Jochen Mass | |
|---|---|
 Mass at the1982 Dutch Grand Prix | |
| Born | Jochen Richard Mass (1946-09-30)30 September 1946 |
| Died | 4 May 2025(2025-05-04) (aged 78) Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 4 |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  West German |
| Active years | 1973–1980,1982 |
| Teams | Surtees,McLaren,ATS,Arrows,March |
| Entries | 114 (105 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Podiums | 8 |
| Careerpoints | 71 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| First entry | 1973 British Grand Prix |
| First win | 1975 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1982 French Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1972,1978,1981–1983,1985–1989,1991,1995 |
| Teams | Ford,Martini,Porsche,Sauber,Price |
| Best finish | 1st (1989) |
| Class wins | 1 (1989) |
Jochen Richard Mass (German pronunciation:[ˈjɔxn̩ˈʁɪçaʁtmaːs]; 30 September 1946 – 4 May 2025) was a Germanracing driver andbroadcaster, who competed inFormula One from1973 to1982. Mass won the1975 Spanish Grand Prix withMcLaren. Inendurance racing, Mass won the24 Hours of Le Mans in1989 withSauber.
Born and raised inBavaria, Mass made appearances inFormula Super Vee,Formula Three, andEuropean Formula Two throughout his early career. He finished runner-up in the latter in1973, having already taken victory at the24 Hours of Spa alongsideHans-Joachim Stuck the year prior. Mass made his Formula One debut at the1973 British Grand Prix withSurtees, making sporadic appearances before achieving a full-time seat in1974. Mass moved toMcLaren from theCanadian Grand Prix onwards, where he achieved his only race win at the curtailed1975 Spanish Grand Prix. In his final season with McLaren in1977, having taken several podiums with the team, Mass finished a career-best sixth in theWorld Drivers' Championship. After anon-classified championship finish in1978 withATS, Mass spent two seasons atArrows. He was seriously injured at the1980 Austrian Grand Prix, bruising his neck and fracturing vertebrae as hisArrows A3 rolled over during practice. After a year hiatus, Mass returned in1982 withMarch. Following his crash withMauro Baldi at the1982 French Grand Prix—only two months after his involvement inthe death ofGilles Villeneuve—Mass retired from Formula One, having achieved one win, two fastest laps, and eight podiums.
Outside Formula One, Mass entered 12 editions of the24 Hours of Le Mans from1972 to1995, winning in1989 alongsideManuel Reuter andStanley Dickens, driving theSauber C9, as well as finishing runner-up in theWorld Sportscar Championship, matching his result from1984. He also finished runner-up at Le Mans in1982 withPorsche. Mass was the champion of theDeutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft in 1985, as well as twice finishing runner-up inInterserie, all withJoest. Mass was also a race-winner in theBritish Saloon Car Championship. Upon retiring from motor racing, Mass became acommentator forRTL from 1993 to 1997. Mass made frequent appearances atGoodwood events from the 1990s onwards, including theFestival of Speed and theRevival. In popular culture, Mass appeared as himself inRush (2013).
Jochen Richard Mass was born on 30 September 1946 inDorfen,Bavaria.[1] His father's family came fromMecklenburg, where his grandfather worked as a ship captain. This led to Mass working on ships of theMerchant navy after leaving school, which started a lifelong passion for boats and sailing. His interest in racing started late when he attended ahillclimbing race where his girlfriend worked as a steward. He then quit working on a ship and started anapprenticeship at anAlfa Romeo dealership inMannheim. The owner, who entered Alfas in numerous racing events, saw Mass' talent which started his racing career.[2]
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Mass participated in 114Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 July 1973 at theBritish Grand Prix. He won one GP race (1975 Spanish Grand Prix), secured nopole positions, achieved 8 podiums and scored a total of 71 championship points.[citation needed]
On 8 May 1982, Mass was involved in an incident withGilles Villeneuve which led to the latter's death. With only 10 minutes left until the end of the qualifying session for the1982 Belgian Grand Prix atZolder, Villeneuve collided with Mass while attempting to overtake him.[citation needed] As Villeneuve came up behind Mass exiting a super-fast left turn, Mass 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 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. Villeneuve was flown to hospital and taken off life-support later that evening.[citation needed]
In addition to Formula One, Mass enjoyed great success insports car racing, gaining international prominence with his performance during the European Touring Car Championship in the early 1970s. In 1972, he teamed up withHans-Joachim Stuck to drive aFord Capri RS2600 to victory at theSpa 24 Hours endurance race inBelgium. He went on to win that year'sWorld Sportscar Championship. He finished second toClay Regazzoni andArturo Merzario in a November 1972 9-hour race at theKyalami Circuit, inJohannesburg,South Africa. Mass' co-driver in aChevron B-21 wasGerry Birrell.[3] Mass, driving aSurtees TS-15, tied withJean Pierre Beltoise in qualifying for theJim Clark MemorialFormula Two auto race in April 1973 held atHockenheim, both drivers recording times of 2 minutes, 2.8 seconds, for an average of 124.3 miles per hour.[4]
Mass placed second toJean-Pierre Jarier in a Formula Two race atNivelles, in June 1973. He had finished second in the first heat and third in the second.[5] In his first Formula One race at the1973 British Grand Prix he wasn't able to complete a lap, because he, as well as his two Surtees teammates, were part of the multi-car-collision that led to the end ofAndrea de Adamich's career. He completed his first Formula One race at the1973 German Grand Prix at theNürburgring. Mass came in seventh in aSurtees.[6]
After driving three races for them in 1973, he secured a full-time ride with Surtees for the1974 season. Mass soon was unhappy with the team, becauseJohn Surtees couldn't afford to pay him regularly and they were using cheap, low-quality material for the car which broke constantly. At the1974 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying a part of the right rear suspension broke on hisTS16. Mass blamed it on faulty material, while John Surtees insisted that Mass hit the wall somewhere on the track. Mass subsequently refused to start the race. He continued to race for the team for five more races until John Surtees agreed to let him out of his contract and Mass went on to sign withMcLaren. At the last race of the season atWatkins Glen, his replacement at Surtees,Helmut Koinigg, whom Mass warned about the car on the flight to North America, died in an accident caused by suspension failure.[2]
He drove aMcLaren-Ford to third place in the1975 Brazilian Grand Prix atInterlagos.[7]
Mass won the1975 Spanish Grand Prix after leader,Rolf Stommelen's car hit a protective barrier, exploded into flames, and catapulted into the crowd at theMontjuich circuit. Four spectators were killed and twelve were injured. Stommelen suffered multiple fractures and was in critical condition after the accident. Mass was declared the winner in hisTexaco McLaren-Ford, when the race was stopped immediately after the accident.[8]
Merzario and Mass led anAlfa Romeo sweep of the first two positions in the 1975Coppa Florio manufacturers championship automobile race atPergusa.[9] Mass was third in the1975 French Grand Prix atLe Castellet. On lap 38 he broke the record set byDenny Hulme, clocking a time of 1:50.60 over the 3.61-mile circuit.[10] Mass andJacky Ickx teamed in aPorsche to claim victory in theDijon Six-Hour Race.[11] 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.[12]
At the1976 German Grand Prix Mass was in a good position to win his home Grand Prix. He was the only one to start on dry tires on a partially wet Nordschleife. The track dried and after the second lap he led with a good margin after the other drivers all needed to pit for dry tires. The race was stopped after the severe accident ofNiki Lauda and restarted in dry conditions which eliminated Mass's advantage and he finished 3rd, while his teammateJames Hunt won the race.[2]
Mass and Ickx drove aPorsche 935 in the 197724 Hours of Daytona endurance race. Mass was clocked at 126.477 m.p.h. around the 3.84 mile Daytona road course.[13] Mass won both 20-lap heats of the 1977 Jim Clark Memorial race in Hockenheim. He drove a March-BMW.[14]
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After the1977 season Mass left McLaren and signed with theATS team, because of his good relationship withRobin Herd who was hired as the technical director. Herd left the team early in the season after disagreements with team ownerGünter Schmid. Mass' season proved disastrous, scoring no points, failing to qualify for three races and having to sit out the last three races after braking his leg during testing. He subsequently left the team and moved to Arrows for1979 season.[2]
During his two seasons with Arrows he recorded five points finishes. His best showings were at the two Monaco GPs. In1979 he was on road to a podium finish around 15 seconds behind the leading Ferraris when his brakes failed. After a lengthy repair pit stop he still finished sixth albeit seven laps down. In1980 he recorded his best non-McLaren F1 finish there with a fourth place.[citation needed]
Mass'Arrows turned over several times at the1980 Austrian Grand Prix atZeltweg. He bruised his neck and wrenched a vertebra but was able to leave the hospital.[15]
Mass was convinced to stop racing Formula One cars after an accident withMauro Baldi at the1982 French Grand Prix atPaul 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.[16]
Among his many victories, in 1985 he won theCircuito del Mugello 1,000 km race inItaly driving a Porsche 962C and in 1987 partnered withBobby Rahal to claim victory at the 198712 Hours of Sebring race. Mass andBobby Rahal combined to win the Champion Spark Plug Grand Prix at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course inLexington, Ohio. Driving aPorsche 962, they inherited the lead 18 laps from the end.[17] Mass won the24 Hours of Le Mans in1989, driving aSauber Mercedes C9.[18] It was the second triumph for Mercedes-Benz at Le Mans, their previous win having come in1952. AtSauber he served as a mentor to their stable of young drivers includingMichael Schumacher,Heinz-Harald Frentzen andKarl Wendlinger.[citation needed]
Jochen Mass drove theMercedes-Benz museum's historic cars. In the 2004Mille Miglia, he drove the originalMercedes-Benz 300 SLR thatStirling 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.[citation needed]
From 1993 to 1997, Mass was a Formula One co-commentator for the German broadcasterRTL.[19][20]
Mass played himself inRon Howard's 2013 filmRush.[21]
During his racing career, Mass resided inMonaco. He later lived inSouthern France with his wife Bettina. He had two sons with his first wife Esti and two daughters with Bettina.[22]
Mass died inCannes, France on 4 May 2025 due to complications from a stroke that he suffered in February of the same year. He was 78.[23][24]
 |
‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | STPMarch Racing Team | March 722 | Ford BDA | MAL | THR | HOC Ret | PAU Ret | PAL 8 | HOC | ROU Ret | ÖST | IMO | MAN | PER | SAL | ALB | HOC | 27th | 1 | |||
| 1973 | 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 6 | VLL Ret | 2nd | 42 |
| 1976 | Project Four Racing | March 762 | Lancia-Ferrari | HOC DNQ | THR | VLL | SAL | PAU | NC | 0‡ | ||||||||||||
| Willi Kauhsen Racing Team | March 762 | Hart | HOC Ret | ROU | MUG | PER | EST | NOG | ||||||||||||||
| Fred Opert Racing | Chevron B40 | BMW | HOC 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1977 | March Racing Ltd Yardley | March 772P | BMW | SIL | THR | HOC 1 | NÜR 1 | VLL | PAU | MUG | ROU | NOG | PER | MIS | EST | DON | NC | 0‡ | ||||
| 1978 | ICI Chevron Cars | Chevron B42 | Hart | THR 12 | HOC 7 | NÜR 8 | PAU | MUG | VAL | ROU | DON | NOG | PER | MIS | HOC | NC | 0 | |||||
| Source:[26] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Ford Motor Company Deutschland | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Ford Capri 2600RS | S 3.0 | 152 | DNF | DNF |
| 1978 | Martini RacingPorsche System |  Jacky Ickx Henri Pescarolo | Porsche 936/78 | S +2.0 | 255 | DNF | DNF |
| 1981 | Porsche System |  Vern Schuppan Hurley Haywood | Porsche 936 | S +2.0 | 312 | 12th | 2nd |
| 1982 | RothmansPorsche System | Vern Schuppan | Porsche 956 | C | 356 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 1983 | RothmansPorsche | Stefan Bellof | Porsche 956 | C | 281 | DNF | DNF |
| 1985 | RothmansPorsche | Jacky Ickx | Porsche 962C | C1 | 348 | 10th | 10th |
| 1986 | RothmansPorsche | Bob WollekVern Schuppan | Porsche 962C | C1 | 180 | DNF | DNF |
| 1987 | RothmansPorsche AG | Bob WollekVern Schuppan | Porsche 962C | C1 | 16 | DNF | DNF |
| 1988 |  TeamSauberMercedes |  Mauro Baldi James Weaver | Sauber C9-Mercedes-Benz | C1 | – | DNS | DNS |
| 1989 | TeamSauberMercedes | Manuel Reuter Stanley Dickens | Sauber C9-Mercedes-Benz | C1 | 389 | 1st | 1st |
| 1991 | TeamSauberMercedes | Jean-Louis SchlesserAlain Ferté | Mercedes-Benz C11 | C2 | 319 | DNF | DNF |
| 1995 | West CompetitionDavid Price Racing |  John Nielsen Dr.Thomas Bscher | McLaren F1 GTR | GT1 | 131 | DNF | DNF |
| Source:[27] | |||||||
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Ford Köln | Ford Capri RS2600 | D | BRH | OUL | THR | SIL | CRY | BRH | OUL | SIL ovr:1 cls:1 | MAL | BRH | 28th | 9 | 7th |
| 1973 | Ford Köln | Ford Capri RS2600 | D | BRH | SIL | THR | THR | SIL | ING | BRH | SIL ovr:2 cls:2 | BRH | 29th | 6 | 8th | |
Source:[28] | ||||||||||||||||
(key) (races initalics indicate fastest lap)
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
(key)
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | European Touring Car Champion 1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Champion 1985 | Succeeded by End series |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1989 With:Manuel Reuter &Stanley Dickens | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
