Jean Marie Behra (16 February 1921 – 1 August 1959) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams.

[4] Behra was known for being hard-charging and temperamental, which led to confrontations with Ferrari team managers after being accused of overstressing engines at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Reims Grand Prix race in 1959.

In January 1950 he drove (with Julio Quinlin) a Simca 8 coupé to third place in the Monte Carlo Rally.

[3] 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.

[5] On the second day of competition Behra crashed his car on a curve approximately fifty miles from Puebla.

[6] 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.

[7] Behra finished first at the Grand Prix de Pau for a second consecutive year, this time at the wheel of a Maserati.

[8] Behra and Luigi Musso were teammates in the 1,008 kilometer Supercortemaggiore Grand Prix at Monza, Italy.

[10] He earned the pole position for the Rouen GP, a non-championship race for 3000cc sports cars, in July 1956.

[12] Behra drove a Maserati to capture the Grand Prix of Rome, a 2000cc sports car event, in October 1956.

[20] He drove a Porsche to achieve first place in the Grand Prix of Berlin, Germany held in September.

He made a quick exit and took an airplane to Europe, where he left for the Grand Prix of Morocco at Casablanca.

The team, known as Behra-Porsche, entered the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix with Maria Teresa de Filippis at the wheel but did not qualify.

Despite the lack of initial success, Behra regarded the project as "tremendous fun" and was rewarded when Hans Herrmann drove the car to second in the prestigious Reims F2 race supporting that year's French Grand Prix.

Less than a month later he crashed his Porsche RSK in rainy weather in the sports car race that preceded the German Grand Prix at AVUS, in Berlin, Germany.

Behra was thrown out and for a fleeting moment he could be seen against the background of the sky, with his arms outstretched as though attempting to fly.

A hospital bulletin stated that Behra broke most of his ribs in addition to the skull fracture which killed him.

Trintignant comforted Behra's family and called on the young men of France to defend the colours of their country in international motor racing.