AT HOME WITH JACKIE STEWART

Press, Issue 32345, 10 July 1970, Page 17

AT HOME WITH JACKIE STEWART

f Begnins, a few minutes from Nyon and less than half an hour away from the ultra-modern Geneva-Coin-trin Airport, is On a vinedotted slope above the righthand Swiss shore of Lake Geneva: a romantic village surrounded by residences, which are rapidly multiplying. This is where the world champion racing driver Jackie Stewart lives with his wife, Helen, his two boys, Paul and Marc, and a governess. The visitor soon senses that his family play a decisive role in Stewart’s life In the eyes of the sober Scotsman his family is the centre of his life; it spells home, security and harmony. What is more, when talking to him you become convinced that Jackie Stewart will not rashly jeopardise all this. Born on July 11, 1939, Stewart began his racing career in 1961, was discovered by Ken Tyrell in 1964 and was hired for the B.R.M. team in 1965. In his first Formula 1 racing year he won the Italian Grand Prix and took third place in the world championship. After a disappointing year in 1967 which secured him “only a few” Formula II victories, he changed to Ken Tyrell’s Matra-Ford Formula 1 team. With the team, his talent finally clicked. He was second in the world

championship in 1968, and world champion in 1969. MOVE FROM SCOTLAND Mrs Stewart’s reply to the question whether they have ; another home in Scotland , was this: . “No. We had a very beautiful old house in Scot- , land, but then he settled for Geneva and we sold it I 1 am not sorry that we moved . to Switzerland. Although ' we were told that the Swiss . were cool and distant, I find J that it is not true. At first, j they are stand-offish, but : when the ice is broken, re- • lationships become the ! more warm.”

mure warm. “Are you a Scot too?” “Yes. I was born neat Glasgow, where I got to know Jackie. I was 16 then. His racing career began only after we were married.” “Do you love your hus band’s occupation?” The answer was diplomatic: “He is happy with it And I am happy because he is. I used to be apprehensive. Now I have grown accustomed to it While a race lasts, I am usually tense.” “And Jackie?” “Half an hour before a race he becomes restive and wishes it would begin. But you don’t notice much Afterwards he is very tired His eyes are strange, looking into the distance. Often he takes four days to re cover.”

Stewart does not smoke or drink, drives a Ford Zodiac (very cautiously), likes to fish and is a good shot (he was on the British Olympic team), he likes to water-ski and to play squash, table-tennis and golf, and must not ski because he is built too lightly. Then Stewart appears. He

comes into the room like a tornado. With his long loose hair and the dark sunglasses he looks like the leader of a beat band. In through the door tumble two sleepy blond boys. The Stewart family is complete. The view from Stewart’s home is wonderful. The terraced ground drops down to vineyards. Stewart’s territory extends down to the village. The next lower stage is reserved for a swimmingpool with a bath-house. Plans have already been prepared, but, building will be undertaken only when the boys can swim.

In the meantime, a camera team has arrived. Stewart must change. His clothes are not colourful enough, says the photographer. The klieg lights are being installed in the office. The entire house is afoot. The Stewarts bear all this with smiling calmness. THE CHAMPIONSHIP “What does the world championship mean to you, Mrs Stewart?” “Nothing,” she says, “but it means a lot to Jackie. Fangio had the title five times and Fangio is Jackie’s model.—l remember when Fangio got behind the wheel once in Monte Carlo and Jackie was allowed to sit in the back. He beamed like a little boy. The two understand each other without being able to converse. Fangio hardly understands English. “But we no longer get excited when we lose a race. I was mad only once, at Indianapolis. Jackie was in the lead. 1 was terribly excited and then horribly disappointed when the engine broke down with eight laps to go. Now we do not entertain premature hopes 1 go to a race with relative pessimism and remain that way until Jackie has passed the winning-post. If he loses, we are not disappointed. If he wins, we are not exuberant. That’s Scottish for you, and it saves disappointments." “Mrs Stewart, 1 know that Jim Clark was a close family friend. How did you experience his death?” “Jim was Jackie’s closest friend. I was here at the week-end when it happened, and Jackie was in Spain. I just could not believe it. Even now I sometimes feel that he must come in through this door. When 1 saw him for the last time, he said, ‘Save me a spare room in Switzerland.’ He was wonderful. We often lived and travelled together. We spent a few weeks in his house in the Bermudas. Then it happened. Jackie called me from Madrid. He didn’t say a word. He just couldn’t talk. Then we both hung up.” Here is a family that is perfectly happy, has all that they desire and still the father risks this happiness every Sunday. Is there an inconsistency? “Mr Stewart, why did you move to the Lake of Geneva

from Scotland?” “As I have to travel a lot, commonly by plane, the location of my home plays a most important role. To get from Glasgow to Nurburgring previously took a full day. Geneva is in the heart of Europe and has excellent air services which save me a lot of time. The highway extends from the airport to just over a mile away from my home. I can get home in 15 minutes. “Geneva is a very beautiful eity. The climate is more agreeable than in Scotland. I couldn’t think of a better place on earth. Again, the

tax conditions are better. At the same time, we have made many friends here, both Swiss and foreigners living in-Geneva. My friend Jochen Rindt lives two houses away. My children will go to school here and receive their education in Switzerland. I think it is very important today to know many languages, and here they will no doubt learn German, French and English.” “How many days a week can you spend here in your home?” “I am at home at least for three days a week. Here is where I get more rest even than on vacation. This is my home and here I can be together with my children.” “How to you prepare for a race?” “It depends on what form I’m in. If I am a bit overweight I go for a run through the woods. I don’t eat too much and I have one or two daily massages. I have found that a sun-bath does me good and that a minimum of eight hours’ sleep is of the essence. That’s all, really. “You don’t drink or smoke much. Does alcohol have a noticeably bad effect on your driving?” “I react to alcohol very rapidly, probably because I have never been much of a drinker. For this reason I stay away from any alcoholic drinks during the three days before a race. “Which is the most difficult race-track for you?” “The Nurburgring. The track has 174 turns each lap of 14.7 miles, and it is very difficult to memorise. It makes heavy demands on both driver and car. It is probably the world’s most difficult course and this is why I like it so much. It is a true challenge. NERVES AND FEAR “Is fear a feeling with which you constantly live?” “There are two things: nerves and fear. I have nerves just as everyone has. Before a race I am as tense as a student before a difficult examination—l always feel fear if anything unforeseen, anything uncontrollable occurs; if there is oil on the track, if aquaplaning occurs, if the car does something I don't understand. “As a racing man I must be able to get this feeling of fear under control and

to react fast. But I can’t exclude fear. I am not superhuman. Fear is an alarm and very often quite useful. A courageous man acts according to his feelings and not according to his head. I run a few accurately calculated risks. I do everything within my power to make motor racing as safe as possible. I want to be in the game for another 10 years and that will be possible only if I see the risks and dangers and try to keep them at a minimum. “After a. race, after hours of great tension, you are burnt out. The nervous system fails to register emotion. It takes a while for it to recover. With me it frequently takes up to four days—but there are fine moments. “However, the fine moments in my life are certainly of a private nature: to achieve what I dreamed of, to have a family and a beautiful home. Nonetheless motor racing is a passion with me, and it’s a wonderful feeling to run a Formula I car at the limit of its capacity. There arises a community of driver and car, a unit. Combatting the car, speed and the road to achieve a maximum gives me the genuine feeling of accomplishment.” FAMILY INFLUENCE “Does your wife love motor racing?” "I think she loves my pro- : fession to a certain extent : and that she greatly appre- I ciates the pleasures that I this occupation has given us. She likes to travel with me and she accompanies me

to almost all races. Hov ever, I am also sure that sh sometimes wishes I woul do something else, which i only natural. “I believe that a wife an family have some influenc on a racing driver. The make him drive with greater sense of respons bility, and that's a goo thing. “Are you interested ii politics?” “Sometimes I find politic interesting, but common! insincere. Politicians ar generally people who do no worry much about truth. T be a politician, you want t have many words and no necessarily many convicl ions. It is bad if politic make trouble for a country however, I do not keel abreast of political event for these reasons. If 1 had ti classify myself, I would sa; ‘centre to right.’ ” “Are you interested ii social and human prob lems?” “1 am. Travelling a goo< deal, I see more than othei people do who only rea< and have no opportunity o: getting out and observini problems ‘on site.’ When : am in South Africa or th< United States, I mostly liv< not at a hotel but with loca acquaintances. lam thei confronted with their prob lems and therefore see then more realistically. It is very difficult to criticise and I shun criticism, rather I try to absorb as much as possible.”