Sportscar Championship drivers