Jean-Pierre Beltoise

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Jean-Pierre Beltoise
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Motorcycle Grand Prix Career
Nationality France French
Active years 1962 - 1964
Team(s) Kreidler
Grands Prix 8
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podium finishes    1
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First Grand Prix 1962 250cc French Grand Prix
First win 0
Last win 0
Last Grand Prix 1964 50cc French Grand Prix
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Formula One Career
Nationality France French
Active years 1967 - 1974
Team(s) Matra, BRM
Grands Prix 88
Championships 0
Wins 1
Podium finishes    8
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 4
First Grand Prix 1967 Monaco Grand Prix
First win 1972 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win 1972 Monaco Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix 1974 United States Grand Prix

Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (born April 26, 1937 in Paris, France) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams.

Beltoise won 11 national motorcycle titles in three years. He competed in international Grand Prix motorcycle racing from the 1962 to 1964 seasons in the 50, 125 and 250cc classes. His best finish was a sixth place in the 1964 50cc World Championship.

In 1963 he was racing a 1.1-litre Rene Bonnet sports car. His career almost ended with a huge crash in the Reims 12-hour sports car race, in which he suffered a broken arm. Beltoise raced to a win in the 1965 Reims Formula 3 race, after which he graduated to Formula 2 for the following season.

He had good seasons in 1966 and 1967 and entered Formula 1 in a V12-engined Matra, and getting a great second place in the Dutch Grand Prix. In 1969 he was recruited by Ken Tyrrell to the Matra team, driving alongside Jackie Stewart, finishing second in the 1969 French Grand Prix. In 1971, racing in the Matra sports car team, he was involved in the accident which killed Ignazio Giunti in Buenos Aires, and his international racing license was suspended for some time. In 1972 he joined the BRM team and won what turned out to be BRM's final Formula One victory at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix under heavy rain. He finally retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 1974 season.

He later did most of the testing for the Ligier F1 team and later turned his attention to touring car racing in France and won the French title twice for BMW before entering rallycross in an Alpine-Renault with which he won the French title. In 1981 he returned to touring cars and raced for Peugeot throughout the 1980s. He is also a regular ice racer. He has two sons who are both race drivers.

In fiction, Beltoise frequently appeared in the Michel Vaillant series of comic books, amongst others being part of the winning Vaillante Le Mans team

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key)

Yr Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Team WDC Points
1966 Matra (F2) MON
BEL
FRA
GBR
DUT
GER
8
ITA
USA
MEX
Matra (F2) - 0
1967 Matra SAF
MON
DNQ
DUT
BEL
FRA
GBR
DEU
CAN
ITA
USA
7
MEX
7
Matra - 0
1968 Matra SAF
6
SPA
5
MON
Ret
BEL
8
DUT
2
FRA
9
GBR
Ret
DEU
Ret
ITA
5
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
MEX
Ret
Matra 9th 11
1969 Matra SAF
6
SPA
3
MON
Ret
DUT
8
FRA
2
GBR
9
DEU
12*
ITA
3
CAN
4
USA
Ret
MEX
5
Matra 5th 21
1970 Matra SAF
4
SPA
Ret
MON
Ret
BEL
3
DUT
5
FRA
13
GBR
Ret
DEU
Ret
AUT
6
ITA
3
CAN
8
USA
Ret
MEX
5
Matra 9th 16
1971 Matra SAF
SPA
6
MON
Ret
DUT
9
FRA
7
GBR
7
DEU
AUT
ITA
CAN
Ret
USA
8
Matra 22nd 1
1972 BRM ARG
SAF
Ret
SPA
Ret
MON
1
BEL
Ret
FRA
15
GBR
11
DEU
9
AUT
8
ITA
8
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
BRM 11th 9
1973 BRM ARG
Ret
BRA
Ret
SAF
Ret
SPA
5
BEL
Ret
MON
Ret
SWE
Ret
FRA
11
GBR
Ret
DUT
5
DEU
Ret
AUT
5
ITA
13
CAN
4
USA
9
BRM 10th 9
1974 BRM ARG
5
BRA
10
SAF
2
SPA
Ret
BEL
5
MON
Ret
SWE
Ret
DUT
Ret
FRA
10
GBR
12
DEU
Ret
AUT
Ret
ITA
Ret
CAN
NC
USA
DNQ
BRM 13th 10
  • In the 1969 German Grand Prix, 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.
Preceded by:
None
French Formula Three Championship Champion
1965
Succeeded by:
Johnny Servoz-Gavin
Preceded by:
Jacky Ickx
European Formula Two Champion
1968
Succeeded by:
Johnny Servoz-Gavin