South African · East London, South Africa · Born 22 August 1947Ian Scheckter is a South African former racing driver, the older brother of 1979 World Champion Jody Scheckter, who raced in Formula 1 through the 1970s before building a long career in South African domestic motorsport.
Ian Scheckter — the older brother of 1979 F1 World Champion Jody Scheckter — made 20 Formula 1 World Championship starts across four seasons without scoring a point, before returning to South Africa to win back-to-back Atlantic Championship titles in 1977-78 and 1978-79. After winning the South African Formula Ford championship and an accompanying 'Driver to Europe' award, he travelled to Europe in 1972, before returning home to race a Chevron sports car in the South African Springbok Series. Scheckter made his Formula 1 World Championship debut at his home Kyalami circuit in 1974, driving a Lotus for the Team Gunston outfit, and went on to make sporadic Grand Prix appearances over the following years for Williams and other non-works teams, without ever scoring a championship point across 20 starts. He secured backing for a full season with the works March team in 1977, though the team's overstretched resources across multiple drivers limited his results and effectively ended his F1 career; a planned entry at that year's season-ending Japanese Grand Prix fell through after visa complications, compounded by anti-apartheid sentiment in Japan at the time, led to his deportation back to South Africa. Scheckter returned home to build a long and successful career in South African motorsport, winning back-to-back South African Atlantic Championship titles in 1977-78 and 1978-79 with Lexington Racing, and later competing in the South African Touring Car Championship. He continued racing into the late 1980s, retiring from competition following a tragic 1989 accident at Killarney in which two other people were killed.
Racing in Formula 1 through the 1970s as the older brother of World Champion Jody Scheckter
How They Played
Determined competitor who found greater consistency in South African domestic racing than in Formula 1
Lasting Impact
A key figure in South African domestic motorsport across the 1970s and 1980s, part of one of the country's most prominent racing families
Career Honours
- 2x South African Atlantic Championship winner (1977-78, 1978-79)
- South African Formula Ford champion
- 20 Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix starts
| Constructor | Season(s) | Races |
|---|---|---|
| Team Gunston | 1974 | — |
| Williams | 1975 | — |
| March | 1977 | — |
| Career Total | — | 0 |
South African Athletes