French Pride: Matra's MS670 and its Historic Victory at Le Mans

April 14th 2023

Matra secured a French victory at Le Mans in 1972 with their MS670 sports-prototype, and followed it up with wins in 1973-74.

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Car to remember

Matra MS670

More than 20 years had passed since the previous all-French victory at Le Mans, that of Jean-Louis Rosier and (mostly) father Louis in a Talbot-Lago, but Matra was on a mission. It had built a number of sports-prototypes since the late 1960s, but the MS670 would be the series’ apotheosis.

“No effort was spared,” says Henri Pescarolo, who shared the winning MS670 with Graham Hill in 1972, then its successful B derivative with Gérard Larrousse in 1973-74. “Matra was determined to secure a French win and put its very best engineers on the project, which is probably why its F1 results weren’t as good as they might otherwise have been.”

Reporting the 1972 race in Motor Sport, Denis Jenkinson wrote: “Matra entered four cars and backed its chances every possible way, with variations of body shape, engine power, fuel consumption, tyre sizes, gearbox variations and so on. The arrangement of variables was such that whatever conditions prevailed for the race, one of the four cars would be at an advantage.” And talking of the weather, he added: “An insidious small wind blew in before the start, in the form of an FIA official being appointed to decide whether the race should be abandoned should the rain become extreme. This is part of the mental sickness that is going to kill motor racing within the next 10 years…”

Pescarolo relished his time at the Matra’s helm. “It was a fantastic car,” he says. “It was quick, reliable and easy to drive. Prior to the 1972 race we’d done ample endurance testing at Paul Ricard, without any trouble at all, so we were feeling pretty confident.

“The hardest of the three wins was the second, when we fought Ferrari almost all the way. In the others, we were effectively racing only ourselves.”

The Ferraris led into the night during that 1973 race, but a blown engine stopped Carlos Reutemann/Tim Schenken and a broken exhaust slowed Jacky Ickx/Brian Redman. The Matra moved ahead when the Ferrari stopped for repairs – and neither a split brake pipe nor an overheating starter motor (which had to be rebuilt on Sunday morning, at the cost of 25 minutes) were enough to dislodge the local favourites. Pescarolo and Larrousse were able to breathe more easily when engine failure scuppered Ickx/Redman and they finally finished six laps clear of the surviving Ferrari, driven by Arturo Merzario/Carlos Pace.

The MS670 had two distinguishing features: its patriotic hue and the sumptuous wail that followed any period Matra V12. “It sounded absolutely fantastic,” says Pescarolo, “but it’s the reason all Matra drivers are nowadays deaf.”

Stars of the decade

Vic Elford

The all-rounder never won Le Mans, but always put on a show in Porsche’s 917. He set pole position in 1970, but car failures robbed him of all but a GT class victory, at the wheel of a privateer Ferrari in 1973.

Gérard Larrousse

Always a factor at Le Mans, Larrousse finished second in 1969 and 1970 for Porsche before winning in ’73 and ’74 with Matra. After stepping behind the scenes, he played a key part in Renault’s ’78 win.

Henri Pescarolo

Although his Le Mans career spans decades, the 1970s brought him the most success as a driver, with three wins for Matra, from 1972-74, and a GTP class victory with Jean Rondeau’s Inaltera in 1976.

Jacky Ickx

It’s hard to pick a decade in which Ickx most excelled. He won with Mirage in ’75 and Porsche in 1976 and ’77, but Renault ended his bid to be the first driver to take four straight wins.