The French automobile federation (FFSA) said Monday that Beltoise died at his vacation home in Dakar, Senegal.
"Jean-Pierre is and will remain an example for a whole generation of drivers," said FFSA president Nicolas Deschaux. "His unbelievable career is linked with the history of French motorsports."
Beltoise started his racing career in motorcycling, winning 11 national titles before he turned to car racing. In 1967, he reached F1 despite breaking his left arm badly in a crash.
His best F1 season was in 1969, when he finished fifth driving a Matra.
Beltoise also took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 14 times between 1963 and 1979. He retired from F1 in 1974, but continued racing sports cars and French touring cars.
The Frenchman's victory in Monaco -- his sole F1 win in 86 races -- also marked the last win for the now defunct British team BRM.
photo credit: © 2015 Google
text credit: © 2015 BBC
