Jean Behra
| Born |
16 February 1921 Nice, France |
|---|---|
| Died | 1 August 1959 (aged 38) Berlin, Germany |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 French |
| Active years | 1952 – 1959 |
| Teams | Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari |
| Entries | 53 (52 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 9 |
| Career points | 51 1⁄7 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First entry | 1952 Swiss Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1959 French Grand Prix |
Jean Marie Behra (born in Nice, France, 16 February 1921 – died in Berlin, Germany, 1 August 1959) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams.
Behra was small in stature, stocky, and weighed 178 pounds. 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 and at others he drove with a lack of enthusiasm.
He raced motorcycles for Moto Guzzi prior to changing to sports cars and Grand Prix racing. Behra began driving cars competitively in 1952. Joakim Bonnier claimed that he learned the majority of his racing skill from Behra. 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 championship races.
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. On the second day of competition Behra crashed his car on a curve approximately fifty miles from Puebla. 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.
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