The Matra-Simca MS670 was a

Group 5 Group 5 may refer to: *Group 5 element, chemical element classification *Group 5 (racing) Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations def ...

prototype race car introduced in 1972 for the World Championship for Makes. The MS670 replaced the previous Matra-Simca MS660C.

Racing history

1972

The MS670 only made one appearance in 1972, 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 ...

. Matra entered four cars,

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 ...

Chris Amon Christopher Arthur Amon (20 July 1943 – 3 August 2016) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand ...

in the older Matra-Simca MS660C,

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 ...

Howden Ganley James Howden Ganley (born 24 December 1941 in Hamilton) is a former racing driver from New Zealand. From 1971 to 1974 he participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He placed 4th twice and scored points 5 times for a total of ...

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 ...

/ Graham Hill and

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 ...

/ 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.

1973

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 Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse (born 23 May 1940) 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. ...

, 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 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 ...

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

, Pescarolo/Larrousse, Cevert/Beltoise, Jabouille/

Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (3 June 1937 – 22 July 2021) was a French racing driver, noted for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 and 1980. Jaussaud was born in Caen, Calvados, and started racing in automobiles in 1962, taking courses in the Ji ...

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 ...

Bob Wollek Bob Wollek (4 November 1943 – 16 March 2001), nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on 16 March 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation afte ...

. 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 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 ...

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 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 ...

, 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.

1974

The first race of the season was the 1000km of Monza and the driver line ups were Pescarolo/Larrousse and Beltoise/

Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (born 10 July 1946) is a French former Grand Prix racing driver. He drove for Formula One teams including Shadow, Team Lotus, Ligier, Osella and Tyrrell Racing. His best finish was third (three times) and he also to ...

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 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 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

, Pescarolo/Larrousse, Jabouille/

François Migault François Migault (4 December 1944 – 29 January 2012) was a racing driver from Le Mans, France. He participated in 16 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 August 1972, but scored no championship points. Career A native ...

, Jaussaud/Wollek/

José Dolhem Louis José Lucien Dolhem (26 April 1944 – 16 April 1988) was a racing driver from France, and the half brother (and also 1st cousin) of Formula One driver Didier Pironi (they had the same father and their mothers were sisters). Dolhem was ...

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

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

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.

Complete World Championship for Makes results

References

{{Matra car timeline Matra vehicles Sports prototypes 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Le Mans winning cars Mid-engined cars Cars introduced in 1972