Johnny Servoz-Gavin

Template:Short description {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters | check | ignoreblank = y | unknown = Template:Main other | preview = Page using Template:Infobox F1 driver with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | embed | child | subbox | name | Name | image | Image | image_size | upright | image_upright | alt | caption | birth_name | birth_date | birth_place | death_date | death_place | relations | relatives | nationality | Nationality | years | Years | teams | Teams | Team(s) | team | Team | engines | Engines | current_team | current team | Current team | 2025 Team | 2026 Team | car_number | car number | Car number | races | Races | championships | Championships | wins | Wins | podiums | Podiums | points | Points | poles | Poles | fastest_laps | fastest laps | Fastest laps | first_race | first race | First race | first_win | first win | First win | last_win | last win | Last win | last_race | last race | Last race | last_position | last position | Last position | last_season | last season | Last season | bf1_years | bf1 years | BF1 Years | bf1_races | bf1 races | BF1 Races | bf1_championships | bf1 championships | BF1 Championships | bf1_wins | bf1 wins | BF1 Wins | bf1_podiums | bf1 podiums | BF1 Podiums | bf1_points | bf1 points | BF1 Points | bf1_poles | bf1 poles | BF1 Poles | bf1_fastest_laps | bf1 fastest laps | BF1 Fastest laps | signature | signature_size | signature alt | signature_alt | website | module | module1 | module2 | module3 | module4 | module5 | record template1 | record template2 | record template3 | record template4 | record template5 | career template1 | career template2 | career template3 | career template4 | career template5 | updated | Updated }} Georges-Francis "Johnny" Servoz-Gavin (18 January 1942 – 29 May 2006)<ref name=Obituary>Template:Cite news</ref> was a French motor racing driver in both sportscars and single seaters.

He participated in 13 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix between 1967 and 1970, qualifying in all but one. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of nine championship points. He drove for the Tyrrell Formula One team, mainly as Jackie Stewart's teammate.

Early life

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".<ref name=Obituary />

Career

Lower formulae

Servoz-Gavin's early work included developing sports cars for Matra.<ref name =McDonough/> 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")<ref name ="ReferenceA"/> and in 1965 entered the French Formula Three Championship in a private Brabham BT18.<ref name =McDonough/> 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.<ref name =Obituary/>

Formula One

His Formula Three racing performances won Servoz-Gavin the attention of Matra, resulting in his moving into Formula One.<ref name=McDonough/> 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,<ref name=Obituary/> 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.<ref name=Obituary/> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

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.<ref name=Obituary/> Driving a March 701, for the Tyrrell<ref name="ReferenceA"/> 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.<ref name =Obituary/> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite book</ref>

Other motorsport interests

In 1969, Servoz-Gavin participated in Matra endurance events, co-driving with Pedro Rodríguez.<ref name =McDonough/>

Later life

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.<ref name="gp">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="gp" /> He died in May 2006 as the result of a pulmonary embolism, following a period of ill health. He was 64 years old.<ref name=McDonough>Template:Cite book</ref>

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
1966	Template:Flagicon Matra Sports SARL	Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra MS620-BRM	P 2.0	112	DNF	DNF
1967	Template:Flagicon Equipe Matra Sports	Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra MS630-BRM	P 2.0	155	DNF	DNF
1968	Template:Flagicon Equipe Matra Sports	Template:Flagicon Henri Pescarolo	Matra MS630	P 3.0	283	DNF	DNF
1969	Template:Flagicon Equipe Matra Elf	Template:Flagicon Herbert Müller	Matra MS630	P 3.0	158	DNF	DNF
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Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Template:Tooltip	Pts
Template:F2	Matra Sports	Matra MS5	Ford	SNE	SIL	NÜR Template:Small	HOC	TUL Template:Tooltip	JAR Template:Tooltip	ZAN Template:Small	PER Template:Tooltip	BRH		6th	15
		Matra MS7											VAL Template:Small
Template:F2	Matra Sports	Matra MS7	Ford	HOC	THR	JAR	PAL Template:Small	TUL	ZAN	PER	HOC	VAL		NC	0
Template:F2	Matra International	Matra MS7	Ford	THR Template:Tooltip	HOC Template:Tooltip	NÜR Template:Tooltip	JAR Template:Tooltip	TUL	PER Template:Tooltip	VAL Template:Small				1st	37

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Template:Tooltip	Pts
1967	Matra Sports	Matra MS5 (F2)	Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4	RSA	MON Template:Small	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	CAN	ITA	USA	MEX			NC	0
1968	Matra International	Matra MS10	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA	ESP	MON Template:Small	BEL	NED				ITA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	USA	MEX Template:Small		13th	6
	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T86B	BRM P101 3.0 V12						FRA Template:Small	GBR	GER
1969	Matra International	Matra MS7 (F2)	Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER Template:Small	ITA						17th	1
		Matra MS84	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8									CAN Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small
1970	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX	20th	2
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