38 replies to this topic

[McRonalds]

This is my first thread, although I've been watching/reading this forum for about a year (and found a lot of information)... and it's a very simple one - but it's a point that confuses me a little bit since I've first read about it - so here's the question.

As a great fan of 'Jeannot' Jean Behra (well, he's actually my all time favorite driver - although without great sucess in WC-events) I'm looking for any information about him and there are so much storys about him. In all, but one, books I've read, Jean Behra's Grand Prix debut race is known the Swiss GP '52. Just one author has an other opinion, and this is "Steve Small's Grand Prix Who's Who". An error? In his opinion Jean Behra has driven the #50 Gordini that Maurice Trintignant has qualified for the Italian GP 1951 (in case he writes Behra apparently drove that car).

I think this is a very good and well investigated book, so what makes the author write such a thing when no one else (and I've read dozends of statistics - maybe a lot copied from another?) is the same opinion? Or is there something more behind that story. I know that Jean Behra drove Sportcars and Formula 2 from 1950 on and was member of the Gordini works-team in 1951 already. Any idea?!

There has been a (very long) discussion about the point whether Jean Behra has taken 5th or 6th place at the Frech GP '57 - so I hope it's easier to decide this time...

[alessandro silva]

It depends what you mean by GP.
Behra's first F1 race was the 1949 GP du Salon in the Oct. 9th Coupes du Salon Monthléry meeting.
He finished 6th in the old Ecurie France Talbot MD 90131. Ecurie France wanted to test Jeannot for the 1950 season but nothing came out since the Ecurie was closed for good in March 1950.
Behra had earlier that year raced an equally ancient Maserati 4CL in the Mont Ventoux hill-climb finishing 3rd overall.

[Richard Jenkins]

A mistake, I think. Looking at the same edition that you have of the book & then of the entry lists that I have I can't see Jean's name there, let alone anyone sharing Trintignant's car. Can't fathom why it might be there. BUT again, maybe someone knows something I don't. Looking through the results of that race, Italian GP 1951, that is, what a shame that the BRM's both weren't allowed to start due to a licence "wrangle". It would've been most interesting to have seen what Parnell & Richardson (never to qualify in a WC GP again) could've have done. (Probably early retirement, I fear)

[alessandro silva]

It is interesting to notice that a much more serious source than Small, Huet's book on the Gordinis has Behra as starters for car #50 in the Italian 1951 GP.
Apparently things went in the following way:
Trintignant went down intoxicated by food after the first day of practice; Behra - who was there because supposed to start in the F2 race the next weekend in Modena - took his place.

[McRonalds]

It's interesting that nearly no source has written about this 'driver rotation'. So is it possible that Jeannot made his GP-Debut one year eralier than thought so far.

Speaking of Jean Behra: Where can I get more Info about him?! I think this great French driver deserves much more appreciation.

[alessandro silva]

As I posted before, Behra’s first GP was at Monthléry in 1949. Today’s motoring literature leads to the belief that between the “Silver Arrows” and the WDC there was something like like an empty intergalactic space. There had been a war, of course, but the same drivers and cars engaged in GP racing in 46/49 were at the start of the WDC. Actually, drivers such as Varzi, Wimille, Nuvolari, Trossi, active in 46/49 were not able to see WDC racing and Sommer saw very little of it. It is fair to say that there were more great drivers active in 46/49 than in the 1950 WDC (for instance Ascari, Fangio,Farina and also Moss were already very successful in that period). In fact there was no break of continuity between the two periods.

As for bibliography on Jean Behra that I have, there is a chapter in M. Louche “ Un siècle de grands pilotes français” ACF 1995, excellent and in French, and the following that I “scanned” for you. It is by some M. Twaite, circa 1967. It sat in my files for 30 years and I cannot reconstruct the source.
(sorry for the poor quality of the scan). JEAN BEHRA FITTED, only too well, the popular conception of a racing driver of the 195os. He was short, stocky, muscular, completely fearless and covered with the scars from the numerous crashes which he miraculously survived-all except the last.

Behra, born in Nice in 1921, soon fell for the lure of speed on wheels: first he took up cycling, then motor cycling, his prowess on two wheels earning him the French motor-cycle-racing championship, three years in succession. Like so many motor-cycle racers before and since (including Tazio Nuvolari, Piero Taruffi, jeanPierre Beltoise, john Surtees and Mike Haiiwood), Behra hankered after four-wheeì racing and, as soorì as organised motor racing began in Europe, following World War II, be was at the wheel of a Talbot which he drove to sixth piace in the Coupe du Saion meeting at Montlhéry, near Paris in 1949.

In tlie following year he drove a Simca i i oo in the Monte Carlo Rally, showing his versatility by finishing third overall; he drove another Simca in the Le ManS 24-Hour race, but was forced to retire. Later on in 195o he won his class at the Mont Ventoux hill-climb in a Maserati, and his exploits brought him to the notice of Amédée Gordini, known as 'Le Sorcier', because of his supposed wizardry with racing engines. He was the only man seriously to attempt to uphold French prestige in singie-scater racing and he gave Behra a seat in his Formula Two team for 1951. He finished third in his first race with the Gordini, but the firm was perpetually short of finance and the cars seldom had the power to become competitive. Ali the same, Behra managed the occasionai win, including a memorabie victory over the Ferrari works team at Reims.

Despite a very bad crash at the Pau circuit in southern France during 1(53, when he suffered severe back injuries, he was soon back in racing and continued with Gordini until 1954, which was his best year with the French.marque as he worì at Montihéry, Pau and Cadours.

For 1955, he was signed by the Maserati factory team for Formula One and sports-car racing and
was immediately successful, winning the Formula One Pau and Bordcaux GPs, as well as several sports car races, with the Maserati 30OS. He suffered anothar crash while driving on the dangerous Dundrod TT circuit in 1955 and he lost an ear when the lens of his spare goggles cut it off. He was given a plastic substitute, with which he would often horrify the ladies by removing it at opportune moments. He stayed with Maserati in 1956, but had no success in Formula One, although be shared the winning sports car in the Núrburgring and Paris i ooo km races. .

Although he again drove for Maserati in 1957, he was always driving in the shadow of men like Moss and Fangio, and early in 1957 he approached Raymond Mays of BRM io ask if BRM would provide him with a car for the Caen Grand Prix in western France. Mays jumped at the chance, for the team was short of drivers. Two cars were taken, one for Belira and one for the FrancoAmerican Harry Schell and, despite a lack of practice, Belira wori the race with ease, admittedly against modest opposition. Belira followed this up by leading a BRM 1, 2, 3 victory in the International Trophy race in front of a100.000 crowd. Behra became the darling of the British enthusiasts and his enthusiasm for the car endeared him to everyone at the BRM works. Despite his almost total lack of English he spent countless hours pointing out ways to improve the car and did a great deal to restore some confidence in the BRM team. He was contracted to Maserati for the rest Of 1957 and managed to win the Moroccan and Modena GPs as well as sharing vietory in the Swedish GP and Sebring 12 hours, driving the monster 450S Maserati.

Behra signed for BRM in 1958, but, in his first race for them at Goodwood, suffered a much publicised accident when the brakes failed and be collided with the notorious brick chicane at:
speed. He was badly shaken by the crash and his confidence had hardly returned when he suffered another brake failure at Aintree, fortunately without hitting anything. He suffered other accidents, including smashed goggles at Silverstone and a haìr raìsing spìn at Spa, and he never really got to grips with the BRM again, although he finished third in the Dutch GP He fared better with the RSK Porsches in sports car races, notching up wins at the Núrburgring, AvuS, Reims and Mont Ventoux.

Not surprisingly, Behra left BRM in 1959 and joined the Ferrari team. He won the Aintree 2oo with the DinO 246 Ferrari, but, later in, the. season, he quarrelled with the Ferrari team,, manager Romolo Tavoni and lefr the team. By~ this time he had evolved his own Formula 2
car, based on a Porsche sports car, and spent a great deal of time on this project; but he al drove an RSK Porsche sports car, being one the quickest drivers on the circuíts.
He took the RSK to the German sports-c GP at the dangerous Avus track near Berlin a in the race on a wet track, he passed jack Brabha at high speed going into the enormous high banking at the end of the long, fast straight instead of rounding the banking normally, The Porsche suddenly shot to the top, hitting the concrete barrier. Behra was flung from the car striking a flagpole as he was thrown out. The plucky, and often unluckY 38-ycar-old Frenchman died instantly.

[byrkus]

Speaking of the Avus accident: where did the car stop? Did it fly off banking as well, or did it stay on the barrier, or did it slid down tha banking to the lower part of the corner? Just curious about that one.

[Barry Lake]

Originally posted by alessandro silva
Today’s motoring literature leads to the belief that between the “Silver Arrows” and the WDC there was something like like an empty intergalactic space.

Alessandro

Agreed, 100 per cent. For decades I have been trying to learn more about this era and to persuade people of its importance in the overall scheme of things.

[Roger Clark]

I have a profile of of Jean Behra, written in 1952. It says that his 4-wheel debut was at the mont Ventoux hill-climb in 1950. Apparantly he was competing on a motorbike, when he was offerred a drive in an old Maserati. He set fastest time in his class. The article goes on to say that his next event was the Coup du Salon.

This is clearly wrong as I have other evidence supporting Alessandro's statement that the Montlhery race was in 1949. Is there however, any truth in the Mont Ventoux story? I note that Alessandro says he drove a Maserati there in 1950. Paul Sheldon says that he was entered, but did not arrive, for the San Remo and Albi races in 1949, both times in a Maserati. Would this have been the same as the Mont Ventoux car? Was the Montlhery race his four wheel debut? And were the Monte Carlo rally and Mont Ventoux his only events in 1950?

[alessandro silva]

Sorry Roger, I did not express myself clearly. By "the same year" I ment 1949. Behra was third overall in the Mont ventoux hill-climb in 1949 in a Maserati 4CL ("borrowed") behind the Gordinis of Trintignant and Manzon. It can be conjectured that it was the same car in the DNas at s.remo and Albi. For 1950 I have a retirement at the Le Mans 24hrs race in Gordini shared with Loyer.

[Jeroen Brink]

McRonalds, with Nigel Roebuck you are in good company as to adoration of Jean Behra. I am sure you like his writings on Jean.

[dmj]

http://www.autosport...tter=3&series=5
More of people who liked Behra... Roebuck's story about Depailler proves it.

[McRonalds]

Yeah, that's right and that's a nice article.

I've read a story from Nigel Roebuck about his two special friends Behra/Depailler in his book about his 25 Grand Prix favourites (forgot the name of the book just now) and found it very impressive. Both seem like reatives to him and he thought it is more than chance that both have their accidents on the same date.

[Boniver]

The accident of Behra :

Goethals drive in the race after Behra and say :

“Behra drive very high on the banking (his was the only who drive so high on the banking)

The track was wet, but there was also moss on the road !!!!!

The car breek out, and come on the top of the banking, there was no wall on the top of the banking , but a 1,5 m flat turn-cown.

The car follow the road, on the place between the banking and flad collard,
so that the wheel have no contact with the grond.

Behra stand up in car, doubt for spring out the car.

Then the car come brash on a concrete construction on the top of banking,
construction in WOII for anti air craft guns.

Behra fly out the car, on a flagpole standing 5 m after the concrete construction on the top of the banking

The flagpole break, and Behra roll after the banking, 14m(?) high, on the roof of a VW kever.”

[Roger Clark]

Jean Behra had always been a professional racing driver, first of all on motor-cyles, then in carsand essentially in Grand Prix racing, for the single seater pure racing car had a fascination for Behra since he was a small boy in Nice and pressed his nose on the window of Friedrick's garagge where Rene Dreyfus' Bugatti was kept. It is rather sad, and a little ironical, that Behra should die at the wheel of a sportscar when his real passion had always been with Grand Prix cars. Shortly before his death he had caused quite a stire in racing circles by walking-out on the Scuderia Ferrari after arguements with the team manager and Enzo Ferrari himself, mostly brought about due to general dissatisfaction. When Behra signed up with Ferrari last winter he had seemed all set up to be number one driver, with Hill and Allison as his supporting cast, but then, almost overnight, Ferrari took Brooks into the tema, and though noone was officially named as number one driver, it was obvious that Brooks would be having pride of place. Not unnaturally, this did not make for friendly realtionships within the team, for the mechanics and engineers were torn between their desire to give all their attention to Behra, who was first to join, and who lived in modena, and spent all his time at the factory and was an enthusiastic driver willing willing to work all night in the garage if he couldhelp them, and the need to see that Brooks had the best for he was undoubtedly the best driver in the team and undoubtedly had Mr Ferrari's blessing, but he was a comaritively remote individual only becoming known when practice for a race began. Then Dan Gurney joined the Scuderia and through no fault of his own began to drive as fast as Behra, though naturaly lacking actual race experience and track-craft. Both on sports cars and GRand Prix cars, Behra was finding that gurney was close on his heels and this gave the people at Ferrari who were not pro-Behra an opportunity to make unnecessary remarks in loud voices. On top of this, Behra was the only member of the team who did not speak English, so more often than not he found himself left out of conversations which made his position in the team at race meetings a rather lonely one. While these things did not worry Behra directly, they did total up to an unstaisfactory position in the team, and it was a team that lacked any sort of spirit of co-operation at the best of times.

Behra had a love of racing that was pure passion, and rather than be left with nothing to do when Ferrari was not racing, he had built himspef a Formula 2 Porschr, seeing that Formula 2 was spreading fast on the Continentand also rtealising that this was the time to begin planning for the 1961 Formula 1. Much to Behra's continual regrat, Ferrari would not giv him permission to drive the Porsche in Formula 2 races (though he did relent once), snd while he could not stop Behra running the car and lending it top people, the wholw prooject was not received with enthusiasm at Maranello. After the Reims race, when the Behra Porsche, driven by Hermann, proved to be superior to the works Formula 2 Ferrari, a poor view was taken at the factory. All these things were continually mounting up and finally came to a head when when Ferrari failed to go to the British Grand Prix on the excuse that labour problems prevented the cars being prepared. The outcome was that BEhra terminated his contract with Scuderia Ferrari. While the reason could not be blamed on any one thing in particular, it could be added up to a general dissatisfaction all round, made all the more unhappy be the way his team mates showed the obvious dislike for the tough little Franchman. All drivers have their faults in both their driving and their characters, and equally they all have outstanding points, and, without realising it, Behra caused himself to be disliked by a great many of his rivals on the circuits, not by a fault of his driving, but by one of his most oputstanding personal characteristics. Jean Berhra probably had more "guts" than the majority of todays drivers put together. He never knwe the meaning of fear and in consequence he tended to drive over the limit more often than not, and throughout his 10 years of motor racing he had an enormous number of accidents. THe way he would recover from serious injury and return striaght-away to racing again was quite remarkable. The numbert of times one heard people say after an accident "that is the end of Behra, he will never race again" was quite remarkable, but every time he not only returned, but raced as hard as ever, and with as much enthusiasm, and as much passion for racing and racing cars as ever before. He made no bones about his passion for racing, and seldom would he admit to anyone being a superior driver, and this upset many a Grnad Prix star. Also he did not indulge in self-publicity outside of motor racing, restricting his interests to driving, racing and just "messing around with cars". A lot of people, drivers included, openly disliked Jean Behra, for no other reason than that they were secretly envious of the tough little man who would have the most almighty accident and climb out of the wreckage and come back for more. THese people would have liked to have admired such courage, but for some reason could not, so their feelings turned to obvious dislike in pure cotradistion for what they really felt. Behra was a very self-possessed and confident man, and artificial praise, glamour and "bull" left him singularly unimpressed, even to the point of being openly rude to people and that in itself was more than enough to antagonise a certain section of the motor racing "circus".

Any good driver's death is a loss to motor racing, but in losing Jean Behra we have lost a rare personality in the present age of racing, for he really had a passion for for racing cars that was a joy to have known.

DSJ, Motor Sport September 1959

[McRonalds]

I have heard (or read in Neubauers book ‘Maenner, Frauen und Motoren'), that Alfred Neubauer wanted to sign up Jean Behra for the '55 season as #2-Driver to Juan Fangio. I ask myself if the despotic Mercedes-governor Neubauer and the emmotional (or should I say sentimental) Behra would have worked well together. I remember Neubauer had a lot of trouble with his 'Italic Problem' Luigi Fagioli in '34 - '36, maybe a similar case.

Neubauer wrote he wanted to hire the Frenchman, but he had already signed with Maserati for '55. I wonder if this story is true, 'cause there are a lot of historical inaccuracies in Neubauers book (maybe some of them are his personal view of things)...

[McRonalds]

By the way: does anybody know if Jose Behra is related to Jean. I read that Jose drove some sportscar races (at Le Mans for example). Here is a picture that showed them both: that's jsut like Jean?

[David McKinney]

Jose was Jean's younger brother

Before anyone asks, that is von Frankenburg (subject of another recent thread) on the left, and Edgar Barth on the right

[Jeroen Brink]

Originally posted by McRonalds
Yeah, that's right and that's a nice article.

I've read a story from Nigel Roebuck about his two special friends Behra/Depailler in his book about his 25 Grand Prix favourites (forgot the name of the book just now) and found it very impressive. Both seem like reatives to him and he thought it is more than chance that both have their accidents on the same date.

The book by NR is "Grand Prix Greats" (1986). It says: "My childhood life revolved around Behra, and when I mentioned it Depailler's face lit up: no really? I was the same..

It came as no real surprise, for Behra was small, wiry, tough, unlucky and completely singleminded about motor racing. If he had a counterpart in modern racing I always felt it was Patrick, another man oblivious to the tinsel", so Nigel Roebuck.

However, I think Depailler is preceded by some other drivers in terms of appreciation/having a soft spot for by Roebuck like G. Villeneuve and Amon to name a few. But then again, for the latter this was a mix of friendship and appreciation.

[Carlos Jalife]

José Behra was Jean's younger brother, a good driver, and he partnered Pedro Rodríguez at his debut in Le Mans 1958 when Ricardo Rodríguez was not allowed to run (Pedro 18, Ricardo 16 y.o.) They had a Ferrari 500 there and I interviewed Nicole (Jose's widow) extensively for the bio. The Rodríguez met Jean through Jose and they thought he was a great guy even joked with them about his ear making a joke to Papa Rodríguez. They even went to his tomb to pay their respects in 1960 before their European season, since Jean died when they were in America. Jose remained like an older brother for Pedro and Rcardo, and Pedro lived with the Behras in France for long periods during 1966/67/68 and would stay there everytime he visited Paris up to his death. Actually he left his Porsche 911 in José's care before traveling to meet fate at Nuremberg in July 1971. It was his home in Paris and they both lost their brothers so they bonded incredibly. And since the Behras had no sons, Pedro was also a bit of a son, he'd bring his girlfriends for Nicole to give him an opinion and such. José was a partner with Guy Ligier and Jo Schlesser in a group of dealerships including Ford and Jo was a partner of Pedro, racing since they were all friends. When Jo died, José bought the widow's part a a very fair price and he often helped her. Guy would later quit to go racing fully and José stayed with the business which is still in some nephew's hands to this day and Nicole lives in Switzerland, but she comes sometimes to Mexico to visit Conchita, Pedro' sister , or viceversa, and they share good times reminiscing about their racing families. Funny that once Nicole told me that people would always think in France that José was a mexican friend of Pedro, since the name is Hispanic and he had a much darker skin than Jean, and later they would find out about the Jean connection.

[McRonalds]

This is an interesting story I haven't heard before. I wonder if both Behras had raced together in some kind of competition.

Here is another one of Jose Behra - the earliest one I've found: Jose in silent adoration of his Maserati 200S he drove together with Leon Coulibeuf at LeMans '57 - one year before he replaced Ricardo Rodriguez in the N.A.R.T.-Ferrari at LeMans.

[Carlos Jalife]

Hey, got any pictures of José at Le Mans 1958 with Pedro? I could use them

[Slyder]

I have the video of Jean Berha's fatal accident at Avus

I was even surprised that a video existed of it. I downloaded it from a friend.

For anyone who wants it can e-mail me at catrevilla@hotmail.com

[McRonalds]

Originally posted by Carlos Jalife
Hey, got any pictures of José at Le Mans 1958 with Pedro? I could use them

Sorry, no personal pictures of Jose (yet), but I found some stills and driving pictures of his Ferrari at Le Mans '58...

www.totaaal-extreeem.de/ron/Jose58lemans01.jpg
www.totaaal-extreeem.de/ron/Jose58lemans02.jpg
www.totaaal-extreeem.de/ron/Jose58lemans03.jpg

...and another when from '62 when he drove an OSCA together with George Arents.

www.totaaal-extreeem.de/ron/Jose62lemans01.jpg

I have to do a little more research over the weekend, maybe I will discover more pictures ;)

[Hitch]

Originally posted by Slyder
I have the video of Jean Berha's fatal accident at Avus

I was even surprised that a video existed of it. I downloaded it from a friend.

For anyone who wants it can e-mail me at catrevilla@hotmail.com

...but that's not all. Here's another macabre link concering Jean's death. Comments?!

fred.brosson.free.fr/Cimetiere2.0/Photos/St%20bart/Behra.JPG

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by Hitch



...but that's not all. Here's another macabre link concering Jean's death. Comments?!

fred.brosson.free.fr/Cimetiere2.0/Photos/St%20bart/Behra.JPG

Teissiere Elisabeth nee DALMAS - family?

[McRonalds]

Sorry, can't read French. Any idea what this means or what was written on the tombstone. But obvioulsly it's Behra's grave.

If You some pages further, you will find this one, again in French and I can't read it - but interesting stuff about Jean Behra's F2 Porsche

pfremy.free.fr/persnges.htm#BEHRA

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by McRonalds
Sorry, can't read French. Any idea what this means or what was written on the tombstone. But obvioulsly it's Behra's grave.

AFAI can see:

Il a paye de sa vie ce qu'il aimait
Ici repose
Notre fils, mon epoux et mon pere
Jean Behra
Champion de France Automobile
Mort en competition a l'age de 38 ans
Le 1er aout 1959 a Berlin
Regrets Eternels

He paid with his life for what he loved most
Here rests
Our son, my husband and my father
Jean Behra
French Driver Champion
Died in competition 38 years old
August 1, 1959 in Berlin
Eternal Sorrow

It's a family grave; among the others buried is one Elisabeth Teissiere-Dalmas 1855(?)-1903

scheivlak

[Hitch]

Originally posted by McRonalds
- but interesting stuff about Jean Behra's F2 Porsche

It's a pity there is nothing about the Behra-Porsche. Was it the car, that Behra crashed during the AVUS F2 event?

[McRonalds]

Behra crashed in his RSK Porsche - the Behra Porsche was used only briefly in practice.

Here's some info about the so called Behra-Porsche. Before Porsche got around to building a single-seater, Jean Behra commissioned Valerio Colottli to design him one based on RSK components. During his period with Maserati, 'Jeannot' became friendly with him, when he was the company's chassis and transmission design-specialist, and they both left the company at the end of 1957 when it went into receivership.

The resulting car had a space-frame Chassis, Porsche trailing link and torsion bar front suspension, coil springs and double wishbone rear suspension and was finished by a pleasing body, not unlike Porsche's later 718 F2 car.

Contractual conflicts and then a fatal crash meant that Behra himself raced the car only twice (without sucess), though it went well in other hands.

Behra arranged for Porsche Stuttgart to enter the new car for the Italian lady driver Maria-Theresa de Filippis in the F2 class of the '59 Monte Carlo GP, but with a best practice lap of 1'47;8 she failed to qualify, four seconds per lap slower than Trips's Ferrari Dino, which was fastest F2 qualifier.

Behra then gave the ear its race debut at Pau the following weekend, only to spin early on, losing two laps and later colliding (in typical Behra manner) with Tony Marsh's Cooper while attempting to take fourth place.

For the Reims Coupe de Vitesse the repaired Behra-Porsche was entrusted initially to Colin Davis, but Hans Herrmann took over during practice and qualified it boldly on the outside of the front row, and the race became a battle between the German-driven Behra-Porsche and Moss in the Walker team's Cooper-Borgward. Moss's racecraft finally lured Herrmann into braking too late for a hairpin, the Behra-Porsche slithering up the escape road, quickly rejoining to finish, still rather impressively, in second place.

One week later at Rouen, Herrmann (starting from pole) suffered transmission failure.

Behra reappeared in his neat Italo-German special in the Trophee d'Auvergne F2 round at Clermont-Ferrand, but on lap 16 a fuel pipe split, Behra was losing three laps and finally finished 12th.

After his death it was taken over by the American Camoradi team, who ran it in a couple of F2 races in 1960, but it failed to finish on either occasion. lt did, however, appear in two World Championship races, the 1960 Argentine and Italian GPs. At Buenos Aires, Masten Gregory qualified 16th from 22 starters, ahead of two 2 1/2 -litre Cooper-Maseratis and some local Maserati 250F's and, though four laps down at the end, he was 12th and a classified finisher. Fred Gamble drove it at Monza, where he was extremely slow, finishing not only nine laps down, but seven laps behind the leading F2 car. Behra's memory deserved better.

I think that car still exists - saw pictures of it in a German Porsche book. Racing pictures of the car are scarce - here is one; Hans Herrmann at the start of the Reims F2-race.

[McRonalds]

Here it comes again (wrong URL) :

[Hitch]

Ey, nice picture. Car #44 looks like a Porsche which was used in 1961!!

I heard an American called Vic Meinhardt bought the Behra-Porsche in Zuffenhausen and won with it the 1963 'Formula-Libre-Championship' of the Sport Car Club of America - I don't know what this title means?!

At the end of the sixties Murray Smith bought it and brought it to the Collier Automotive Museum in Naples/Florida. You can still take a look at this car in his museum.

Is it true the basis for this car was a Porsche 550?

[McRonalds]

Originally posted by byrkus
Speaking of the Avus accident: where did the car stop? Did it fly off banking as well, or did it stay on the barrier, or did it slid down tha banking to the lower part of the corner? Just curious about that one.

Here is some more info about Jean's AVUS accident. I freely admit, this AVUS GP was a real offence - not only because Jean lost his life there, this GP.

Financial and political manoeuvrings within the German clubs had led to the traditional Nurburgring being abandoned as the home of the German GP, and this race being run instead at AVUS. The track comprised two legs of prototype Autobahn, linked at the North Turn by a vast wide-radius brick-built banking, and at the South Turn by a flat, ungraded loop.

A 25-lap 1.500ccm sports car race was run that grey and dank afternoon, in drizzle, and during it Jean's private Porsche RSK duelled with the works cars driven by Jo Bonnier and 'Taffy' von Trips. On the second lap of that sports car race, Fritz von d'Orey spun his Porsche coming off the North Turn banking, and pirouetted helplessly into the concrete wall fronting the grandstands, without hurting himself. On the following lap, Carel Godin deBeaufort lost his sister Porsche in the middle of the steep brick-paved banking, spun up to the top... and disappeared clean over the lip. To general astonishment the giant Dutchman reappeared unabashed at the paddock entrance, with the front of his car smashed in, having careered down the reverse side of the banking into the Fahrerlager, and then, having picked his way out between the parked transporters and F1 cars, he rejoined the race - the organizers spending two laps recovering from their amazement before black-flagging him.

But the horror went on: Meanwhile, Jean had been slipstreaming the two works cars of Bonnier and Trips until, on lap 4, kurtling onto the slick banking, his RSK's rear tyrs lost adhesion and the blue car spun tail-first up to the top of the banking, but in this case is smashed into a concrete block house upon the lip with thunderous impact.

AVUS - the worst racetrack in the world - and the North turn is not built correctly. That's the worlds that Stirling Moss told journalists and well, if You look at the first page of the German newspaper BILD below, you'll easily see that there was another horrifying accident on sunday, concerning Behra's friend Hans Herrmann. That reminds me in a fatal way on that hideous weekend at Imola '94 - when nobody was able to stop all that chaos.

[Hitch]

Originally posted by McRonalds


...and the blue car spun tail-first up to the top of the banking, but in this case is smashed into a concrete block house upon the lip with thunderous impact.

Blue? I always thought this car was silver like all the other Porsches at that time. In its contemporary form the car IS silver. And during it's first GP at Monaco it was silver too (saw pictures in colour from that).

[McRonalds]

I'm probably wrong...??!! At the Avus the car appeared silver - as far as one can say that, for I've only see b/w pictures of that car.

[David McKinney]

Originally posted by Hitch
And during it's first GP at Monaco it was silver too (saw pictures in colour from that).

That was the Behra-Porsche, not (as the next picture shows) the Avus RSK. Mind you, the RSK looks more silver than blue in that pic

[McRonalds]

Originally posted by David McKinney

That was the Behra-Porsche, not (as the next picture shows) the Avus RSK. Mind you, the RSK looks more silver than blue in that pic

Of course the RSK was silver. But there's a picture of the Behra-Porsche at MRR too, but again only b/w. Who will tell if this is blue or silver. To me it looks silver...



www.MotorRacingRetro.i12.com/gp59/59ger12.htm

[Carlos Jalife]

To McR:
the second picture actually has Ricardo sitting in the pit, he is the guy with the white windbreaker and it is an unbelievably good one I'd never seen.
Thanks!!!!!!!!!

[Hitch]

Originally posted by McRonalds
This is an interesting story I haven't heard before. I wonder if both Behras had raced together in some kind of competition.

Yes, they did - as far as I know they drove the Tour de France together in 1956 - in a Porsche Carrera 1500. They finished 4th.