Tag Archives: Larrousse

Not Quite A GT – Ligier Cosworth JS2 #2379 72 03

In 1970 former international rugby player and construction magnate Guy Ligier set about founding a sports car manufacturing company bearing his own name.

The original production model was to be the JS2 with a chassis designed by Michel Tetu, who would later be part of the Renault Le Mans and Formula One campaigns and a body designed by Pietro Frua.

The JS2 was originally intended to be powered by a 2.6 litre / 158 cui Ford Cologne V6 but that had to be changed to the 3 litre / 183 cui Maserati V6 as used in the Merak and Citroën SM, when Ford thought it might build a rival in the form of the Ford GT70.

Ligier JS2, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Production of the JS2 never reached sufficient numbers for the sporting authorities to consider the car for GT racing so instead racing versions were run as prototypes.

The racing JS2’s were built with aluminium chassis and raced with Maserati V6 engines which proved a tad underpowered and unreliable, although the teams perseverance was rewarded with a victory in the 1974 Le Mans 4 hour race for Guy Chasseuil and in the 1974 Tour de France Automobile where Gérard Larrousse, Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Johnny Rives drove the winning JS2.

A second place finish for today’s featured chassis #2379 72 03 driven by Bernard Darniche and Jacques Jaubert emphasised the team’s mastery of the 1974 mixed discipline event.

Ligier JS2, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

With new sponsorship from Gitanes for 1975 Ligier exploited the Prototype regulations more fully by producing a silhouette JS2 body and fitting more powerful Ford Cosworth DFV motors to two of his three JS2 racing cars including today’s featured chassis.

The two DFV powered JS2s were sent to Mugello and Dijon netting a 7th for Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Jean-Pierre Jarier at the former and 6th for François Migault and Jean-Pierre Jarier at the latter.

Perhaps mindful of wanting to preserve their machinery for Le Mans only single car entries were sent to Monza and Spa where Beltoise and Jarrier finished 21st from 7th on the grid and François Migault and Jean-Louis Lafosse finished 12th from 5th on the grid respectively.

Ligier JS2, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

At Le Mans the two DFV powered JS2’s were joined by a third Maserati powered JS2 the latter to be driven by Beltoise and Jarier.

Unsurprisingly the Maserati was slowest of the three starting from 9th it was also the first of the three to retire after an accident.

Today’s featured car driven by Henri Pescarolo and François Migault qualified 5th but retired later in the race with a puncture.

The second DFV powered JS2 driven by Jean-Louis Lafosse and Guy Chasseuil qualified an impressive 3rd and survived to finish second only one lap down behind the Gulf GR8 shared by Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx.

After Le Mans 1975 Ligier retired from sports car racing in preparation for it Gitanes sponsored appearance in Formula One the following season.

Thanks for joining me on this “Not Quite A GT” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be paying a visit to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Don’t forget to come back now !

RIP JP B – Peugeot 309 Gti Turbo Cup

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Born on April 26th 1937 Jean Pierre Beltoise was part of a cohort of French drivers that emerged in the 1960’s that included Johnny Servous Gavin, Gerrard Larrousse, Henri Pescarolo and brother in law Francois Cevert.

JP B’s started racing motor cycles winning 11 national titles in three years, he raced Motor Morini, Kreider and Bultaco machines in a handful of world championship events from 1962 to 1964 finishing a best 3rd on a 50 cc Kreider in the 1964 French Grand Prix.

In 1963 Jean Pierre started racing Djet sports cars for René Bonnet. After Bonnet sold out to Matra he raced a succession of Formula 3 and Formula 2 Matra open wheelers with sufficient success that led to his Grand Prix debut in the 1966 German Grand Prix with a Formula 2 Matra in which he finished 8th overall and first in the Formula 2 class.

In 1968 JP B was contracted to drive for the French Matra Sports team but did not race a proper Formula One Spec car until the Spanish Grand Prix when he was drafted in to drive Jackie Stewart’s Cosworth powered Matra MS10 for Ken Tyrrell’s Matra International team.

At Monaco he raced the Matra V12 powered Matra MS 11 for the first time but retired with broken suspension, at the Dutch GP he finished a season high second behind Stewart.

Matra Sport withdrew form F1 at the end of 1968 to focus their efforts on getting Ken Tyrrells Matra International Team Matra MS80 cars for Jackie Stewart, JP-B was drafted in as Jackie’s team mate and again finished a season high second this time in France.

Ken Tyrrell and Matra parted way’s after winning the 1969 World Championships and Matra got it’s V12 programme back on track with JP B and Henri Pescarolo in the drivers seats JP B scored two season high thirds to Henri’s one. The following season JP B remained on the Matra team with Chris Amon but the results were disappointing.

For 1972 JP B signed to drive for BRM for which an over ambitious programme was being funded by Marlboro. At the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix Jean Pierre won his only Grand Prix generally reckoned to have been one of the more difficult races thanks to the atrocious conditions.

Note the scuff mark the BRM’s nose in the linked photo this came about after contact with Ronnie Peterson’s March which was baulking his while being lapped.

This race would be the last formula one championship win for a BRM and at the end of the season Jean Pierre won the non championship John Player victory race at Brands Hatch driving a BRM P180 which would be the last win for the BRM team.

Jean Pierre continued driving for BRM in 1973 during which he finished a season high 4th in Canada with the by now ancient BRM P160 and in 1974 during which he scored a great second place finish on the debut of the P201 in South Africa.

Out of a Formula One drive for 1975 Jean Pierre was in the running for a drive with the new Ligier team for 1976 and tested the Matra V12 powered JS5 before it was decided to hand the car over to 1975 Formula 2 champion Jacques Laffite.

Alongside his open wheel racing Jean Pierre continued racing sports cars winning races in 5 litre, 3 litre and 2 litre classes though most, seven, were wins with the 3 litre / 183 cui Matra’s which included the 1970 Tour de France sharing driving with Patrick Depailler and with FIA President Jean Todt doing the navigating.

After winning the sports car World Championship twice in 1973 and 1974 Matra withdrew from racing a Jean Pierre continued racing Ligier and Rondeau built sports cars at Le Mans, but he never improved on his career best 1969 4th place finish with Piers Courage in the endurance classic.

JP B won two French Saloon car championships driving BMW’s in 1976 and 1977 before proving his versatility, despite restricted arm movement that was the result of a sports car accident in the 1960’s, by winning the 1979 French Rallycross Championship driving an Alpine A310.

Peugeot Gti Turbo, JP Beltoise, Le Mans,

Into the 1980’s JP B continued racing Peugeot 505 Turbo’s, a V6 Talbot Tagora and in 1988 he was racing in the Peugeot 309 Gti Turbo Cup series, above Jean Pierre is seen driving the #88 309 to victory in the support race to the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Jean Pierre passed away on the 5th of January aged 77.

Condolences to his family and friends RIP JP B.

Thanks for joining me on this “RIP JP B” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting Autosport International. Don’t forget to come back now !

Sherborne Details – Classics At The Castle

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Last weeks Classics at the Castle threw up plenty of details and here is a small selection I managed to capture.

De Dion Bouton 10hp, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

It looks like this De Dion Bouton has been around for sometime it was offered for auction around 8 years ago it is thought to be a 10hp model from 1910, suitable for a DIY enthusiast with an aptitude for woodwork, as the saying goes.

Aston Martin DB4, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Looking pretty in light blue was this 1958 Aston Martin DB4 powered by a 6 cylinder 3670 cc / 223 cui motor designed by Tadek Marek.

Porsche 911R R, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

The most obvious give away that this Porsche 911R was a replica of the car Gérard Larrousse & Maurice Gélin won the 1969 Tour de France with was that it is a right hand drive model, apart from that it was convincing in many details including the lightened filler cap.

Sunbeam 16/20 Cabriolet, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Cool brass fittings for cockpit ventilation circa 1914 on a Sunbeam 16/20 Cabriolet.

Mazda MX5 BBR, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Not sure how distracting speakers built in to the headrest of a 1991 Le Mans Special edition Mazda MX5 BBR Turbo would be, but they were dropped from later models.

Lamborghini Aventador, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

With a zero to 100 km/h time of just 2.9 seconds tail lights are all one is likely to see of a 2012 Lamborghini Aventor.

Thanks for joining me on this “Sherborne Details” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for some Chrome, Stripes and a Sheriffs Car. Don’t forget to come back now !

Fantastic Futurist – Lancia Stratos Stradale

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In 1970 Bertone built a futuristic concept car called the Lancia Stratos Zero, the car was so low the windscreen also acted as ‘the’ door !

The following year Bertone showed the Lancia Stratos Prototype at the 1971 Turin Show, this car was a little more practical with two side doors and a mid mounted tranverse mounted V6 as per the Ferrari Dino from which it was sourced.

Lancia Stratos Stradale, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

In all 492 of the road going Lancia Stratos Stradales like the 1974 example seen here at last years Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham were built between 1972 and 1974 when production of the V6 Dino GT also ceased.

HF competition versions of the Stradale proved particularly versatile in 1974 Gérard Larrousse and Amilcare Ballestrieri drove a Stratos to victory on the Targa Florio.

The Stratos is probably best remembered as a superb rally car, Sandro Munari and Mario Mannucci won the 1974 San Remo Rally on the Sratos World Rally Championship debut. By 1981, 4 years after the Stratos programe had been closed down by FIAT; Jean-Claude Andruet, Björn Waldegård, Bernard Darniche, Markku Alén, Tony Carello and Antonio “Tony” Fassina had all also helped contribute to a total of 18 World Rally Championship wins credited to the Stratos which included 3 consecutive wins for Munari on the Monte Carlo Rally, ’75 – ’77, and five victories each on the San Marino and Tour de Course Rallies.

Franz Wurz became 1976 European Rally Cross champion in a Stratos and sold his car, later fitted with a 3 liter / 183 cui motor V6 to Andy Bentza who won GT Rally Cross Championship in 1978.

In 1973 Sandro Munari and Mario Manucci won the mixed discipline Tour D’France, the following year Jean-Claude Andruet and “Biche” won the similar Giro di Italia with a similar bodied turbocharged example.

The final competition evolution of the Stratos was a turbocharged Group 5 long tail silhouette racer of the type that Carlo Facetti and P. Sodano drove to victory on the 1976 Giro di Italia.

Thanks for joining me on this “Fantastic Futurist” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a couple of Lotus Indy Cars. Don’t forget to come back now !

Monte Hat-trick – Porsche 911S

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From 1968 to 1970 Porsche scored three 1-2 victories on the fabled Monte Carlo Rally. In 1968 Vic Elford and David Stone driving a Porsche 911T won the event ahead of the 911S driven by Pauli Toivonen and M Tiukkanen, the following year Bjorn Waldegård and Lars Helmer driving a 911S finished ahead of the similar car driven by Gerárd Larrousse and JC Perramond. In 1970 the Porsche hat-trick of wins came when Waaldegård and Helmer drove today’s featured car to victory over Larrousse and M Gélin in another 911S.

Porsche, 911, Advertisement

The 1970 Monte Carlo had featured a concentration run to the Principality starting from eight European cities and was run in mild conditions. Porsche, Ford Alpine Renault and Lancia all entered significant works teams expected to challenge for top honours. British press interest in the, once, prestigious event was so low that Motor Sport correspondent GP, Geraint “Gerry” Phillips, opined, in March 1970, that what the Monte Carlo Rally needed to reengage Fleet Street was “… a bunch of hippies to entrench themselves on the Turini (rally stage) and spray the spectators with LSD.” !