Matra MS620
The Matra MS620 was a sports car prototype that Matra built in 1966 and used in sports car races.
The Matra MS620 was the first prototype sports car built at Matra under the leadership of Jean-Luc Lagardère . Since Matra did not yet have its own engine concept, it was decided to use a V8 engine from British Racing Motors , which was built into the tubular frame of the MS620. The engine, which came from Formula 1 , was drilled to 2 liters.
The long-term goal of Matra was to also be successful in the overall standings at the Le Mans 24 Hours . In theory, this was not possible with the MS620, as the cars were launched in 1966 in the P 2000 class . The extremely low, closed MS620s had no chance against the 5-liter cars from Ford and Ferrari from the start. Direct opponents for the class win were the Carrera 6 from Porsche .
Three MS620, which are from the Matra sports department Matra Sports Sarl. were reported, started at Le Mans on June 18 . The three MS620s were able to keep up with the speed of the Carrera 6 at the beginning, but the first weaknesses soon became apparent. Above all, the BRM engine, which was not built for such long distances, made it necessary to make some unforeseen stops at the pits. None of the MS620 saw the checkered flag on Sunday. After just 31 laps, the first factory car had to be finally parked after a defect in the oil pump. The two Frenchmen Henri Pescarolo , who made his debut at Le Mans, and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud sat alternately at the wheel . After 100 laps, Jo Schlesser and Alan Rees' drive ended after an accident and only twelve laps later Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Johnny Servoz-Gavin had to end the race prematurely after a gearbox damage.
The team leadership was not deterred by this first setback and the team returned to Le Mans in 1967 with a new racing car, the MS630 .
literature
- José Rosinski: Matra, La Saga . ETAI, Boulogne 1997, ISBN 2-7268-8301-X .
