At the beginning of the seventies, Matra had already achieved significant successes in motorsport, including the Formula 1 title in 1969 with Jackie Stewart. However, the trophy that the French company wanted most was still missing from its portfolio: a victory in the sports car "home race" at Le Mans. The cover story in the latest issue of Automobilsport is about the legendary in-house V12 sports cars that were to change that.
A state affair
Before Matra finally achieved its long-awaited triumph at Le Mans in 1972, the French company had already spent seven years developing cars for Formula 3, Formula 2, sports car racing and Formula 1. The article "State affair" looks back at Matra's beginnings in motorsport.
French Formula 3 champion in 1967, one year with Matra in Formula 1 and twice world champion with the "blue ones" in the World Sports Car Championship - hardly anyone else can retell the story of the Matra saga as competently as Henri Pescarolo. These are stories from ten years that significantly influenced "Pesca's" long career.
Rendezvous with an old friend
Over four decades ago, the Carrera RSR was one of the most successful racing sports cars of its era. In 1974, Porsche built and sold 42 examples for private drivers. Eckhard Schimpf was one of them. He drove 84 races in the Carrera between 1974 and 1978. Now, 40 years later, he is back in the RSR cockpit, but not in just any cockpit, but in his former Jägermeister racing car from 1974.
30 years ago, Formula 1 tragically lost one of its last true gentlemen. At Lotus, he was team-mate to the later world champions Senna and Mansell, beating both of them more than once. For Automobilsport, Yörn Pugmeister remembers the multiple Grand Prix winner Elio de Angelis, who was already considered a relic of bygone times in the 1980s due to his politeness, education and values.
Low-flyer
30 years ago, Brabham-BMW wanted to get back on the road to success with a spectacular new vehicle. The radical BT55 inspired even Niki Lauda to reconsider retirement. Gordon Murray's last Brabham looked fascinating - but it was unsuccessful. Automobilsport chronicles the story of the Brabham BT55 and its tragic 1986 Grand Prix season.
In the spirit of the 80s, the legendary Group B era produced some incredible creations: the Renault R5 Turbo, which was almost as wide as it was long; the fire-breathing Quattro monster from Ingolstadt; the small but sophisticated Peugeot 205 T16, which grew even more wings with the Evo stage. But even 30 years later, there is one car in particular that remains in our memory that we would like to honor as the most wonderful creature of a fantastic time - the Lancia Delta S4.
Alleggerita
50 years ago, Andrea de Adamich / Teodoro Zeccoli in Monta drove an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA for the first time in Sebring in a race for the European Touring Car Cup. Just five days later, Jochen Rindt won the first race of the American TransAM series in a GTA at Sebring. Over the next 15 years, the lightened Bertone Coupé developed into one of the most successful racing cars of the Group 2 era.
He was probably the greatest rally talent of his time. Especially at the beginning of his career, he was often impetuous on the road, but he had a basic speed that was second to none. Henri Toivonen was the rock star of the glorious Group B era: carefree, enthusiastic and extraordinarily creative.
