Vern Schuppan

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Vern Schuppan
Nationality	Australian
World Championship Career
Active years	1972,1974-1975, 1977
Team(s)	BRM, Ensign, Hill, Surtees
Races	13 (9 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1972 Belgian Grand Prix
Last race	1977 Dutch Grand Prix

Vernon Schuppan (born March 19, 1943) is a former racing driver from Whyalla, South Australia. He drove in many categories, but his greatest fame was as a sports car driver and was heavily associated with Porsche till the end of his career.

He won the 1974 and 1976 Macau Grand Prix races (a prestigious non-championship event) - in 1974 by a remarkable four laps.

He participated in 12 Formula One Grands Prix, mostly for Ensign and Surtees, debuting on May 12, 1974. He scored no championship points.

He competed in three Indianapolis 500 races (1976, 1979, 1981), with a best result of third in 1981 driving a McLaren-Ford.

He was the 1983 Japanese Sports-Prototype Champion, and followed his 1976 5th 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.

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.^[1]

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

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						-	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			-	0
1975	Embassy / Graham Hill	Hill GH1	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE Ret	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	USA				-	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	-	0

[edit] 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

Preceded by Jacky Ickx Derek Bell

Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1983 Vern Schuppan Al Holbert Hurley Haywood

Succeeded by Klaus Ludwig Henri Pescarolo

[edit] References

1. ^ AAP. "Schuppan elected to eminent F1 club", The Age, John Fairfax Holdings, 2006-05-30. Retrieved on 2006-05-31.