Ian Scheckter (born 22 August 1947 in East London, South Africa) is a former racing driver.
He participated in 20 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 30 March 1974. He scored no championship points. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
After winning his national Formula Ford championship, which included a ‘Driver to Europe’ award, Ian Scheckter (older brother to Jody and uncle of Tomas) went to Europe in 1972. After a brief stay, he returned to South Africa and through 1973 and 1974 raced a Chevron B26 sports car in the South African Springbok Series, finishing second.
His Grand Prix debut came in a Team Gunston Lotus 72 at Kyalami in 1974, finishing thirteenth and he entered the Austrian GP in a Hesketh though didn’t qualify.
1975 saw him drive a Lexington Racing Tyrrell 007 in the South African GP and he competed in that year’s Swedish and Dutch Grands Prix for Williams, finishing twelth at Zandvoort.
At home he came close to ending the run of Dave Charlton’s titles in the South African National Drivers Championship in 1975. However, following this, he would dominate the championship, winning 49 races, and going on to win the first of six national titles.
Then came a full season with March’s F1 team in 1977, but it would prove to be a disappointing period. In some races the team had up to five drivers signed and it proved difficult trying to provide for them all. March had built the 240 (with two wheel steering, four wheel drive and zero differential),but after initial testing he (and team mate Alex-Dias Riberio) felt there was nothing to be gained from the twin rear wheels so it was later converted to four wheels and designated as the 771. Ian practised it on several occasions but only raced it in the final GP in Canada. His best result was tenth in the Dutch GP but at the end of the season March pulled out of F1, until their return in 1987.
He returned home to renew his successful association with Lexington Racing, winning the Atlantic tiles in 1977-78 and 1978-79, then drove a BMW 535i in the South African Touring Car Championship. Ian stopped racing following a tragic race at Killarney in 1989, when his car collided with another and a photographer and crew member were killed when they crashed into the pitlane.
After retiring, he later sold the family garage and motorcycle businesses to help fund his son Jaki’s career (Jaki would race in Indy Lights, the Formula Opel Euroseries and in 1995 won the Barber Dodge Pro Series).
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