Jean-Pierre Beltoise facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jean-Pierre Beltoise |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beltoise in 1968
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 April 1937 Paris, France |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 January 2015 (aged 77) Dakar, Senegal |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Formula One World Championship career | |
|---|---|
| Active years | 1967–1974 |
| Teams | Matra, BRM |
| Entries | 88 (86 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Podiums | 8 |
| Career points | 77 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 4 |
| First entry | 1967 Monaco Grand Prix |
| First win | 1972 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1972 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1974 United States Grand Prix |
Jean-Pierre Beltoise (born April 26, 1937 – died January 5, 2015) was a famous French race car driver. He competed in both motorcycle racing and Formula One car races. Jean-Pierre drove for well-known teams like Matra and BRM. He took part in 88 Formula One races and won one of them, the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix. He also finished on the podium (top three) eight times.
Early Racing Days
Jean-Pierre Beltoise started his racing journey on motorcycles. He was very good, winning 11 French national motorcycle titles in just three years! He raced in international Grand Prix motorcycle events from 1962 to 1964. He competed in different engine sizes, from 50cc to 500cc. His best result was finishing sixth in the 1964 50cc World Championship.
In 1964, Jean-Pierre had a big accident while racing a sports car. He broke his arm badly, and it never fully recovered its movement. Many thought his career was over. But he was determined! He came back in 1965 and won a Formula 3 race. After that, he moved up to Formula 2 racing.
Formula One Career
In 1966, Beltoise got his first taste of Formula One. He drove an F2 car in the German Grand Prix and won the F2 class. The next year, in 1967, he raced in three more Grands Prix with an F2 car. He finished seventh twice, which was a great achievement for an F2 car against F1 cars.
In 1968, Beltoise started racing proper Formula One cars. He achieved a fantastic second place at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix. In 1969, he joined Ken Tyrrell's Matra team, racing alongside the famous Jackie Stewart. He finished second in his home race, the 1969 French Grand Prix.
Jean-Pierre returned to the main Matra team for 1970 and 1971. In 1971, he was involved in a sad accident during a sports car race where another driver, Ignazio Giunti, passed away. Because of this, Beltoise's international racing license was temporarily suspended.
For the 1972 season, he moved to the BRM team. This is where he achieved his biggest victory! He won the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix in very heavy rain. It was his only Formula One win, and it was also the last win for the BRM team. He stayed with BRM for three seasons but didn't have much more success. He retired from Formula One at the end of the 1974 season.
After Formula One
After leaving Formula One, Jean-Pierre Beltoise helped the Ligier F1 team by testing their cars. He then focused on touring car racing in France. He won the French touring car title twice with BMW. Later, he tried rallycross and won the French title in an Alpine-Renault.
In the 1980s, he raced for Peugeot in touring car events. He was also known for racing on ice! Jean-Pierre's two sons, Anthony and Julien, have also become race car drivers, following in their father's footsteps.
Jean-Pierre Beltoise was so famous that he even appeared in the Michel Vaillant comic books. In these stories, he was often shown as part of the winning team at the Le Mans race.
Death
Jean-Pierre Beltoise passed away on January 5, 2015, at the age of 77. He died at his holiday home in Dakar, Senegal, after having two strokes.
See also
In Spanish: Jean-Pierre Beltoise para niños
