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SCHECKTER, JODY
1/29/1950, East London, South Africa
Starts:111
Points: 255
Wins:10
Poles:3
Fastest Laps:5
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Few drivers made as much as a disastrous impact in Formula 1 as Jody Scheckter did in 1973. In fact, there seemed to be two Jodys: the 1973 driver, and the one for the rest of his career, before and after. Scheckter had a quick rise to the top, coming to England in 1971, being very fast from the onset in Formula Ford and 3. He eventually made it to the McLaren Formula 2 team in 1972, winning a race, the final Crystal Palace Formula 2 race, impressing greatly their patrons. So he was given a ride for the end of the year US Grand Prix, qualifying a wonderful 8th, and finishing 9th after mixing up with the big guns in the early part of the race. McLaren gave him more chances in 1973, but Scheckter tried way too hard. His first race in the third McLaren was in South Africa, where he qualified 3rd in an M19, racing towards the front for a while and being classified 9th at the end. His second race was at France, where Jody qualified 2nd and led the race for a few laps, until he and Emerson Fittipaldi tangled. Then, in England, Scheckter tried to win the race in the early part of the race, causing a multiple car crash that put 1/3 of the field away. He was obviously fast and skilful, as he was doing excellent work in the USA, driving both in the Formula 5000 and Cam Am Series, but he seemed downright dangerous. He was given further chances in the North American races, qualifying third in Canada and again being involved in an accident, this time with Cevert. In the USA he seemed to tone down his enthusiasm a bit and managed to retire without hitting anybody or anything. It seemed certain that Scheckter had a good future in Formula 1, if he did not kill himself before. So it was with some surprise that the ultraconservative Ken Tyrrel hired Scheckter for 1974, as he had lost both his drivers in the previous year’s USA race, one retired, and the other killed. From the onset Scheckter seemed a different driver. His first two races of 1974 were very disappointing. He qualified 12th and 14th, and did not appear competitive at all in the Tyrrel 006. With the appearance of the 007 model, Scheckter’s performance improved. He got his first points in Spain (5th place), and began scoring points regularly. In Sweden he won his first Grand Prix, and a few races later, he won the second, the British Grand Prix. By the end of the year Scheckter was actually on the running for the title, but at any rate it would be a long shot. The point was proven, Jody had matured as a driver, finishing 3rd in the championship. The 1975 season was not that good, however. He did win his home race in South Africa, but scored only three other times (including a 2nd and a 3rd places). For 1976, Scheckter continued at Tyrrel, which would have the novel 6-wheel racer. In the early part of the season Scheckter drove the 007, and debuted the 6-wheeler in Belgium. He scored points regularly, and won another Swedish Grand Prix. The 6-wheeler was not as fast as the Ferrari and the McLaren, but was sufficiently good to give Scheckter another third place in the championship. At the end of the year, Scheckter shocked the establishment by changing teams, signed up by the Wolf team. Canadian Wolf had bought into the Williams team in 1976, and by the end of the season had taken over the squad. There was nothing that would suggest the Wolf team would be successful from the start, besides the fact that they had the promising Harvey Posthethwaite as designer. So Jody shocked everybody again when he won in his debut for Wolf, in the scorching heat at Argentina, after starting 11th. He scored a few other podiums in the early part of the year, including another win at Monaco, and then had a bit of a four race slump. After Germany, he scored four other podiums, including a win in the Canadian race. Jody normally finished better than he qualified, so the Wolf was obviously not a very fast car, in spite of a pole in Germany. However, Scheckter was runner up in the Champion, his best result thus far. He continued in the Wolf team for 1978 and while the car was faster in qualifying, it was less reliable in races. There were no victories that year, and only 6 scores, including 2nd places in Germany and Canada. For 1979 Scheckter realized most drivers’ dream, being hired by Ferrari. Again he showed a lot of car sympathy, finishing in points but three times during the course of the year, and winning three races, in Belgium, Monaco and Italy. He became world champion in spite of having an obviously faster teammate(Villeneuve) and driving an inferior car, as the Williams was the obvious car to beat in the second half of the season. Scheckter continued at Ferrari for 1980, but it became obvious that his motivation was gone,after winning the championship. While it is true that the T5 was not a good car, Jody did not seem to be trying at all, unlike teammate Villeneuve, and after Long Beach he never qualified in the top ten. He got a single helping of points (2) from 5th in Long Beach and failed to qualify in Canada, a race in which he normally excelled. Not surprisingly, he retired from racing at the end of the year, still a young man (30) and cut his involvement with the sport until recently, when his sons got involved in it.
OUTSIDE OF FORMULA 1
Jody was U.S. Formula 5000 champion in 1973
Other cars raced:
Formula 2: McLaren, Motul
Formula 5000: Trojan
Can-Am: Porsche 917
Sports Cars: Alfa Romeo, Alpine
Touring cars: Ford Capri, BMW, Ford Escort