matra f1 / f1 teams / f1

Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace, defence, automotive, motorsports, transport and telecommunications.

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.

Matra entered Formula One in 1968 when Jackie Stewart was a serious contender, winning several Grands Prix in the Tyrrell-run Matra MS10 which competed alongside the works team. The car's most innovative feature was the use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks. These allowed the chassis to be around 15 kg (33 lb) lighter, while still being stronger than its competitors. The FIA considered the technology to be unsafe and decided to ban it for 1970.

Headquartered Vélizy-Villacoublay, Paris, France

ms11 1968

The Matra MS11 is a Formula One car used by the Matra team during the 1968 Formula One season, developed from the successful MS7 F2 car.

It was relatively unsuccessful compared to its sibling, the Cosworth DFV powered Matra MS10 which Jackie Stewart drove to second place in the World Drivers' Championship. The major problems were with the V12 engine, which was thirsty, underpowered, unreliable and prone to overheating.

The twelve-cylinder 60-degree V-engine produced just under 390 hp, less power than the Cosworth's eight-cylinder engines of the MS10. However, the six exhaust pipes produced a merciless noise and made the MS11 the loudest car of the 1968 Formula 1 racing car generation. Since the engine was not a supporting part of the MS11, edge profiles were installed as reinforcements up to the rear of the cockpit. This added weight and with the twelve-cylinder engine in the rear, the MS11 was a lot heavier than the MS10.

The car was raced almost exclusively by Jean-Pierre Beltoise with Henri Pescarolo driving a second car at the end of the season. Its best outing came at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix where Beltoise finished second behind Stewart, and recorded the fastest lap. In 1969, Matra set aside the V12 project, concentrating on the DFV-powered MS80.

In parallel with the Matra MS10, which was built for the Tyrrell Racing Organisation, Matra developed a second Formula 1 racing car in 1968 to accommodate the in-house twelve-cylinder engine. The MS11, also known as the Matra-Matra, was used by the Matra factory team in 1968.

The first race for the MS11 was the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix. While Johnny Servoz-Gavin, who had been "loaned" to Tyrrell – Tyrrell regular driver Jackie Stewart was not on the grid after a serious accident at the Belgian Grand Prix – even led the race with the MS10 for a short time, Jean-Pierre Beltoise soon had to park the MS11 with a major engine failure. Beltoise achieved the best finish for the MS11 with second place in the race in the Netherlands behind Stewart, who drove Tyrrell's MS10. In the slipstream race at Monza, there was still a fifth place, again with Beltoise at the wheel. The second factory driver, Henri Pescarolo, did not finish in the points throughout the season. At the end of 1968, Matra's factory activities were discontinued for one year, leaving the field to Ken Tyrrell, who won the Constructors' Championship with the MS80.