29 Nov Scheckter Championship 40th Anniversary

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of South African Jody Scheckter’s F1 World Championship win, his Tyrrell-Ford 007-1 will be on show in Hall D. Jody drove for Ken Tyrell from 1974 to 1976 and the car on view is the one he raced in 1975 with which he won the South African GP, the first local driver to do so. He led from Lap 3 to the finish and it was his only win of the year.

But it was with Ferrari that Jody took the title, winning three (Belgian, Monaco and Italian Grands Prix) of the 15 rounds to reach a season total of 51 points. His team-mate, Gilles Villeneuve, finished second with 47. As a matter of interest, points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first six positions in each race. Only the best four results from the first seven races and the best four results from the remaining eight races could be retained by each driver. Jody actually scored 60 points over the season. It was a great year for Ferrari, especially with victory at Monza in front of the tifosi as the team won the Constructor’s Championship. He was the last Ferrari driver to win the F1 crown until Michael Schumacher in 2000.

East London-born Jody was active in F1 from 1972 to 1980 and raced for McLaren, Tyrrell, Wolf and Ferrari. He made 112 starts, achieved three pole positions, registered five fastest laps, won 10 races, and was on the podium 33 times.

Scheckter, 69, lives near Overton, Hampshire, England and spends his time as a biodynamic farmer. He is married and has six children: two, Toby and Tomas, from his previous wife Pamela, and four from his current marriage to Clare; Hugo, Freddie and Poppy. Daughter Ila died in 2019, aged 21.