The Matra-Simca MS650 is a

Group 6 Group 6 may refer to: *Group 6 element, chemical element classification *Group 6 (racing) Group 6 was the official designation applied by the FIA to two motor racing classifications, the Prototype-Sports Car category from 1966 to 1971 and the Two ...

prototype race car introduced in 1969 for the

International Championship for Makes The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and Nor ...

. The MS650 replaced the previous Matra-Simca MS630.

Racing History

1969

The car made its debut at the

1969 24 Hours of Le Mans 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 ...

with a four car entry.

Jean-Pierre Beltoise Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (26 April 1937 – 5 January 2015) was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at t ...

Piers Courage Piers Raymond Courage (27 May 1942 – 21 June 1970) was a British racing driver. He participated in 29 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 January 1967. He achieved two podium finishes, and scored 20 championship point ...

in the MS650, Jean Guichet/

Nino Vaccarella Nino Vaccarella (4 March 1933 – 23 September 2021) was an Italian sports car racing and Formula One driver. His principal achievements include having won the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Targa Florio in 1965, 1971 and 1975, the latter y ...

in the MS630,

Nanni Galli Giovanni Giuseppe Gilberto "Nanni" Galli (2 October 1940 – 12 October 2019) was an Italian saloon, sports-car and Formula One driver of the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Bologna, Galli started his career in endurance racing. He won the Circuit o ...

/ Robin Widdows and

Johnny Servoz-Gavin Georges-Francis "Johnny" Servoz-Gavin (18 January 1942 – 29 May 2006) was a French motor racing driver in both sportscars and single seaters. He participated in 13 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix between 1967 and 1970, failing to qu ...

/ Herbert Müller were both in the MS630/650. Beltoise/Courage finished fourth followed by Guichet/Vaccarella in fifth, Galli/Widdows seventh but Servoz-Gavin/Müller retired when an electrical circuit failed. For the 1969

6 Hours of Watkins Glen The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...

, Matra entered two cars for Servoz-Gavin/ Pedro Rodriguez in the MS650 and Guichet/Widdows in the MS630/650. Servoz-Gavin/Rodriguez finished fourth and Guichet/Widdows retired with a broken clutch. For the final race of the 1969 season, the

1000km of Zeltweg The 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring (originally known as the 500 km Zeltweg) was an endurance sports car event held near Spielberg, Austria. Originally based at the Zeltweg Airfield, the race moved to the Österreichring and was lengthened to a 1 ...

, Matra only entered Servoz-Gavin/Rodriguez but the car retired through accident. In the

, Matra had scored six points, earning it fifth place in the championship.

1970

The first race of the season was the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona, Matra had two cars for

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

François Cevert Albert François Cevert Goldenberg (25 February 1944 – 6 October 1973) was a French racing driver who took part in the Formula One World Championship. He competed in 48 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one win, 13 podium finishes and 8 ...

and

Henri Pescarolo Henri Jacques William Pescarolo (born 25 September 1942) is a former racing driver from France. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 33 times, winning on four occasions, and won a number of other major sports car events including the 2 ...

. Brabham/Cevert finished tenth and Beltoise/Pescarolo finished 18th. Matra made changes to the driver line ups for the 12 Hours of Sebring, Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin and Cevert/

Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...

. Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin finished fifth and Cevert/Gurney finish 12th. Matra again made changes to the driver line ups for the 1000km of Brands Hatch, The team put Brabham/Beltoise together but kept Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin. Brabham/Beltoise finish 12th and Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin retired with engine failure. The MNZ saw Brabham/Beltoise fifth followed by Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin in sixth. The team skipped the next three races, the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

, 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps and 1000km of Nürburgring. The team entered three cars for the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

Beltoise/Pescarolo in the new Matra-Simca MS660, Brabham/Cevert and

Patrick Depailler Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (; 9 August 1944 – 1 August 1980) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-champi ...

Jean-Pierre Jabouille Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (born 1 October 1942) is a French former racing driver. He raced in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault's turbocharged programme in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabou ...

Tim Schenken Timothy Theodore Schenken (born 26 September 1943) is a former racing driver from Sydney, Australia. He participated in 36 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 August 1970. He achieved one career podium at the 1971 Austri ...

were both in the MS650 but all three cars retired with engine failure. The team skipped the final two race of the 1970 season, the

Watkins Glen 6 Hours The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...

and Austrian 1000km. In the

, Matra had scored four points, earning it fourth place in the championship.

Complete International Championship for Makes results

References

{{Matra car timeline Matra vehicles Sports prototypes 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Mid-engined cars