Jochen Mass was born in Dorfen, Germany in 1946. He started racing in 1968 with an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint winning both the races he entered. When his racing was noted, he got an invitation from Ford to take part in some of their testing sessions. That allowed him to become a works driver. He raced with the Ford Capri in the European Hillclimb championship and won the German and European title for Ford in 1971 and 1972. In between he did some circuit racing with BMW, because Ford’s car was not ready for the circuit.
Next to his Ford Touring car activities ( and winning the 4h Jarama in a Ford Escort RS 1600 with John Fitzpatrick), he got behind the wheel of a single seater for the first time in 1971. He started racing in the Super Vee’ Championship in Finland. When he was leading the championship, Ford send him over to England to participate in the Formula 3 for the last 6 of the 16 races. He won a race and got noticed by different teams. With a works driver contract for March in his pocket, he finished the year driving for Ford in the Springbok South-African series with the Capri.
In the 1972 season he went to race in Formula 3 and Formula 2 with March (photo below). Again he scored some wins. His biggest achievement in 1972 was winning the European Touring Car Championship Group 2 with the Ford Capri 2600 RS. He won the 24 heures Spa (# 2, with H.Stuck) and the 4h Monza, 4h Zandvoort, Tourist Trophy and again the 4h Jarama. And in the winter Jochen Mass was very successful in the South African Springbok Trophy, driving a Chevron B23 (Team Gunston) with 3 wins in five races.
For 1973 he became a driver for Team Surtees in the Surtees TS15 in F2. With two victories and four second places he finished second in the European Championship behind Jean-Pierre Jarier in a March. Because there was less Formula 1 back in those days, many drivers did other races too. Jochen also did the European Touring car.
And he got his first taste of the Formula 1. His first race at Silverstone in the Surtees TS14A ended in the big first lap accident, but he finished P07 on the Nürburgring.
1974 was all about adjusting in the F1 world with the Surtees team and the TS16. He never got a decent race result because the car was hard to drive and there were numerous suspension and chassis problems, gearbox and engine failures. Only a second place in the non-championship BRDC race was his best result. After the Nürburgring race, he left the team.
He got a call from McLaren to drive a M23 for the last two races as a replacement for the injured Mike Hailwood. And guess what : a P07 at Watkins Glen.
Occasionally he was active for the Ford Motor works team and the 4h Zandvoort was won with team mate Rolf Stommelen and the Ford Capri 3400 RS.
Jochen was offered a drive in place of the retiring Denny Hulme for 1975. Affectionately nicknamed 'Hermann the German' by the McLaren Team, he became an excellent number two to Emerson Fittipaldi. It was a top year for Jochen Mass. He won the famous accident-shortened "half points" Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona after the race was red flagged following Rolf Stommelen's accident in the Hill GH1 which killed four spectators. Jochen also stood on the podium with a P03 at Interlagos, Paul Ricard and Watkins Glen.
Endurance racing also got his interest. He raced for the Gelo Racing team in a Mirage GR7-Ford and for Willi Kaushen Racing in the Alfa Romeo 33TT12. With Arturo Merzario he won the 1000 km Pergusa. In the interserie, again with the Alfa, he won the Nürburgring event.
The German's role as number two in the McLaren F1 team continued for the next two years as James Hunt joined the team. Jochen was unlucky not to win the 1976 German GP. Having gambled to run on slicks, he was on course for the victory when Lauda's accident stopped the race early. He provided the team with eight top-six finishes in 1976, with a P03 podium finish at Kyalami and the Nürburgring, enough for a P9 in the final standings.
In 1977, he finished second in Anderstorp and third at Mosport. Still with the M23 and later in the season the M26, Mass ended the championship in P6 just behind Hunt.
1976:
His biggest achievements came from his endurance racing for the Martini International Team, the Porsche works team. Together with Jacky Ickx driving the Group 5 Porsche 935-77, he won 3 races in 1976: 6h Mugello, 6h Dijon, 6h Vallelunga and with the Porsche 936 he won the 500 km Monza, Imola and Dijon with Ickx and the Pergusa and Salzburgring race with Rolf Stommelen. He repeated that in 1977 with a win in the 6h Silverstone, 6h Watkins Glen and the 6h Brands Hatch with the Porsche 935-78 and Jacky Ickx. In the beginning of 1977 Jochen also won two F2 races in a March 772-BMW!
1976 :
1977:
In the F1 world in 1978, ATS bought March's membership of FOCA. Robin Herd was credited with the design of the new ATS HS1, an update to the aged Penske PC4. Jochen Mass was hired as the new No 1 driver, although JP Jarier stayed onboard for the first races. Robin Herd was hired as engineer but left after one race, the material was outdated, so it became a miserable season: a P7 in Brazil and a P9 in Spain.
During a test session at Silverstone, Jochen got ana accident and missed the last races of the season. While he was in hospital, he had a visit from Frank Williams to see if he wanted to drive for him, but Jacky Oliver, Arrows team boss, promised him a strong financed Arrows team, so he went to them.
With Porsche, he won the 6h Silverstone.
Off with the Arrows F1 team for 1979. First the A1 car and later in the season, the spectacular Arrows A2. The year started with a fourth place finish in the Race of Champions. He finished P6 in Monaco with the A1. With the A2, Warsteiner sponsored car, he finished P6 in Germany and at Zandvoort. However, he did not get qualified for the last two races.
He stayed with Arrows for 1980. He finished P4 in Monaco, a P6 in South-Africa and finished second in the non-championship race at Jarama. In the Austrian GP, Jochen Mass had a serious accident wih a broken spine, so he was out for a few months. He was back at the wheel of the A3-Ford in the last two races of the season.
1979:
1980:
At the end of 1980 he did not have a seat in any F1 team, but found for the 1981 season a drivers spot in the Joest Racing Team. With the Porsche 908/80 Turbo he was driving in the Sportscar championship and finished second in the 1000 km Nürburgring. Mass won several rounds of the Interserie races with this car. With the Joest Porsche 935J he raced in the DRM and was a factory Porsche racer in Le Mans.
For 1982 there was again a place in F1 for Mass in the March team. With the March 821- Ford, his best result was a P7 in Detroit. He was involuntary involved in the accident of Gilles Villeneuve at Zolder and that was the first time he thought about stop racing.
But he was now also a full member of the Porsche Rothmans team for driving and developing the Porsche 956 in the world Sportscar championship. His real first race with this car was the 24h Le Mans. Together with Vern Schuppanin the #2 he finished second after the winners, his team mates Ickx and Bell. As a bonus he won the DRM 200 meilen Nurnberg in the same car. Later in the year he won the Fuji 6hours together with Jacky Ickx and the 9 hours of Kyalami.
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