Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (26 April 1937 – 5 January 2015) was a French

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...

road racer and

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, ...

driver who raced for the

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 wea ...

and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, and a total of eight podium finishes.

Early career

Beltoise won 11 French national motorcycle

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

titles in three years. He competed in international

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

from the 1962 to 1964 seasons in the 50, 125, 250 and 500 cc classes. His best finish was a sixth place in the 1964

50 cc The 50 cc class was the ultra-lightweight class in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and formed part of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) World Championships from 1962 until 1983; when the class was replaced by 80 cc. History a ...

World Championship.Jean Pierre Beltoise career statistics at MotoGP.com
/ref> In 1964 he was racing a 1.1-litre

René Bonnet René Bonnet ( Vaumas, 27 December 1904 – 13 January 1983) was a French driver and automobile constructor. Early life The young René first learned about machines working with his father, a carpenter. By 1915, with most teachers conscripted, ...

sports car. His career almost ended with a huge crash in the Reims 12-hour sports car endurance race, in which he suffered a broken arm, so severely damaged that its movement was permanently restricted. However he returned in 1965 and won the

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

race, after which he graduated to Formula 2 for the following season.

Formula One

In 1966, Beltoise drove in the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...

at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

in a

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...

(F2) one litre

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 ...

Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotive industry, ...

. He finished one lap down but won the F2 class. However, it was his only Grand Prix that season. In 1967 Beltoise competed in three Grands Prix with a Formula Two Matra MS7 1.6 litre Cosworth, and finished seventh at both Watkins Glen and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. He also won the

1967 Buenos Aires Grand Prix Results from the 1967 Buenos Aires Grand Prix held at Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city ...

, which was not part of the World Championship calendar. In

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. * J ...

Beltoise began the season again with an F2 car but from the second race onward had

machinery and finished second in the

1968 Dutch Grand Prix The 1968 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Zandvoort Circuit on 23 June 1968. It was race 5 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 90-lap ...

. In

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

he was placed in

Ken Tyrrell Robert Kenneth Tyrrell (3 May 1924 – 25 August 2001) was a British Formula Two racing driver and the founder of the Tyrrell Formula One constructor.Setright, L. J. K. "Tyrrell: A Shrewd Talent-spotter", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Autom ...

team, whilst the works

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The f ...

was developed driving alongside Jackie Stewart, and finished second in the French grand Prix. Beltoise returned to the works Matra team for both 1970 and

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

. In 1971, racing in the Matra

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

team, he was involved in the accident in which Ignazio Giunti died during the

1000 km Buenos Aires The 1000 km Buenos Aires was an endurance sports car event held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The race mostly run on the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, although it would run the Costanera circuit in 1957. Besides a single race in Cara ...

, and his international racing license was suspended for some time. In

Matra signed Chris Amon as team leader which frustrated Beltoise's ambitions. For 1972 he moved to the BRM team and won what turned out to be his only and BRM's final championship-qualifying Formula One victory at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix in heavy rain. He spent three seasons with BRM, without much success and finally retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 1974 season.

Later career

He later did most of the testing for the Ligier F1 team, although a proposed

drive for 1976 went instead to

Jacques Laffite Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1. ...

and he thereafter turned his attention to touring car racing in France, twice winning the French title for BMW before entering rallycross in an

Alpine-Renault The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine (), is a French manufacturer of racing and sports cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954. Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originally ...

with which he won the French title. In 1981 he returned to touring cars and raced for

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

throughout the 1980s. He was also a regular ice racer. His two sons, Anthony and Julien, are both race drivers. In fiction, Beltoise frequently appeared in the ''

Michel Vaillant ''Michel Vaillant'' is a French car racing comics series created in 1957 by French cartoonist Jean Graton and published originally by Le Lombard. Later, Graton published the albums by himself when he founded Graton éditeur in 1982. Michel Vail ...

'' series of comic books, amongst others being part of the winning Vaillante

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

team.

Death

Beltoise died at his holiday home in Dakar, Senegal, on 5 January 2015, aged 77, following two

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

Racing record

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

( key) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ;Notes * – In the

1969 German Grand Prix The 1969 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on 3 August 1969. It was race 7 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Twelve Formula Two ca ...

, Beltoise was classified 12th on the circuit but was the 6th Formula One car behind six Formula 2 cars, thus scoring one World Championship point.

Non-Championship Formula One results

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beltoise, Jean-Pierre French racing drivers French Formula One drivers Matra Formula One drivers BRM Formula One drivers Formula One race winners European Formula Two Championship drivers French Formula Three Championship drivers French motorcycle racers 50cc World Championship riders 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 12 Hours of Reims drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Trans-Am Series drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Racing drivers from Paris 1937 births 2015 deaths