Matra-Simca MS650 Category Group 6 Prototype Constructor Matra Designer(s) Bernard Boyer Predecessor MS630 / MS640Successor MS660 Chassis Glass-fibre reinforced plastic panels Suspension (front) Double wishbones , coil springs over dampersSuspension (rear) Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers Length 3,900 mm (153.5 in) Width 1,900 mm (74.8 in) Height 760 mm (29.9 in) Axle track Front: 1,440 mm (56.7 in) Wheelbase 2,440 mm (96.1 in) Engine Matra MS12 , 2,999 cc (183.0 cu in), 60º V12 , NA , Longitudinal , mid-mounted Transmission Matra 5-speed manual Weight 740 kg (1,631.4 lb) Fuel Lucas Notable entrants Equipe Matra - Elf Matra of France Matra Sports Equipe Matra -Simca Notable drivers Jean-Pierre Beltoise Pedro Rodriguez Johnny Servoz-Gavin Jack Brabham François Cevert Jean-Pierre Beltoise Henri Pescarolo Dan Gurney Debut 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans Teams' Championships 0 Constructors' Championships 0
The Matra-Simca MS650 is a Group 6 prototype race car introduced in 1969 for the International Championship for Makes . The MS650 replaced the previous Matra-Simca MS630 .[2]
Racing History
1969
The car made its debut at the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans with a four car entry. Jean-Pierre Beltoise /Piers Courage in the MS650, Jean Guichet /Nino Vaccarella in the MS630, Nanni Galli /Robin Widdows and Johnny Servoz-Gavin /Herbert Müller were both in the MS630/650. Beltoise/Courage finished fourth followed by Guichet/Vaccarella in fifth, Galli/Widdows seventh but Servoz-Gavin/Müller retired when an electrical circuit failed. For the 1969 6 Hours of Watkins Glen , Matra entered two cars for Servoz-Gavin/Pedro Rodriguez in the MS650 and Guichet/Widdows in the MS630/650. Servoz-Gavin/Rodriguez finished fourth and Guichet/Widdows retired with a broken clutch. For the final race of the 1969 season, the 1000km of Zeltweg , Matra only entered Servoz-Gavin/Rodriguez but the car retired through accident.
In the International Championship for Makes , Matra had scored six points, earning it fifth place in the championship.
1970
The first race of the season was the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona , Matra had two cars for Jack Brabham /François Cevert and Jean-Pierre Beltoise /Henri Pescarolo . Brabham/Cevert finished tenth and Beltoise/Pescarolo finished 18th. Matra made changes to the driver line ups for the 12 Hours of Sebring , Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin and Cevert/Dan Gurney . Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin finished fifth and Cevert/Gurney finish 12th. Matra again made changes to the driver line ups for the 1000km of Brands Hatch , The team put Brabham/Beltoise together but kept Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin. Brabham/Beltoise finish 12th and Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin retired with engine failure. The MNZ saw Brabham/Beltoise fifth followed by Pescarolo/Servoz-Gavin in sixth. The team skipped the next three races, the Targa Florio , 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps and 1000km of Nürburgring . The team entered three cars for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Beltoise/Pescarolo in the new Matra-Simca MS660 , Brabham/Cevert and Patrick Depailler /Jean-Pierre Jabouille /Tim Schenken were both in the MS650 but all three cars retired with engine failure. The team skipped the final two race of the 1970 season, the Watkins Glen 6 Hours and Austrian 1000km .
In the International Championship for Makes , Matra had scored four points, earning it fourth place in the championship.
Jean-Pierre Beltoise 
Pedro Rodriguez 
Jack Brabham 
Dan Gurney
