Jochen Mass
Jochen Richard Mass is a German former racing driver.
Life and career
Born in Dorfen, Bavaria, Mass participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 July 1973 at the British Grand Prix. He won one GP race, secured no pole positions, achieved 8 podiums and scored a total of 71 championship points.Mass is perhaps best known for his blameless part in the death of Gilles Villeneuve. On 8 May 1982, with only 10 minutes left until the end of the qualifying session for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, Villeneuve collided with Mass while attempting to overtake him. As Villeneuve came up behind Mass exiting a super-fast left turn, Jochen moved to the right hand side of the track to let Villeneuve through. Villeneuve had already committed to the right hand side and the two cars touched wheels, launching the helpless Canadian skyward. Villeneuve's car hit the ground nose-first and was then torn apart in a series of violent cartwheels. His seat was dislodged and he was flung from his car, landing heavily among the catch fencing at the opposite side of the track. Mass stopped his car, jumped out and ran back to Villeneuve's wrecked car, but there was nothing he could have done. Villeneuve was flown to hospital and taken off life-support later that evening.
After leaving the Formula One circuit, Mass enjoyed great success in sports car racing, gaining international prominence with his performance during the European Touring Car Championship in the early 1970s. In 1972, he teamed up with Hans-Joachim Stuck to drive a Ford Capri RS2600 to victory at the Spa 24 Hours endurance race in Belgium. He went on to win that year's World Sportscar Championship. He finished second to Clay Regazzoni and Arturo Merzario in a November 1972 9-hour race at the Kyalami Circuit, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mass' co-driver in a Chevron B-21 was Gerry Birrell. Mass, driving a Surtees TS-15, tied with Jean Pierre Beltoise in qualifying for the
Jim Clark Memorial Formula Two auto race in April 1973 held at Hockenheim, both drivers recording times of 2 minutes, 2.8 seconds, for an average of 124.3 miles per hour.
Mass placed second to Jean-Pierre Jarier in a Formula Two race at Nivelles, in June 1973. He had finished second in the first heat and third in the second. He completed his first Formula One race at the 1973 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Mass came in seventh in a Surtees. He drove a McLaren-Ford to third place in the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Mass won the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix after leader, Rolf Stommelen's car hit a protective barrier, exploded into flames and catapulted into the crowd at the Montjuich circuit. Four spectators were killed and twelve were injured. Stommelen suffered multiple fractures and was in a critical condition after the accident. Mass was declared the winner in his Texaco McLaren-Ford, when the race was stopped immediately after the accident.
Merzario and Mass led an Alfa Romeo sweep of the first two positions in the 1975 Coppa Florio manufacturers championship automobile race at Pergusa. Mass was third in the 1975 French Grand Prix at Le Castellet. On lap 44 he broke the record set by Denny Hulme, clocking a time of 1:50.60 over the 3.61-mile circuit. Mass and Jacky Ickx teamed in a Porsche to claim victory in the Dijon Six-Hour Race. Mass won the eighth and final race of the 1976 World Sports Car Championship series. He completed the 4.2 kilometre, Salzburg course in 1 hour, 28 minutes, 25.24 seconds, with an average speed of 125 m.p.h.
in 1980
Mass and Ickx drove a Porsche 935 in the 1977 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race. Mass was clocked at 126.477 m.p.h. around the 3.84 mile Daytona road course. Mass won both 20-lap heats of the 1977 Jim Clark Memorial race in Hockenheim. He drove a March-BMW. Mass' Arrows turned over several times at the 1980 Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg. He bruised his neck and wrenched a vertebra but was able to leave the hospital.
Mass was convinced to stop racing Formula One cars after an accident with Mauro Baldi at the 1982 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard. His March and the Arrows of Baldi touched at maximum speeds, both cars flying off the track and through a containment fence. Mass's car continued, hitting a tyre-lined guardrail. The March finally came to rest upside down and on fire, almost halfway into a spectator area. Amazingly he escaped with light burns only, and Baldi was uninjured.
Among his many victories, in 1985 he won the Circuito del Mugello 1,000 km race in Italy driving a Porsche 962C and in 1987 partnered with Bobby Rahal to claim victory at the 1987 12 Hours of Sebring race. Mass and Bobby Rahal combined to win the Champion Spark Plug Grand Prix at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Driving a Porsche 962, they inherited the lead 18 laps from the end. Mass won the most prestigious endurance race of all, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1989 driving a Sauber Mercedes C9. It was the second triumph for Mercedes-Benz at Le Mans, their previous win having come in 1952.
Jochen Mass now drives the Mercedes-Benz museum's historic cars. In the 2004 Mille Miglia, he drove the original Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR that Stirling Moss had driven to victory in the 1955 race. To raise money for charity, the passenger seat next to him was auctioned off to the highest bidder.
From 1994 to 1998, he also announced the Formula One races for German broadcaster RTL.
Mass played himself in Ron Howard's 2013 film Rush.
Racing record
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pts | |
| STP March Racing Team | March 722 | Ford BDA | MAL | THR | HOC Ret | PAU Ret | PAL | HOC | ROU Ret | ÖST | IMO | MAN | PER | SAL | ALB | HOC | 27th | 1 | ||||
| Team Surtees FINA | Surtees TS15 | Ford BDA | MAL Ret | HOC Ret | THR DSQ | NÜR Ret | PAU | KIN 1 | NIV 2 | HOC 1 | ROU 2 | MNZ Ret | MAN 2 | KAR | PER 3 | SAL | NOR | ALB | VAL Ret | 2nd | 42 | |
| Project Four Racing | March 762 | Lancia-Ferrari | HOC DNQ | THR | VAL | SAL | PAU | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Willi Kauhsen Racing Team | March 762 | Hart | HOC Ret | ROU | MUG | PER | EST | NOG | NC | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Fred Opert Racing | Chevron B40 | BMW | HOC 6 | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| March Racing Ltd Yardley | March 772P | BMW | SIL | THR | HOC 1 | NÜR 1 | VAL | PAU | MUG | ROU | NOG | PER | MIS | EST | DON | NC | 0 | |||||
| ICI Chevron Cars | Chevron B42 | Hart | THR 12 | HOC 7 | NÜR 8 | PAU | MUG | VAL | ROU | DON | NOG | PER | MIS | HOC | NC | 0 |
Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete Formula One World Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
| 1973 | Team Surtees | Surtees TS14A | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | ESP | BEL | MON | SWE | FRA | GBR Ret | NED | GER 7 | AUT | ITA | CAN | USA Ret | NC | 0 | ||
| 1974 | Team Surtees | Surtees TS16 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG Ret | BRA 17 | RSA Ret | ESP Ret | BEL Ret | MON DNS | SWE Ret | NED Ret | FRA Ret | GBR 14 | GER Ret | AUT | ITA | NC | 0 | ||||
| 1974 | Yardley McLaren | McLaren M23 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | CAN 16 | USA 7 | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 1975 | Marlboro Team Texaco | McLaren M23 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 14 | BRA 3 | RSA 6 | ESP 1 | MON 6 | BEL Ret | SWE Ret | NED Ret | FRA 3 | GBR 7 | GER Ret | AUT 4 | ITA Ret | USA 3 | 8th | 20 | |||
| 1976 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M23 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | BRA 6 | RSA 3 | USW 5 | ESP Ret | BEL 6 | MON 5 | SWE 11 | FRA 15 | GBR Ret | GER 3 | AUT 7 | ITA Ret | CAN 5 | USA 4 | JPN Ret | 9th | 19 | ||
| 1976 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M26 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | NED 9 | 9th | 19 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1977 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M23 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG Ret | BRA Ret | RSA 5 | USW Ret | ESP 4 | MON 4 | BEL Ret | SWE 2 | FRA 9 | 6th | 25 | ||||||||
| 1977 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M26 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | GBR 4 | GER Ret | AUT 6 | NED Ret | ITA 4 | USA Ret | CAN 3 | JPN Ret | 6th | 25 | |||||||||
| 1978 | ATS Racing | ATS HS1 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 11 | BRA 7 | RSA Ret | USW Ret | MON DNQ | BEL 11 | ESP 9 | SWE 13 | FRA 13 | GBR NC | GER Ret | AUT DNQ | NED DNQ | ITA | USA | CAN | NC | 0 | |
| 1979 | Warsteiner Arrows | Arrows A1 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 8 | BRA 7 | RSA 12 | USW 9 | ESP 8 | BEL Ret | MON 6 | 18th | 3 | ||||||||||
| 1979 | Warsteiner Arrows | Arrows A2 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | FRA 15 | GBR Ret | GER 6 | AUT Ret | NED 6 | ITA Ret | CAN DNQ | USA DNQ | 18th | 3 | |||||||||
| 1980 | Warsteiner Arrows | Arrows A3 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG Ret | BRA 10 | RSA 6 | USW 7 | BEL Ret | MON 4 | FRA 10 | GBR 13 | GER 8 | AUT DNQ | NED DNS | ITA | CAN 11 | USA Ret | 17th | 4 | |||
| 1982 | March Grand Prix | March 821 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | RSA 12 | BRA 8 | USW 8 | SMR | BEL Ret | MON DNQ | DET 7 | CAN 11 | NED Ret | GBR 10 | FRA Ret | GER | AUT | SUI | ITA | CPL | NC | 0 |
Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.