1979-05-27 312 T4 (11) Jody Scheckter MON - Montecarlo 1
On May 27th, Jody Schekter won the GP of Monaco with the Ferrari 312 T4, with a special setup for that reace. See the how low is the rear wing placed.
Jody David Scheckter was born in South Africa in 1950 .He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in 1979 with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only African driver to win the Formula One World Championship.
In his first races in 1972, his colleagues called him a menace because of his risky driving. 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. 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.
In 1976, he race 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.
Scheckter left for Walter Wolf's new team in 1977 and Scheckter gave the team a win in its maiden race in Argentina.
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. 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.
