Sir Jackie Stewart has been one of motor racing’s greatest ambassadors over the last five decades. The triple Formula 1 World Champion has led an extraordinary life encompassing on-track success, off-track ventures and running his own Grand Prix team.
Jackie Stewart's School Years and Clay Pigeon Shooting
Stewart's life began in humbler surroundings. Born on June 11th, 1939, he recalled hearing German bombs being dropped on the nearby Clyde shipyards, a prime target for the Nazis. The family home sat next to his father’s garage in Dumbuck, and it was there that Jackie would work after leaving school. Severely dyslexic, Stewart hated school where he was treated as lacking intelligence compared to the other children, in the days before his condition was understood.
During those formative years Stewart loved to shoot and fish. His grandfather was a gamekeeper and the young boy soon developed a passion for clay pigeon shooting. So good was he that just missed out on competing at the 1960 Rome Olympics by one target. The disappointment must have spoiled his 21st birthday celebrations the same day.
Before the Olympic trials Stewart had already met the woman who was to become his future wife and constant companion. It was at a night out in Helensburgh, at the Radio Café, that the two first met. They would go on to have two sons together, Mark and Paul.
Stewart's older brother, Jimmy, was the first to try his hand at motor racing, initially in hillclimbs. He would frequently accompany his brother to these meetings and it no doubt influenced his choice of career.
Stewart's First Races and a Test for Tyrrell
Shortly after he passed his driving test Stewart started racing himself, but those early meetings were necessarily clandestine affairs. His mother, who was perturbed enough at having one son racing cars, would not have reacted kindly to both of her offspring risking their lives. It was for this reason that the younger Stewart competed in his first races under the pseudonym “A.N. Other”, but it wasn’t long before the secret was out. Stewart’s mother resented the deception and, even when he was winning races in Formula 1, racing was never discussed in her company.
Stewart progressed from Scottish club meetings to national meetings, and met with instant success. In 1963, Formula 3 team owner Ken Tyrrell received a tip-off from the manager of the Goodwood racing circuit in Sussex about an exciting young Scottish driver he’d seen. A test was duly arranged, and it was to prove the turning point in Stewart's career.
Formula 3 with Tyrrell and Formula 1 with BRM.
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