Vern Schuppan

Vern Schuppan

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Australian
Active years	1972, 1974-1975, 1977
Teams	BRM, Ensign, Hill, Surtees
Entries	13 (9 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1972 Belgian Grand Prix
Last entry	1977 Dutch Grand Prix

Vernon "Vern" Schuppan (born 19 March 1943) is a racing driver from Whyalla, South Australia. He drove in various categories, but arguably most of his success was as a sports car driver and was heavily associated with Porsche till the end of his career.

His sports car career, particularly at the Le Mans 24 Hours flourished, firstly as a long term member of the Mirage team and later as a member of Porsche's official factory squad. After coming close to victory many times, a win finally arrived in 1983.

Schuppan participated in 13 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, mostly for Ensign and Surtees, making his debut on May 12, 1974. He failed to score any championship points during his sporadic six year career.

In 1971 Schuppan won the British Formula Atlantic Championship and this led to a test drive with BRM.

In 1972 whilst BRM's test driver he tried unsuccessfully to qualify for the 1972 Belgian Grand Prix. However Schuppan had some good non-championship race finishes with a fourth in the Victory Race and a fifth in the International Gold Cup. In 1973 he finished ninth in the BRDC International Trophy in a BRM.

Schuppan competed in three Indianapolis 500 races (1976, 1979, 1981), with a best result of third in 1981 driving a McLaren-Ford. He won the 1974 and 1976 Macau Grand Prix races, dominating the 1974 by four laps.

In his home country Australia in 1976 Schuppan won the Rothmans International Series Formula 5000 series, driving a Lola T332 and placed second in the 1976 Australian Grand Prix. In 1978 he was Runner Up in the Rothmans International Series. He was a popular choice for top teams as a co-driver in the Bathurst 1000 in the late 70s and early 80s.

He was the 1983 Japanese Sports-Prototype Champion, and followed his 1976 5th place finish, 1975 3rd place finish and 1977 & 1982 2nd place finishes of the 24 hours of Le Mans by winning in 1983 driving a Porsche 956 with Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood. In 1984 he finished 6th at Le Mans with former Formula One World Champion Alan Jones. He had a number of other podium finishes in the World Sports Car Championship. These include a second in the 1973 & 1982 Spa 1000km, third in the 1983 & 1984 Fuji 1000km and a third in the 1985 Selangor 800km races. Schuppan also placed third in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

With Japanese backing, he also produced a road going evolution of the Porsche 962 called the Schuppan 962CR. At the then price of 195 million yen (1.5 million USD) only six were built.

Payment failed to arrive for two of the vehicles after they were shipped to Japan. This, coupled with the high cost of the car's construction and the worldwide recession, forced Schuppan to declare bankruptcy. Schuppan then also co-owned an Indy Lights team with Stefan Johansson.

In May 2006, Schuppan was elected into the Club International des Anciens Pilotes de Grand Prix F1, an eminent organisation based in Monaco.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1972	Marlboro BRM	BRM P153B	BRM V12	ARG	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL DNS	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA						NC	0
1974	Team Ensign	Ensign N174	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL 15	MON Ret	SWE DSQ	NED DSQ	FRA DNQ	GBR DNQ	GER Ret	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA			NC	0
1975	Embassy / Graham Hill	Hill GH1	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE Ret	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	USA				NC	0
1977	Team Surtees	Surtees TS19	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	FRA	GBR 12	GER 7	AUT 16	NED DNQ	ITA	USA	CAN	JPN	NC	0

Indy 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1976	Eagle	Offy	17th	18th
1977	Wildcat	Offy	Failed to Qualify
1979	Wildcat	DGS	22nd	21st
1981	McLaren	Cosworth	18th	3rd
1982	Penske	Cosworth	Failed to Qualify