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Jean Behra

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Jean Behra
Born
Jean Marie Behra

(1921-02-16)16 February 1921
Died1 August 1959(1959-08-01) (aged 38)
NationalityFrance French
RelativesJosé Behra (brother)
Jean-Paul Behra (son)
Formula One World Championship career
Active years1952 – 1959
TeamsGordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari
Entries53 (52 starts)[a]
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums9
Career points51 17
Pole positions0
Fastest laps1
First entry1952 Swiss Grand Prix
Last entry1959 French Grand Prix
Jean Behra (left) with Fritz Huschke von Hanstein, Richard von Frankenberg and Edgar Barth

Jean Marie Behra (16 February 1921 – 1 August 1959) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams.

Appearance and personality

[edit]

Behra was small in stature, stocky, and weighed 178 pounds.[3] Behra had big shoulders and was scarred from 12 crashes. In 1955 he had an ear torn off from a collision. He sometimes drove magnificently, while at other times he drove with a lack of enthusiasm.[4] Behra was known for being hard-charging and temperamental, which led to confrontations with Ferrari team managers after being accused of overstressing engines at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Reims Grand Prix race in 1959. He was dismissed from the Ferrari team after assaulting a team manager, shortly before his death.

Career synopsis

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He raced motorcycles for Moto Guzzi prior to changing to sports cars and Grand Prix racing. In January 1950 he drove (with Julio Quinlin) a Simca 8 coupé to third place in the Monte Carlo Rally. Behra began driving cars competitively in 1952. Joakim Bonnier claimed that he learned the majority of his racing skill from Behra.[3] Although he never achieved victory in a World Championship Formula One race, he managed an unquenchable thirst for motorsport, being considered a formidable competitor to the day he died. He hit the headlines when he won the non-title 1952 Reims Grand Prix. Between then and 1959 he scored many victories, but none in Formula One World Championship races.

Gordini

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Behra was in a Gordini in the Panamericana road race in the Mexican state of Oaxaca in November 1952. He won the first stage of the five-day race from Mexico's southern border to the United States border at Ciudad Juárez near El Paso. He started 19th and finished with a time of 3 hours, 41 minutes, and 44 seconds.[5] On the second day of competition Behra crashed his car on a curve approximately fifty miles from Puebla.[6] In April 1954 Behra passed the leader in the last ten minutes on his way to victory in the Grand Prix of Pau, France. He finished 200 yards (180 m) ahead of Maurice Trintignant after having to make many pit stops due to mechanical trouble. Behra drove a six-cylinder Gordini.[7]

Maserati

[edit]

Behra finished first at the Grand Prix de Pau for a second consecutive year, this time at the wheel of a Maserati. Alberto Ascari led until the 19th lap but dropped back after brake failure. A crowd of 50,000 watched as only eleven of sixteen starters finished the race.[8] Behra and Luigi Musso were teammates in the 1,008 kilometer Supercortemaggiore Grand Prix at Monza, Italy. The two Italians shared a 3000cc Maserati that won and established course and lap records for 6.3 kilometer track.[9]

Behra had surgery on his leg in June 1956, forcing him to miss a 1,000 kilometer Monza Grand Prix.[10] He earned the pole position for the Rouen GP, a non-championship race for 3000cc sports cars, in July 1956.[11] His Maserati was clocked at an average speed of nearly 155.46 kilometers per hour.[12] Behra drove a Maserati to capture the Grand Prix of Rome, a 2000cc sports car event, in October 1956. His winning distance was 166.030 kilometers. He covered one lap in 2 minutes, 16.9 seconds, to average 174.003 kilometers an hour. This established a record for the Castelfusano track.[13]

Behra had his best season in the Formula One World Championship in 1956, finishing 4th overall in the championship, with 5 podiums out of 7 starts.

In April 1957 Behra turned in the quickest time for the Pau Grand Prix. He circuited the 2.77 meter course in 1 minute 35.7 seconds, which was a half second slower than his lap record time. The race covered a distance of 304.6 kilometers or about 190 miles (310 km).[14] Behra won the race which was run through the streets of Pau, with an average speed of 62.7 mph (100.9 km/h).[15] Behra was injured while testing a car for the Mille Miglia in May 1957. He recovered and entered a Maserati in the 24 hours of Le Mans on 22 June.[16] Behra was triumphant in a Maserati at Kristianstad, Sweden in August 1957. He drove in a Swedish 6-hour Grand Prix at the Rabelov, 6,537 meter, asphalt track.[17] He followed this with a win in the Grand Prix of Modena, Italy in September.[18]

Porsche

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Behra drove a Porsche to victory in the 6th Rouen Grand Prix. He bested the British drivers, Graham Hill and Alan Stacey.[19] Behra took 4th place at Oporto in the 1958 Portuguese Grand Prix, driving for BRM.[20] He drove a Porsche to achieve first place in the Grand Prix of Berlin, Germany held in September. He navigated the twenty circuits of the 5.19-mile (8.35 km) track with a time of 128.2 mph (206.3 km/h). in 48 minutes, 14.8 seconds.[21] Altogether he scored wins in 8 straight European races in 1958. In each sports car event he piloted a Porsche Spyder. In Formula One he drove exclusively for BRM that year.[3] Behra finished 4th at Riverside International Raceway in a small Porsche RSK, in October 1958. He made a quick exit and took an airplane to Europe, where he left for the Grand Prix of Morocco at Casablanca. He was in such a hurry that he left Riverside, California in an ambulance to make his flight.[22]

Final season and death

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In 1959 he moved to Ferrari where he partnered with Tony Brooks. Behra won a 200-mile (320 km) international race of Formula One cars at Aintree, in April 1959. He averaged 88.7 miles per hour in an event in which Brooks took second place, 10 seconds behind.[23]

While still contracted to the team, he began development of a Formula Two car based on a Porsche 718 RSK. The team, known as Behra-Porsche, entered the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix with Maria Teresa de Filippis at the wheel but did not qualify. Despite the lack of initial success, Behra regarded the project as "tremendous fun" and was rewarded when Hans Herrmann drove the car to second in the prestigious Reims F2 race supporting that year's French Grand Prix. In so doing, Behra had beaten Scuderia Ferrari's own F2 entries, enraging Enzo Ferrari and doing little to ease tensions in an already strained relationship with the team.[24] Things came to a head later that weekend, after he retired from the Grand Prix with a piston failure. Behra was involved in a strong discussion in a restaurant in which he punched team manager Romolo Tavoni and another patron, and was instantly dismissed from the team.

Less than a month later he crashed his Porsche RSK in rainy weather in the sports car race that preceded the German Grand Prix at AVUS, in Berlin, Germany.[25] He was thrown from his car and fatally injured when he hit a flagpole, causing a skull fracture.

The sports car race featured entries of small, under 1,500 c.c. engine capacity. After three laps Behra was third behind Wolfgang von Trips and Bonnier, who eventually finished one and two. The AVUS was unique among race tracks. It used a strip of the Autobahn 2.5 miles (4.0 km) in length. The north and south bound lanes were fifty feet apart. At one end was a hairpin turn which drivers negotiated at around 30 mph (48 km/h). At the other end was a 30-foot (9.1 m) high, steeply banked loop. Behra lost control in the pouring rain, while going 110 mph (180 km/h). The Porsche began to fishtail with the tail of the car going higher and higher up the slick, steep bank. Then the Porsche spun and went over the top of the banking, with its nose pointing toward the sky. It landed heavily on its side on top of the banking. It remained there wrecked, while the race continued on underneath. Behra was thrown out and for a fleeting moment he could be seen against the background of the sky, with his arms outstretched as though attempting to fly. He impacted one of eight flagpoles arranged at the summit of the embankment which bore the flags of the competing nations. The flagpole toppled over when Behra collided with it, about halfway to its top.

Behra came down into trees and rolled almost into a street where drivers and cars often waited in a paddock to practice. A doctor arrived from a Red Cross ambulance close by. He examined Behra briefly and shook his head. A hospital bulletin stated that Behra broke most of his ribs in addition to the skull fracture which killed him.[25] Currently AVUS is a vital part of the German public highway system as Autobahn A 115.

Mourning

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Behra was buried in Nice, France on 7 August, six days after his fatal crash. He had three funeral services: one in Berlin, another in Paris, and a final one in Nice. At the Nice service, 3,000 mourners lined the streets from wall to wall.

Behra left a nineteen-year-old son, Jean Paul. Behra's demise left only Maurice Trintignant among living French drivers of fame. Trintignant comforted Behra's family and called on the young men of France to defend the colours of their country in international motor racing. Conspicuously absent among those present in the racing community was Enzo Ferrari. He dropped Behra as a factory driver ten days before his death when he learned that Behra was going to race a Porsche at Avus in breach of their agreement and sent no remembrance to the funeral masses.[26]

Racing record

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Complete Formula One World Championship results

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(key) (Race in italics indicates fastest lap (shared))

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points
1951 Equipe Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini Straight-4 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA
Ret
ESP NC 0
1952 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 16 Gordini
Straight-6
SUI
3
500 BEL
Ret
FRA
7
GBR GER
5
NED
Ret
ITA
Ret
11th 6
1953 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 16 Gordini
Straight-6
ARG
6
500 NED BEL
Ret
FRA
10
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
SUI
Ret
ITA NC 0
1954 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 16 Gordini
Straight-6
ARG
DSQ
500 BEL
Ret
FRA
6
GBR
Ret
GER
10
SUI
Ret
ITA
Ret
ESP
Ret
26th 17
1955 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati
Straight-6
ARG
6 *
MON
3 †
500 BEL
5 ‡
NED
6
GBR
Ret
ITA
4
9th 6
1956 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati
Straight-6
ARG
2
MON
3
500 BEL
7
FRA
3
GBR
3
GER
3
ITA
Ret
4th 22
1957 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati
Straight-6
ARG
2
MON 500 FRA
6
GBR
Ret
GER
6
PES
Ret
11th 6
Maserati V12 ITA
Ret
1958 Ken Kavanagh Maserati 250F Maserati
Straight-6
ARG
5
11th 9
Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM Straight-4 MON
Ret
NED
3
500 BEL
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
POR
4
ITA
Ret
MOR
Ret
1959 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Dino 246 Ferrari V6 MON
Ret
500 NED
5
FRA
Ret
GBR 17th 2
Jean Behra Behra-Porsche RSK Porsche Flat-4 GER
DNS
POR ITA USA
* Indicates shared drive with Harry Schell
† Indicates shared drive with Cesare Perdisa
‡ Indicates shared drive with Roberto Mieres

Non-Championship Formula One results

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(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
1951 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 16 Gordini
Straight-6
SYR PAU RIC SRM BOR INT PAR ULS SCO NED ALB
6
PES BAR GOO
1952 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 11 Gordini
Straight-6
RIO SYR VAL RIC LAV PAU
3
IBS
Gordini Type 15 MAR
NC
AST INT
Ret
ELÄ NAP EIF
Gordini Type 16 PAR
Ret
ALB
Ret
FRO ULS MNZ LAC
1
ESS MAR
1
SAB
DNS
CAE
2
DAI COM
3
NAT NAT BAU
Ret
MOD
Ret
CAD SKA MAD AVU JOE NEW RIO
1953 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 16 Gordini
Straight-6
SYR PAU
Ret
LAV AST BOR INT ELÄ NAP ULS
DNA
WIN FRO COR EIF ALB PRI ESS MID ROU
Ret
CRY AVU USF LAC
Ret
BRI CHE SAB
NC
NEW CAD
3
RED SKA LON MOD
Ret
MAD JOE CUR
1954 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 16 Gordini
Straight-6
SYR PAU
1
LAV BOR
Ret
INT
2
BAR
3
CUR ROM
4*
FRO COR BRC CRY ROU
DSQ
CAE
3†
AUG COR OUT
Ret
RED PES
5
JOE CAD
1
BER
Ret
GOO DAI
16
1955 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati Straight-6 BUE VLN
Ret
PAU
1
GLV BOR
1
INT NAP
4
ALB CUR CRN LON REC RDX TLG OUL AVO SYR
1956 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati Straight-6 BUE
3
GLV SYR
Ret
AIN INT NAP 100 VNW CAE BRH
1957 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati Straight-6 BUE
2
SYR
Ret
PAU
1
GLV NAP RMS
2
MOD
1
MOR
1
Jean Behra BRM P25 BRM Straight-4 CAE
1
INT
1
1958 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM Straight-4 BUE GLV
Ret
SYR AIN
Ret
INT
4
CAE
Ret
1959 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Dino 246 Ferrari V6 BUE GLV AIN
1
INT OUL SIL
* Indicates shared drive with André Simon
† Indicates shared drive with Jacques Pollet

Notes

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  1. ^ Behra secretly replaced the unwell Maurice Trintignant for the race of the 1951 Italian Grand Prix. Team principal Amédée Gordini did not inform the race organizers about the switch as it would have cut the team's starting fee. Behra competed in the race but wasn't officially credited with the race start.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ "Jean Behra - Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "Seasons - Italy 1951". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Behra Arrives To Drive In $14,500 U.S. Grand Prix, Los Angeles Times, October 10, 1958, Page C1.
  4. ^ Grand Prix Drivers Accentuate The Positive, The New York Times, May 3, 1959, Page S7.
  5. ^ Behra and Faulkner Lead Sections On First Leg of Mexican Auto Race, New York Times, November 20, 1952, Page 41.
  6. ^ Italian Auto Pilot Paces Mexican Race, New York Times, November 21, 1952, Page 32.
  7. ^ Behra Wins Pau Auto Race, New York Times, April 20, 1954, Page 37.
  8. ^ Behra Takes Pau Race; Italian Driver Is Killed, New York Times, April 12, 1955, Page 34.
  9. ^ Behra, Musso Take Monza Race, New York Times, May 30, 1955, Page 9.
  10. ^ Behra Faces Surgery, New York Times, June 20, 1956, Page 37.
  11. ^ "GP Rouen 1956 - Grid - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  12. ^ Behra At Pole Position, New York Times, July 8, 1956, Page 144.
  13. ^ Behra Of France Takes Auto Race, October 22, 1956, Page 47.
  14. ^ Behra Has Fast Trial, April 21, 1957, Page 183.
  15. ^ Behra's Auto First In Pau Grand Prix, New York Times, April 23, 1957, Page 37.
  16. ^ Jean Behra Rides Again After Accident, The Washington Post and Times-Herald, Page C5.
  17. ^ Behra Takes Auto Race, New York Times, August 12, 1957, Page 23.
  18. ^ Briefs, Los Angeles Times, September 23, 1957, Page C2.
  19. ^ Behra Takes Rouen Race, New York Times, June 9, 1958, Page 32.
  20. ^ Moss Wins Portugal's Grand Prix, The Washington Post and Times-Herald, August 25, 1958, Page A15.
  21. ^ Behra's Porsche Wins, New York Times, September 22, 1958, Page 36.
  22. ^ Behra Makes Hurried Departure From Race, Los Angeles Times, October 13, 1958, Page C2.
  23. ^ Behra's Ferrari First At Aintree, New York Times, April 19, 1959, Page S1.
  24. ^ "1958 Porsche-Behra Formula 2 - Revs Institute". Revs Institute. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  25. ^ a b Jean Behra Killed In Race Crack-Up, New York Times, August 2, 1959, Page S1.
  26. ^ A Tribute To Behra, New York Times, August 11, 1959, Page 30.
Sporting positions
Preceded by BRDC International Trophy
Winner

1957
Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by
Juan Manuel Fangio
52 entries, 51 starts
(1950 – 1958)
Most Grand Prix entries
53 entries, 52 starts
(1950 – 1959),
53rd at the 1959 German GP
Succeeded by
Harry Schell
56 entries (56 starts),
54th at the 1959 Italian GP