Jody Scheckter

Jody Scheckter is an automobile old driver South-African born the January 29th 1950 with East London (South Africa). It in particular disputed 112 GP of Formule 1 between 1972 and 1980, taking down a total of 255 points, signing 10 victories, 33 podiums, 5 better turns in race and 3 pole positions. Jody Scheckter was crowned world champion of Formula 1 in 1979.

Biography

After beginnings with residence in South Africa at the wheel of Renault R8 Gordini, Scheckter is exiled in 1971 in England to dispute there the national championship of Formule Ford. Its rise is then fulgurating since at the conclusion of the season 1972, it disputes its first GP of Formule 1, at the wheel of a McLaren.

Propelled at only 22 years in the discipline queen of the automobile sport, Scheckter first of all will pay its inexperience and quickly will attract itself a reputation of breakage-neck, even of dangerous pilot. In 1973, at the time of the GP of Great Britain, one week after having sent the world champion Emerson Fittipaldi in the decoration, Jody causes one of the greatest pile-up of the history of F1 while leaving in slew-round with the right in the middle of the group at the conclusion of the first turn. Then, at the end of the season, it is with the turn of François Cevert to be sent in the rail following a new unwise operation of boiling South-African. The disastrous reputation of Jody Scheckter does not prevent Ken Tyrrell, owner of the stable of the same name to trust him at the end of the year to replace the new world champion Jackie Stewart, left with the retirement. Jody Scheckter justifies the confidence placed while by gaining three victories to him and by finishing third of the championship of the world. The continuation is more delicate for Scheckter, which undergoes the inexorable decline of Tyrrell, decline that does not manage to compensate for the technical audacity of the Tyrrell P34 with 6 wheels (over which Scheckter will gain however a race).

In 1977, Jody Scheckter joined with the general surprise the new Canadian stable Wolf (it is actually about an emanation of the old stable Williams). Scheckter creates the surprise by gaining the first GP of the season. It is the first time since Mercedes-Benz in 1954 which a new stable gains its first race. With two other victories, Scheckter finishes vice-champion of the world, remotely sizeable however of the champion Niki Lauda. But surprising it Wolf stable losing of its superb in 1978, Scheckter joined the Scuderia Ferrari in 1979. At the end one season full with intelligence and control (in the absence of plume its detractors will say), Scheckter gains the championship of the world in front of its Canadian team-member Gilles Villeneuve. It will be necessary to wait 21 years and the series of success of Michael Schumacher so that a pilot is again titrated on Ferrari.

In 1980, Scheckter will hardly make honor with its n°1. The wheel of completely exceeded Ferrari, it gives up fighting and announces its sporting retirement quickly.

Jody is not single Scheckter to have run to the more high level. In the middle of the years 1970, his/her older brother Ian also reached to him Formula 1, without however carrying out a as great career as Jody. The two wire of Jody (Toby and Tomas) also launched out in the automobile sport at the end of the years 1990. Tomas Scheckter carried out the most beautiful course: transitory pilot-tester on behalf of the stable Jaguar Racing, it has been for several years one of the principal organizers of the championship IndyCar Series in the United States.

Results in F1

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

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Simple: Jody Scheckter

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