VERN SCHUPPAN – MR VERSATILE
Vern Schuppan: the quietly-spoken Aussie F1 driver and hero of Le Mans, Indy and Mount Panorama
It took Vern Schuppan less than three years to rise to the top of world motorsport.
He left home in South Australia to chase his grand prix dream at the end of the 1960s, and by 1972 he was racing for BRM in F1 – until an ambitious youngster called Niki Lauda bought the drive from under him…
Schuppan was never quite able to lock down a regular or competitive F1 drive – but that didn’t stop him having a wildly varied and highly-successful career as a gun-for-hire in everything from Formula 5000 to Le Mans sports cars.
These days Schuppan has a home in Adelaide, fittingly on the edge of the old GP street circuit, and splits his time between SA and a villa in Portugal. He spoke with Mark Bisset in the latest edition of AUTO ACTION.
In the first of two instalments, Schuppan discusses at length with AA the early stages of his motor racing career including his Formula 1 exploits.
Other early topics included in part 1 of the Living Legends feature include his Formula Ford and Formula Atlanta successes.
Schuppan also talks Can-Am and the experiences he had in the powerful machines in the 1970s.
