V12 in the dunes

Chris Amon, driving a Matra MS120B, leads his teammate Jean-Pierre Beltoise during the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix, held at the Zandvoort circuit. The beautiful blue cars, powered by the Matra V12 engine and its fabulous sound, were forced to retire due to mechanical problems (photo above). Note the different air intakes on the two Matras, and the threatening clouds behind them.

The race, run in torrential rain, will be summed up as a magnificent duel between the two great rain specialists, both using Firestone tires, Jacky Ickx (Ferrari) and Pedro Rodriguez (BRM), who will finish, in that order, one lap ahead of the third.

The Matra MS120 was – after the MS9, MS10, MS11, and MS80 – the sixth and final Formula One car produced by Matra. It was designed by engineers Gérard Ducarouge and Bernard Boyer. This car enabled its drivers to achieve five podium finishes and two pole positions, but no victories in the Formula One World Championship.

However, Chris Amon won the 1971 Argentine Grand Prix at its wheel (photo below), but this race did not yet count towards the F1 world championship and the New Zealander will therefore remain in the history books, but not for us, without a victory.