Sir Jackie with James
He made his name as one of the all time greats behind the wheel. Winner of three Formula One Championships, 27 Grand Prixs and ranked in the top ten drivers of all time, Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, is one of the most highly regarded names in global sport. On the track Sir Jackie’s story is an inspirational one of drama, drive, determination, danger, excitement, tragedy, controversy, glamour and, of course, massive success.
Beyond the sport, his life is a compelling tale of battling against the odds and achieving world-wide recognition as an outstanding sportsman, a role model and a highly accomplished and well-respected businessman.From growing up in a Scottish village, to the racetrack of Monaco, Sir Jackie Stewart has led a ‘chequered’ and eventful life. Revealing all, however, the former race ace explains, "everything has not always been champagne and parties."
Although Sir Jackie will be 70 in June, it seems evident he has no intention of slowing down, as he motored into the room at some speed. Born, as he put it, "in a wee village" called Milton, Sir Jackie explained his love of fast cars began, at a tender age, while he worked at his dad’s garage. Although it is not a surprise, racing became Sir Jackie’s passion; it was during a chance meeting, with a customer, that put the young apprentice on the road to becoming a world champion.
As he sat sipping a glass of Coca Cola, the Dumbarton-born Scot, who left school at 15, explained, "I was preparing, what I would call, some club racing vehicles for a racing enthusiast, who was not allowed to drive himself. One day he came in and asked me if I would like to do a wee event as a reward for all the work I had done on his car. I finished second. He then came back and said ‘what about doing the next one?’ I won. I was never really aware that I had any skills as such for racing, but once I got a taste for it, I definitely wanted to do it again. From there, it was then a kind of rocket ship."
His first attempts were impressive. A young Jackie showed exceptionally quick reflexes and a cool demeanour behind the wheel, demonstrating his incredible hand-eye co-ordination. Despite his eminent rise to the top, Sir Jackie was, by his own admission, "a failure in the making."
Twiddling with the phone cord next to him, he explains, "I was a failure educationally. I’m a dyslexic so my school years were by far the unhappiest of my life. In those days, as it still is in some places, dyslexia was never identified. You were just stupid, dumb, or thick. These were difficult times because it’s humiliating not being able to read or write, and do all the things everybody else does so easily."
He added, with what can only be described as a real sense of sadness, "Dyslexics need to understand that they can achieve and they can succeed. Einstein was dyslexic, Leonardo Di Vinci was dyslexic, Churchill was dyslexic, Steve Redgrave is dyslexic. These are just a few examples. The great shame is that a number of dyslexics will never reach their full potential."
Nevertheless, his harsh Scottish school days are what instilled in Sir Jackie the will to triumph. Like many dyslexics wee Jackie had an overwhelming desire to prove himself in life. Rocking back and forth, the affable racer said, "Because you cannot do the things that people your own age can do so easily you’re made to feel inadequate. You feel humiliated and you have no self esteem. I had a terrible complex but managed to rise over it through sport. Now it doesn’t really worry me that I can’t read or write correctly, and it doesn’t bother me that I don’t know the alphabet."
Sir Jackie mused, "I do look back and wish my teachers were here to see me now because they and the educational system had totally written me off."
The triple Formula One world champion, who last stood on top of the winners’ podium in 1973, the year he retired, is clearly proud of all he has achieved. So, I wondered, what does it feel like to be the fastest man on the planet?
Launching into what can only be described as a vivid description, he explains, "The adrenalin is unbelievable, but a good racing driver doesn’t make it look like he’s going that fast."
In 1966, while racing at 164mph in the rain, Jackie Stewart left the track, crashing into a tree during Spa-Francorchamps. He remained in the upturned car while the vehicle's fuel poured onto him. "The tiniest spark would have made me a human bonfire," he said. After this near-death experience, Stewart became an outspoken advocate of Racing Safety. Sounding somewhat frustrated, Sir Jackie explained, "In those days, if you were racing for a five year window in formula one, there was a two out of three chance you were going to die, which is a ridiculous average. People did not think racing drivers needed to think of safety because they were seen as gladiators and if you were killed that was your full awareness before you went in there. I thought that was all wrong. I thought I was being paid for my skill not for the risks I was taking."
Having tirelessly campaigned for racing safety, Sir Jackie became incredibly unpopular with a number of those involved in the sport. He boycotted, campaigned and protested and was involved in a very major change in the safety of racing, making him more than just a wizard at the wheel. In an emotional tirade, the Scot explained, "It needed to be done because there was a period in 1968 where four of our drivers died in consecutive months. When that happens to you and you’re constantly going to funerals and you’re witnessing the grief and the devastation, when it doesn’t have to happen, I realised I had to do something."
Sir Jackie, a man of immense charisma, charm and integrity, to this day remains a superstar and someone with legions of loyal fans around the world. Rather humbly, he admits he understands the joy his fans feel when they meet him, as he, too, has those he gets excited about meeting. "When I first met Peter Sellers, the Beatles, Elizabeth Taylor and the Queen I did get slightly star struck. But you often find these people are just as anxious to meet you as you are of meeting them. The real stars don’t need to act or behave in a manner that lets people think they’re something different. Although I’m Sir Jackie Stewart, I’m still the same Jackie as I’ve always been."
Winning is Not Enough: The Autobiography, by Jackie Stewart, Published by Headline.
