Bavarian-born former sailor Jochen Mass was one of a small cadre of men – Denny Hulme, Peter Revson, Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt being his illustrious companions – who won a Grand Prix for McLaren in the 1970s.
But where Fittipaldi and Hunt also won World Championships, Mass’ fate was to be remembered as one of the few men who only scored half points for their sole victory as the contentious 1975 Spanish GP was stopped after 29 of the scheduled 75 laps.
He could also have won the 1976 German Grand Prix, but for the accident that nearly ended Niki Lauda’s career. Having qualified ninth, he realised on the grid that the weather was improving, and was alone in using his local knowledge of the famed Old Nurburgring to make the bold decision to opt for slick tyres. He was fourth by the first corner and set to dominate as everyone else realised they would have to stop to change their rubber.
But when the race was stopped after Lauda crashed heavily at the Bergwerk corner and needed to be rescued by fellow drivers, everyone got the same deal of the cards for the restart and he had to be satisfied with third place, behind the winning Hunt and Carlos Pace, and was thus denied the satisfaction of winning a full-distance race on the most challenging track in the world.
