The ACO and the FFSA pay tribute to Jean-Pierre Beltoise

The disappearance of Jean-Pierre Beltoise moves the highest levels as well as the public who saw him evolve and relaunch motorsport in France. If the Frenchman was known in F1 for his career at Matra and his victory at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix (with BRM), he also distinguished himself in Endurance by winning the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen in 1974 and participating on 14 occasions 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a best result of fourth place in 1969 alongside Piers Courage on a Matra MS 650.

“It’s a huge figure in French motorsport who is leaving us”, declared Pierre Fillon on the ACO website. “Jean-Pierre will forever remain this flamboyant driver, so proud to wear the colors of his country and participating in the revival of French teams during the 60s and 70s. He took part in one of the most emblematic periods of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in giving himself without counting for Matra, Ligier or even Rondeau. Jean-Pierre Beltoise is not only part of the motorsport legend but above all, he greatly contributed to writing it »

Jean-Pierre Beltoise will forever be part of the history of French motorsport. He was also a member of the FFSA Steering Committee from 1967 to 1974. “ Jean-Pierre is and will remain an example for a whole generation of pilots”, added Nicolas Deschaux, President of the French Motor Sport Federation. “His incredible journey joins the history of French motorsport. Jean-Pierre will also have been able to put his experience to good use in the service of road citizenship while contributing to the development of motorsport on the national territory, in particular by investing in the Trappes and Haute Saintonge circuits. On behalf of the FFSA Steering Committee, I extend my most sincere condolences to his wife, Jacqueline, and his two sons, Anthony and Julien.

Jean-Pierre Beltoise's 14 participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (ACO Data):

1963: René Bonnet Aérodjet LM6 n°53 with Claude Bobrowski. 11th; 1st index for energy efficiency and 1st class 1 to 101 cm1.
1964: René Bonnet Aérodjet n°55 with Gérard Lureau. Surrender.
1966: Matra M 620 n°41 with Johnny Servoz-Gavin. Surrender.
1967: Matra M 630 n°29 with Johnny Servoz-Gavin. Surrender.
1969: Matra-Simca MS 650 n°33 with Piers Courage. 4th.
1970: Matra-Simca MS 650 n°31 with Henri Pescarolo. Surrender.
1971: Matra-Simca MS 660 n°31 with Chris Amon. Surrender.
1972: Matra-Simca MS 670 n°12 with Chris Amon. Surrender.
1973: Matra-Simca MS 670 B n°10 with François Cevert. Surrender.
1974: Matra-Simca MS 680 n°6 with Jean-Pierre Jarier. Surrender.
1975: Ligier JS 2 n°97 with Jean-Pierre Jarier. Surrender.
1976: Inaltera GT n°1 with Henri Pescarolo. 8th overall; 1st in the GTP Group.
1977: Inaltera GR 6 n°1 with Al Holbert. 13th overall.
1979: Rondeau M 379 n°4 with Henri Pescarolo. 10th.

AUTOhebdo returns in detail to the exceptional career of Jean-Pierre Beltoise in issue 1993, available this evening at 22 p.m. in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.