Jody
Scheckter

Jody Scheckter was born in East London, South Africa, in 1950. He moved to Britain in 1971 and advanced quickly in motor racing there. He made his Formula One debut at the 1972 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, driving for McLaren, and finished ninth. In 1973 he won the SCCA Formula 5000 championship and also took part in five Formula One races for McLaren.

Tyrrell gave him his first full-time seat in 1974. He took his first win at the Swedish Grand Prix, added another in Britain and finished third in the championship. In 1975 he won his home race in South Africa and ended the season seventh overall. In 1976 he drove the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34, winning with it in Sweden, and again finished third in the standings.

For 1977 he joined the new Walter Wolf Racing team. He won its very first race in Argentina, and further victories followed in Monaco and Canada. He finished runner-up in the championship behind Niki Lauda. The 1978 season brought no wins and seventh place in the standings.

Scheckter moved to Ferrari in 1979, partnering Gilles Villeneuve. He won in Belgium, Monaco and Italy, and his victory at Monza secured the title with two races still to run. He was the first World Champion from Africa, and the last Ferrari champion until Michael Schumacher won in 2000. In 1980 Ferrari struggled with the 312T5, Scheckter failed to qualify in Canada, finished 19th in the championship and retired at the end of the year. His career totals were 112 starts, 10 wins, 33 podiums and 3 pole positions.

After retiring he worked in broadcasting, as a pit reporter for CBS and ABC, and in 1999 he was a guest commentator for ITV. His brother Ian also raced in Formula One, and his sons Toby and Tomas became racing drivers.

Source: Wikipedia, “Jody Scheckter”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.