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Jody Scheckter

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Jody Scheckter
Scheckter at the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix
Born
Jody David Scheckter

(1950-01-29) 29 January 1950 (age 74)
Spouses
  • Pamela Bailey
  • Clare Fawkes
Children6, including Toby and Tomas
RelativesIan Scheckter (brother)
Formula One World Championship career
NationalitySouth Africa South African
Active years19721980
TeamsMcLaren, Tyrrell, Wolf, Ferrari
Entries113 (112 starts)
Championships1 (1979)
Wins10
Podiums33
Career points246 (255)[a]
Pole positions3
Fastest laps5
First entry1972 United States Grand Prix
First win1974 Swedish Grand Prix
Last win1979 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry1980 United States Grand Prix

Jody David Scheckter (/ˈʃɛktər/; born 29 January 1950) is a South African former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980. Scheckter won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1979 with Ferrari, and remains the only African driver to have won either a Formula One Grand Prix or the World Drivers' Championship; he won 10 Grands Prix across nine seasons.

Born and raised in East London, Cape Province, Scheckter rapidly ascended through the ranks of motor racing upon moving to the United Kingdom in 1970. His Formula One debut came two years later at the 1972 United States Grand Prix, driving for McLaren, whom he had raced for that year in British and European Formula Two. Amongst winning the SCCA Continental Championship in Formula 5000, Scheckter entered a further five Grands Prix in 1973 with McLaren. Scheckter earned a full-time drive with Tyrrell the following season, taking his maiden win at the Swedish Grand Prix and finishing third in the championship. Scheckter won his home Grand Prix in South Africa in 1975 and placed third in the standings again in 1976, driving the six-wheeled P34; he remains the only driver to win a Grand Prix on six wheels.

Moving to Wolf in 1977, Scheckter took several race wins—including the Monaco Grand Prix—as he finished runner-up to Niki Lauda in the standings. After a winless season for Wolf in 1978, Scheckter moved to Ferrari to partner Gilles Villeneuve. Taking three Grand Prix wins in his first season for Ferrari, Scheckter clinched the World Drivers' Championship with his victory at the Italian Grand Prix, becoming the first African Formula One World Champion. He was unable to defend his title in 1980 as Ferrari struggled immensely with the 312T5, retiring at the end of the season having achieved 10 race wins, three pole positions, five fastest laps and 33 podiums in Formula One.

Upon retiring from motor racing, Scheckter worked as a broadcaster for CBS, ABC and ITV. He founded a weapons simulation business in 1984 called Firearms Training Systems, whose revenue eclipsed £100 million by the early 1990s. Scheckter then moved into organic farming, owning Laverstoke Park Farm in England. His sons Toby and Tomas are both racing drivers.

Career

[edit]

Jody David Scheckter was born on 29 January 1950 in East London, Cape Province, Union of South Africa,[1] and educated at Vincent Primary School (East London) and Selborne College.[citation needed]

Formula One

[edit]
Scheckter in a Tyrrell 007 at the 1974 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch.

He rapidly ascended to the ranks of Formula One after moving to Britain in 1970. His Formula 1 debut occurred at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in 1972 with McLaren, where he ran as high as third place before spinning and finishing ninth. Immediately becoming a name to watch, he continued his development the following year, winning the 1973 SCCA L&M Championship and racing five times in F1. In France, he almost won in only his third start in F1 before crashing into Emerson Fittipaldi, the reigning World Champion, who said after the crash about Scheckter: "This madman is a menace to himself and everybody else and does not belong in Formula 1."[2] In his next start, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Scheckter's spin triggered a major accident which took nearly a dozen cars out of the race. The Grand Prix Drivers Association demanded his immediate banishment, which was only put off when McLaren agreed to rest their driver for four races.[2] Scheckter's McLaren M23 bore the number zero during the Canadian and American Grands Prix of 1973. Scheckter is one of only two F1 drivers to compete under this number, the other being Damon Hill. During the practice for the American event at the Watkins Glen circuit, Frenchman François Cevert, who was due to be Scheckter's Tyrrell teammate for 1974, was killed in an appalling accident at the fast uphill Esses corners. Scheckter was behind Cevert when he crashed, and he stopped his McLaren, got out of his car and attempted to help Cevert out of his destroyed Tyrrell, but the 29-year-old Frenchman had been cut in half by the circuit's poorly installed Armco barriers and was already dead. Witnessing Cevert's dreadful accident left an indelible mark on the South African and caused him to abandon his reckless ways, becoming a more mature and calculating driver as a result.[3]

Scheckter in the iconic six-wheel Tyrrell P34 at the Nürburgring in 1976.

Tyrrell in 1974 gave Scheckter his first full-time drive in F1 and he rewarded them with a third-place finish in the Drivers' Championship and a pair of wins in Sweden and Britain. During the year, he scored points in eight consecutive races, one of the longer scoring streaks of the time. A slight off-year followed, although he did become the only South African to win the South African Grand Prix, but his third year with the team in 1976 gave him another third-place finish in the Drivers' Championship. In that season, Tyrrell introduced the most radical car in F1 history, the innovative six-wheeled Tyrrell P34. Although he later went on record as saying the car was "a piece of junk", Scheckter gave the six-wheeler its only win on Sweden's Anderstorp circuit and in his twelve races with the car, he scored points ten times. This included a thrilling race-long battle for the lead in the American Grand Prix between himself and his great friend James Hunt.

Scheckter left for Walter Wolf's new team in 1977 and Scheckter gave the team a win in its maiden race. He won twice more with the team and was often on the podium, but finished second on points behind a more dominant Niki Lauda. A seventh-place finish with the team in 1978 followed and he left the team after the season to join Ferrari to partner Gilles Villeneuve in the team's ground effect 312T4 car.

Scheckter driving for Ferrari at the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix.

Critics felt he would not get along well with the domineering management at Ferrari, but he far surpassed expectations and helped give F1's most recognisable team another Constructors' Championship, while Scheckter's consistent finishes, with three wins among them, gave him the Drivers' Championship in 1979.[2] However, he struggled badly in his 1980 title defence, even failing to qualify for the Canadian Grand Prix. After managing only two points, Scheckter announced his retirement from the team and the sport. Scheckter was the last driver to win a Drivers' Championship for Ferrari until Michael Schumacher twenty-one years later in 2000.

Other ventures

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Broadcasting

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In 1981, CBS Sports hired Scheckter as a Pit reporter for its F1 coverage. Scheckter was brought in by ABC's Wide World of Sports as a Pit reporter for the 1983 Monaco Grand Prix. Scheckter was a guest commentator for ITV during the 1999 San Marino Grand Prix, replacing Martin Brundle.

Scheckter won the World Superstars competition in 1981, taking place in Key Biscayne, Florida. He defeated athletes such as Russ Francis, Renaldo Nehemiah, Peter Müller, Rick Barry, Gaétan Boucher and Andy Ripley.

Business

[edit]

After his retirement, Scheckter founded a weapons simulation business in 1984 called Firearms Training Systems (FATS), whose revenue eclipsed £100 million by the early 1990s.[4] The company which built firearms training simulators for military, law enforcement and security organisations.[4]

Farming

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Scheckter spent his time as a biodynamic farmer,[5] having bought the 2,500 acres (1,000 ha)[1] Laverstoke Park Farm, near Overton, Hampshire, 40 miles (64 km) south west of London. As an organic farming expert, Scheckter was featured in 2005 on the Visionhealth DVD and TV documentaries "Asthma: An Integrated Approach", "Arthritis: An Integrated Approach" and "Diabetes: An Integrated Approach". On 20 November 2011, he also appeared on the Countryfile television show to make a case for organic food. Laverstoke Park Farm was also featured on BBC's Escape To the Country where Scheckter showed viewers how Buffalo Mozzarella was made. In December 2009, Scheckter announced his intention to produce a biodynamic sparkling wine by 2012.[6] In 2015, the farm was the setting for ITV's Sugar Free Farm where a group of celebrities had to go sugar free for two weeks whilst working on the farm. In 2024, the farm ceased dairy production and buffalo farming with operations at the compost plant not affected and the farm would continue to host carfest.[7]

Charity

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In 2004, Scheckter was reunited with his championship-winning Ferrari at the South African two-seater F1x2 Charity Grand Prix at Kyalami in South Africa.

Personal life

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Scheckter is married and has had six children: two, Toby and Tomas, from his previous wife Pamela; and four, Hugo, Freddie, Ila and Poppy, from his current marriage to Clare.

His daughter Ila died on 17 October 2019, at age 21.[8] The sale of his firearms simulation company provided funds to allow Scheckter to help the racing careers of his sons Tomas and Toby. Tomas raced in the Indy Racing League where he won two races. Scheckter's elder brother Ian also raced in Formula One.

Awards and honours

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In 1983, he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Racing record

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Career summary

[edit]
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1972 European Formula Two Bruce McLaren Motor Racing 8 1 0 1 1 15 8th
British Formula Two 5 1 0 0 1 12 4th
Formula One Yardley Team McLaren 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1973 SCCA Continental Championship Taylor-Entin 9 4 2 2 8 144 1st
Formula One Yardley Team McLaren 5 0 0 0 0 0 NC
European Formula Two Motul Rondel Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
European Formula 5000 Sid Taylor Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
World Sportscar Championship Herb Wetanson 0 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1974 Formula One Elf Team Tyrrell 15 2 0 2 6 45 3rd
World Sportscar Championship BMW Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1975 Formula One Elf Team Tyrrell 14 1 0 0 3 20 7th
World Sportscar Championship Willi Kauhsen Racing Team 3 0 1 1 0 6 NC
SCCA Continental Championship Hogan Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Shadow Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0
1976 Formula One Elf Team Tyrrell 16 1 1 1 5 49 3rd
World Sportscar Championship Automobiles Alpine 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1977 Formula One Walter Wolf Racing 17 3 1 2 9 55 2nd
1978 Formula One Walter Wolf Racing 16 0 0 0 4 24 7th
1979 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari 15 3 1 0 6 51 1st
1980 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari 13 0 0 0 0 2 19th
Source:[9]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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(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 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Points[a]
1972 Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M19A Cosworth V8 ARG RSA ESP MON BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA
9
NC 0
1973 Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M19A Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA
9
ESP BEL MON SWE NC 0
McLaren M23 FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
NED GER AUT ITA CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
1974 Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 006 Cosworth V8 ARG
Ret
BRA
13
RSA
8
3rd 45
Tyrrell 007 ESP
5
BEL
3
MON
2
SWE
1
NED
5
FRA
4
GBR
1
GER
2
AUT
Ret
ITA
3
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
1975 Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 007 Cosworth V8 ARG
11
BRA
Ret
RSA
1
ESP
Ret
MON
7
BEL
2
SWE
7
NED
16
FRA
9
GBR
3
GER
Ret
AUT
8
ITA
8
USA
6
7th 20
1976 Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 007 Cosworth V8 BRA
5
RSA
4
USW
Ret
ESP
Ret
3rd 49
Tyrrell P34 BEL
4
MON
2
SWE
1
FRA
6
GBR
2
GER
2
AUT
Ret
NED
5
ITA
5
CAN
4
USA
2
JPN
Ret
1977 Walter Wolf Racing Wolf WR1 Cosworth V8 ARG
1
BRA
Ret
RSA
2
USW
3
MON
1
SWE
Ret
GBR
Ret
ITA
Ret
CAN
1
2nd 55
Wolf WR2 ESP
3
GER
2
NED
3
USA
3
Wolf WR3 BEL
Ret
FRA
Ret
AUT
Ret
JPN
10
1978 Walter Wolf Racing Wolf WR4 Cosworth V8 ARG
10
7th 24
Wolf WR1 BRA
Ret
RSA
Ret
MON
3
BEL
Ret
Wolf WR3 USW
Ret
Wolf WR5 ESP
4
SWE
Ret
FRA
6
GBR
Ret
GER
2
AUT
Ret
ITA
12
Wolf WR6 NED
12
USA
3
CAN
2
1979 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312T3 Ferrari Flat-12 ARG
Ret
BRA
6
1st 51 (60)
Ferrari 312T4 RSA
2
USW
2
ESP
4
BEL
1
MON
1
FRA
7
GBR
5
GER
4
AUT
4
NED
2
ITA
1
CAN
4
USA
Ret
1980 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312T5 Ferrari Flat-12 ARG
Ret
BRA
Ret
RSA
Ret
USW
5
BEL
8
MON
Ret
FRA
12
GBR
10
GER
13
AUT
13
NED
9
ITA
8
CAN
DNQ
USA
11
19th 2
Sources:[11][12]

Formula One non-championship results

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6
1972 Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M19A Cosworth V8 ROC BRA INT OUL REP VIC
NC
1973 Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M19C Cosworth V8 ROC
Ret
INT
1974 Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 006 Cosworth V8 PRE
2
ROC INT
1975 Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 007 Cosworth V8 ROC
Ret
INT SUI
1976 Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 007 Cosworth V8 ROC
Ret
INT
3
1977 Wolf Racing Wolf WR1 Ford V8 ROC
2
1979 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312T4 Ferrari Flat-12 ROC GNM DIN
3
1980 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312T5 Ferrari Flat-12 ESP
WD
Source:[13]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Up until 1990, not all points scored by a driver contributed to their final World Championship tally (see list of points scoring systems for more information). Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jody Scheckter: From Formula One to life in the slow lane". The Independent. 5 September 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "F1 Teams & Drivers Hall of Fame: Jody Schekter". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
  3. ^ Zincenko, Roman (2020). "Formula 1 champion Jody Scheckter on life after the fast lane". Elite Living Africa. Alain Charles Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b Smith, Damien (February 2013). "Jody Scheckter – And he walked away". Motor Sport: 66–70. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Formula One's Jody Scheckter Turns to Meat". foodmanufacture.co.uk. 1 March 2007. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007.
  6. ^ Lawrence, James, Decanter.com (14 December 2009). Jody Scheckter announces Hampshire winery plans Archived 17 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Company Announcement 1st January 2024". 1 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Daughter of Formula One champion Jody Scheckter dies aged 21 after 'suspected accidental overdose'". Basingstoke Gazette. 21 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Jody Scheckter". Motor Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  10. ^ Diepraam, Mattijs (18 January 2019). "World Championship points systems". 8W. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Jody Scheckter Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  12. ^ Small, Steve (2000). "Jody Scheckter". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 503–505. ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 7 August 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ "Jody Scheckter – Involvement Non World Championship". StatsF1. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
Sporting positions
Preceded by US Formula A/F5000
Champion

1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by Formula One World Champion
1979
Succeeded by