The late 60s were a chaotic and dangerous time to be a Formula One driver, the heroic few who drove these untamable beasts stand out as some of the best drivers the sport has ever seen. Here are the Honda RA301 and the Matra MS11 for Assetto Corsa.
The 1968 Formula One season was the 22nd running of the World Championship contested over 12 Grands Prix. The eventual winner of the driver's title would be Graham Hill in his Lotus-Ford; it was the second and final driver's title for the charismatic Englishman.
1967 World Drivers Champion Denny Hulme driving for McLaren at Watkins Glenn. Image: RTSanderson on WikiMedia commons for free distribution CC BY-SA 3.0
The 1968 season was one of triumph and tragedy. Four Grand Prix drivers losing their lives - though just one of them at an F1 event: Jo Schlesser passed away following a fiery French GP crash that showed the dangers of using magnesium for race car construction. Two-time World Champion Jim Clark died in an F2 race at Hockenheim, Mike Spence had a fatal crash during Indy 500 practice, and Ludovico Scarfiotti did not survive an accident during a hillclimb event.
At the end of the 1968 season, a turn towards safety was introduced, famously led by Jackie Stewart, after deaths and several near misses in the late 1960s. A movement that slowly brought the number of driver deaths down decade upon decade.
Jim Clark's memorial at the Hockenheimring, Germany. Image: Jernejl on WikiMedia commons for free distribution CC BY-SA 3.0
1968 also saw the debut of front and rear wings for the first time in the history of the sport. Colin Chapman fitted a small front wing to the Lotus 49 and a lavishly big wing to the rear. Ferrari and Brabham soon caught onto this trend and had suspension-mounted wings by the start of the rounds in Monaco and Spa.
For the season finale in Mexico City, every team was running rear and front wings. A technology that has persisted right through to modern-day Formula One, although the high-mounted wings would be mandated to be mounted lower mid-season in 1969 after multiple dangerous failures of the wing struts.
John Surtees' Honda RA301 at the 1968 German Grand Prix. Image: Spurzem on WikiMedia Commons for free distribution CC BY-SA 2.0 de
French driver Jo Schlesser was signed to drive the experimental air-cooled Honda at his home race, the 1968 French Grand Prix at Rouen-les-Essarts. The Honda RA302 was skinned in magnesium to save weight.
However, the car proved to be a death trap. On just the third lap, Schlesser crashed heavily at the Six Frères turn, and the car exploded after rolling multiple times with a full tank of fuel onboard, killing the local hero instantly in just his third Grand Prix.
It was the only time the RA302 ever saw racing action in a Grand Prix, and Schlesser's death prompted Honda to withdraw from Formula One at the end of the season.
Surtees would end the season with just three classified finishes, a second-place finish at the French Grand Prix, third place at Wakins Glenn and fifth at his home race at Silverstone.
Jean-Pierre Beltoise leading Jackie Stewart at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix. Image: Evers, Joost on WikiMedia Commons for free distribution CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
The team missed the first two rounds of the championship preparing their car. However, they would go on to finish just five races all year. One second place at Zandvoort for lead driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise was the only visit to the podium for the outfit in 1968. Jackie Stewart won that race in Zandvoort for Matra International - the team that would later become Tyrrell - in the predecessor Matra MS10.
Despite the older car winning the race, Beltoise did manage to set the fastest lap, proving that if the engine could learn to survive a race distance, the Matra team were a force to be reckoned with.
The cars are designed from the ground up and it shows. The quality of the driving and the feedback is sublime. Both the RA301 and the MS11 draw you into the experience of driving them and before you know it, an hour has gone by and you have been simply lapping trying to nail a clean and fast lap!
Two Honda RA301s at Watkins Glen, a circuit in which one car didn't make the start and the other retired with overheating issues in 1968.
The RA301 is the more lively of the two cars, similarly to real life, it feels unpolished and loose. The car is not happy when you push it and you have to fight with everything you have to keep it pointing in the right direction.
The MS11 is the opposite end of the scale. The car feels much more planted to the tarmac, despite having the less extreme aero. This was especially obvious through the first sector of the classic layout of Watkins Glen. The flowing right-left-right was averaging about twenty miles per hour quicker in the MS11 compared to the RA301.
Despite the positives, the sound does let the cars down slightly. Both have the same echoey vague sound so many Assetto Corsa mods suffer from. This is not a deal breaker, the cars are a work in progress and the sound quality will undoubtedly be addressed as and when the creator, Emill_1988, can get to it.
The Matra MS11's understated wing compared to the Honda RA301's offering.
These cars are fantastic to race against each other. The Assetto Corsa AI, for all their faults, do handle these cars competitively and a half-distance Gold Cup Grand Prix recreation race at classic Oulton Park was unbeatable for immersion and fun factor.
There are plenty of other cars within the 1968 season, could we see a full grid one day? For now, however, these two V12-powered from the late sixties are fantastic fun and bring vintage Formula One alive once again. Check out the Honda RA301 and the Matra MS11 right here on OverTake.
Honda RA301 at Oulton Park Gold Cup recreation.
What do you think about the Honda RA301 and the Matra MS11? Let us know on X @OverTake_gg or down in the comments below!
The 1968 Formula One season was the 22nd running of the World Championship contested over 12 Grands Prix. The eventual winner of the driver's title would be Graham Hill in his Lotus-Ford; it was the second and final driver's title for the charismatic Englishman.
1967 World Drivers Champion Denny Hulme driving for McLaren at Watkins Glenn. Image: RTSanderson on WikiMedia commons for free distribution CC BY-SA 3.0
The 1968 season was one of triumph and tragedy. Four Grand Prix drivers losing their lives - though just one of them at an F1 event: Jo Schlesser passed away following a fiery French GP crash that showed the dangers of using magnesium for race car construction. Two-time World Champion Jim Clark died in an F2 race at Hockenheim, Mike Spence had a fatal crash during Indy 500 practice, and Ludovico Scarfiotti did not survive an accident during a hillclimb event.
At the end of the 1968 season, a turn towards safety was introduced, famously led by Jackie Stewart, after deaths and several near misses in the late 1960s. A movement that slowly brought the number of driver deaths down decade upon decade.
Jim Clark's memorial at the Hockenheimring, Germany. Image: Jernejl on WikiMedia commons for free distribution CC BY-SA 3.0
1968 also saw the debut of front and rear wings for the first time in the history of the sport. Colin Chapman fitted a small front wing to the Lotus 49 and a lavishly big wing to the rear. Ferrari and Brabham soon caught onto this trend and had suspension-mounted wings by the start of the rounds in Monaco and Spa.
For the season finale in Mexico City, every team was running rear and front wings. A technology that has persisted right through to modern-day Formula One, although the high-mounted wings would be mandated to be mounted lower mid-season in 1969 after multiple dangerous failures of the wing struts.
Honda's Flailing Formula One exit
But back to 1968. As much as Honda is a name synonymous with Formula One and motorsport as a whole in today's age, the Japanese manufacturer's works effort was a back-of-the-pack team in Formula One with an unreliable and devastatingly deadly machine. The experimental air-cooled and magnesium-bodied Honda RA302 was so dangerous that lead driver John Surtees refused to compete in the car opting to race the older RA301 instead.John Surtees' Honda RA301 at the 1968 German Grand Prix. Image: Spurzem on WikiMedia Commons for free distribution CC BY-SA 2.0 de
French driver Jo Schlesser was signed to drive the experimental air-cooled Honda at his home race, the 1968 French Grand Prix at Rouen-les-Essarts. The Honda RA302 was skinned in magnesium to save weight.
However, the car proved to be a death trap. On just the third lap, Schlesser crashed heavily at the Six Frères turn, and the car exploded after rolling multiple times with a full tank of fuel onboard, killing the local hero instantly in just his third Grand Prix.
It was the only time the RA302 ever saw racing action in a Grand Prix, and Schlesser's death prompted Honda to withdraw from Formula One at the end of the season.
Surtees would end the season with just three classified finishes, a second-place finish at the French Grand Prix, third place at Wakins Glenn and fifth at his home race at Silverstone.
Matra's V12 Nightmare
Whilst not a household name, Matra were a vital piece in the Formula One jigsaw back in the 1960s. The French marque, originally an aeroplane manufacturer, would contest the 1968 championship with the MS11 with a V12 engine strapped to the back. Whilst the car was as fast as anything else on the grid, the reliability of the engine crippled the team tremendously.Jean-Pierre Beltoise leading Jackie Stewart at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix. Image: Evers, Joost on WikiMedia Commons for free distribution CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
The team missed the first two rounds of the championship preparing their car. However, they would go on to finish just five races all year. One second place at Zandvoort for lead driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise was the only visit to the podium for the outfit in 1968. Jackie Stewart won that race in Zandvoort for Matra International - the team that would later become Tyrrell - in the predecessor Matra MS10.
Despite the older car winning the race, Beltoise did manage to set the fastest lap, proving that if the engine could learn to survive a race distance, the Matra team were a force to be reckoned with.
How do they drive in Assetto Corsa?
Thankfully, sim racing takes the reliability issues and the dangerous nature of these cars out of the equation. Mod creator Emil_1988 debuts here on OverTake with these two fantastic efforts at the Honda RA301 and the Matra MS11.The cars are designed from the ground up and it shows. The quality of the driving and the feedback is sublime. Both the RA301 and the MS11 draw you into the experience of driving them and before you know it, an hour has gone by and you have been simply lapping trying to nail a clean and fast lap!
Two Honda RA301s at Watkins Glen, a circuit in which one car didn't make the start and the other retired with overheating issues in 1968.
The RA301 is the more lively of the two cars, similarly to real life, it feels unpolished and loose. The car is not happy when you push it and you have to fight with everything you have to keep it pointing in the right direction.
The MS11 is the opposite end of the scale. The car feels much more planted to the tarmac, despite having the less extreme aero. This was especially obvious through the first sector of the classic layout of Watkins Glen. The flowing right-left-right was averaging about twenty miles per hour quicker in the MS11 compared to the RA301.
Despite the positives, the sound does let the cars down slightly. Both have the same echoey vague sound so many Assetto Corsa mods suffer from. This is not a deal breaker, the cars are a work in progress and the sound quality will undoubtedly be addressed as and when the creator, Emill_1988, can get to it.
The Matra MS11's understated wing compared to the Honda RA301's offering.
These cars are fantastic to race against each other. The Assetto Corsa AI, for all their faults, do handle these cars competitively and a half-distance Gold Cup Grand Prix recreation race at classic Oulton Park was unbeatable for immersion and fun factor.
There are plenty of other cars within the 1968 season, could we see a full grid one day? For now, however, these two V12-powered from the late sixties are fantastic fun and bring vintage Formula One alive once again. Check out the Honda RA301 and the Matra MS11 right here on OverTake.
Honda RA301 at Oulton Park Gold Cup recreation.
What do you think about the Honda RA301 and the Matra MS11? Let us know on X @OverTake_gg or down in the comments below!
