Johnny Servoz-Gavin

Servoz-Gavin was born in Grenoble, a city in the foothills of the Alps. As a teenager he worked as a ski instructor, during which time he became known as "Johnny".^[1]

Servoz-Gavin's early work included developing sports cars for Matra.^[2] After initially competing in rallying, Servoz-Gavin moved to single-seater racing. He had previously attended the racing drivers' school at the Magny-Cours circuit in the centre of France, (from which he was "thrown out")^[3] and in 1965 entered the French Formula Three Championship in a private Brabham BT18.^[2] By the late 1960s, Servoz-Gavin was a rising star, following in the footsteps of Jacky Ickx and Jean-Pierre Beltoise. He became French Formula Three Champion in 1966 driving a works Matra MS5, and in 1969 he won the European Formula Two Championship.^[1]

His Formula Three racing performances won Servoz-Gavin the attention of Matra, resulting in his moving into Formula One.^[2] His best season was 1968, particularly the 1968 Italian Grand Prix in which he finished second and scored six points, driving a Matra. He also impressed at the Monaco Grand Prix, entering as Jackie Stewart's stand-in, starting from the front row of the grid,^[1] and leading from Graham Hill at the start, until his race ended early after clipping a barrier and breaking a driveshaft in a similar incident to the one that resulted in the death of Lorenzo Bandini in the Monaco Grand Prix the previous year.^[1] Next year, he also scored a sixth place in the 1969 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, which secured him a place in history as the only driver ever to score a world championship point with a four-wheel-driven Formula One car, the Matra MS84.^[3]

Servoz-Gavin suffered an eye injury in an off-road event in the winter of 1969–70, and had been worrying that his eyesight had been damaged.^[1] Driving a March 701, for the Tyrrell^[3] team he finished fifth (yet last) in the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama. Then after hitting a barrier again, and failing to qualify for the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix he decided to retire.^[1] Servoz-Gavin felt that the risks inherent in Formula One and racing in general were not worthwhile but the problems with his vision may have influenced his decision.^[3]

In 1969, Servoz-Gavin participated in Matra endurance events, co-driving with Pedro Rodríguez.^[2]

A man of good looks and high society, he was among a number of Formula One drivers rumoured to be the unknown driver in Claude Lelouch's 1977 short footage film C'était un rendez-vous, although Lelouch claimed to have driven the car himself.^[4][5]

After his racing career was over, Servoz-Gavin lived on a houseboat and suffered serious burns when a gas bottle exploded on his boat in 1982.^[4] He died in May 2006 as the result of a pulmonary embolism, following a period of ill health. He was 64 years old.^[2]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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