Scheckter, Jody (1950-…), a South African racing driver, became the first South African to win a Grand Prix automobile race when he finished first in the Swedish Grand Prix in 1974. Scheckter was the first South African driver to win the Formula One world championship, winning in 1979 while driving for the Italian team Ferrari .
Scheckter began his racing career with McLaren in 1972. He later drove for Tyrrell and Wolf before transferring to Ferrari in 1979. Throughout his career, Scheckter took part in 113 Grand Prix races and won 10 of them. He won the Swedish Grand Prix twice (1974 and 1976) and the Monaco Grand Prix twice (1977 and 1979). He won the South African Grand Prix in 1975. Although he began car racing in 1972, it was five years before he bought a car of his own, a second-hand Rolls Royce. He retired in 1980.
Scheckter was born on Jan. 29, 1950, in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
