Jochen Mass
 |
|
| Born |
30 September 1946 Dorfen, Bavaria, Germany |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 German |
| Active years | 1973–1980, 1982 |
| Teams | Surtees, McLaren, ATS, Arrows, March |
| Entries | 114 (105 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Podiums | 8 |
| Career points | 71 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| First entry | 1973 Argentine Grand Prix |
| First win | 1975 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1975 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1982 French Grand Prix |
Jochen Richard Mass (born 30 September 1946) is a German former racing driver.
Mass was born in Dorfen, Bavaria. He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 July 1973 at the British Grand Prix. He won one GP race (1975 Spanish Grand Prix), secured no pole positions, achieved 8 podiums and scored a total of 71 championship points.
Mass is perhaps best known for his blameless part in the death of Gilles Villeneuve. On 8 May 1982, with only 10 minutes left until the end of the qualifying session for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, Villeneuve collided with Mass while attempting to overtake him. As Villeneuve came up behind Mass exiting a super-fast left turn, Jochen 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 helpless 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, but there was nothing he could have done. Villeneuve was flown to hospital and taken off life-support later that evening.
After leaving the Formula One circuit, Mass enjoyed great success in sports car racing, gaining international prominence with his performance during the European Touring Car Championship in the early 1970s. In 1972, he teamed up with Hans-Joachim Stuck to drive a Ford Capri RS2600 to victory at the Spa 24 Hours endurance race in Belgium. He went on to win that year's World Sportscar Championship. He finished second to Clay Regazzoni and Arturo Merzario in a November 1972 9-hour race at the Kyalami Circuit, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mass' co-driver in a Chevron B-21 was Gerry Birrell. Mass, driving a Surtees TS-15, tied with Jean Pierre Beltoise in qualifying for the Jim Clark Memorial Formula Two auto race in April 1973 held at Hockenheim, both drivers recording times of 2 minutes, 2.8 seconds, for an average of 124.3 miles per hour.
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