Tim Schenken
Australian racing driver (born 1943)
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Timothy Theodore Schenken OAM[1] (born 26 September 1943) is a former racing driver from Sydney, Australia. He participated in 36 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 August 1970. He achieved one career podium at the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, and scored a total of seven championship points. He did however have two non-championship race podiums – he finished third in the 1971 BRDC International Trophy and third in the 1972 International Gold Cup.
AustralianSchenken at the 1971 German Grand Prix | |
| Born | 26 September 1943 Gordon, Sydney, Australia |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Active years | 1970–1974 |
| Teams | Williams, Brabham, Surtees, Trojan, Lotus |
| Entries | 36 (34 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Career points | 7 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1970 Austrian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1974 United States Grand Prix |
Career
Schenken's lower formula results included winning the 1968 British Lombank Formula Three Championship, 1968 Grovewood Award, 1968 British Formula Ford Championship, 1968 ER Hall Formula Three Trophy, 1969 French Craven A Formula Three Championship, 1969 Greater London Formula Three Trophy, finishing fourth in the 1971 European Formula Two Championship and finishing third in the 1972 Brazilian Formula Two International Tournament.[2]
Schenken had a great deal of success in Sports Cars racing for Ferrari. In 1972, he won the Buenos Aires 1000 km and Nürburgring 1000 km races,[2] finished second in the Daytona 6hour, Sebring 12hour, Brands Hatch 1000 km and the Watkins Glen 6hour, and finished third at the Monza 1000 km and Zeltweg 1000 km races. 1973 saw him finish second at the Vallelunga 6hour and Monza 1000 km races. In 1975 and 1976, he finished second in the Nürburgring 1000 km, and then in 1977, he won the Nürburgring 1000 km race for a second time. At Le Mans in 1976, he finished second in the GT Class and was 16th overall. In 1975, he was runner up in the European GT Championship and finished third in the championship in 1976.
In 1974, Schenken co-founded Tiga Race Cars in Britain with New Zealander Howden Ganley, whose cars had great success in the Sports 2000 category, and constructed cars for a number of over formulae.[2] He is currently employed each year as the Race Director for the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. He also is a director of Motorsport Australia, the Clerk of the Course at the Australian Grand Prix and was the Clerk of the Course for the inaugural 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.[3]
As of the 2025 season, Schenken is one of only six Australians who have stood on the podium for a Formula One Grand Prix. The others are Grand Prix winners Oscar Piastri, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo, as well as World Champions Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.
On 16 June 2016, Schenken was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division as part of the Queen's Birthday honours. He is currently the Director of Race Operations for Motorsport Australia.[4]
Schenken is married and has a son, Guido, and identical twin daughters, Laura and Natalie.[3]
Career summary
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Frank Williams Racing Cars | De Tomaso 505 | Cosworth V8 | RSA |
ESP |
MON |
BEL |
NED |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
AUT Ret |
ITA Ret |
CAN NC |
USA Ret |
MEX |
NC | 0 | ||
| 1971 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT33 | Cosworth V8 | RSA |
ESP 9 |
MON 10 |
NED Ret |
FRA 12 |
GBR 12 |
GER 6 |
AUT 3 |
ITA Ret |
CAN Ret |
USA Ret |
14th | 5 | ||||
| 1972 | Brooke Bond Oxo - Rob Walker Team Surtees | Surtees TS9B | Cosworth V8 | ARG 5 |
RSA Ret |
CAN 7 |
19th | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Flame Out Team Surtees | FRA 17 |
GBR Ret |
||||||||||||||||||
| Team Surtees | ESP 8 |
MON Ret |
BEL Ret |
GER 14 |
AUT 11 |
ITA Ret |
||||||||||||||
| Surtees TS14 | USA Ret |
|||||||||||||||||||
| 1973 | Frank Williams Racing Cars | Iso-Marlboro IR | Cosworth V8 | ARG |
BRA |
RSA |
ESP |
BEL |
MON |
SWE |
FRA |
GBR |
NED |
GER |
AUT |
ITA |
CAN 14 |
USA |
NC | 0 |
| 1974 | Trojan-Tauranac Racing | Trojan T103 | Cosworth V8 | ARG |
BRA |
RSA |
ESP 14 |
BEL 10 |
MON Ret |
SWE |
NED DNQ |
FRA |
GBR Ret |
GER DNQ |
AUT 10 |
ITA Ret |
CAN |
NC | 0 | |
| John Player Team Lotus | Lotus 76 | USA DSQ |
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 |  SpA Ferrari SEFAC |
 Carlos Reutemann |
Ferrari 312PB | S 3.0 |
182 | DNF | DNF |
| 1975 |  Gelo Racing Team |
 Howden Ganley |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | GT | 106 | DNF | DNF |
| 1976 | Gelo Racing Team |
 Toine Hezemans |
Porsche 934 | GT | 277 | 16th | 2nd |
| 1977 | Gelo Racing Team |
Toine Hezemans Hans Heyer |
Porsche 935 | Gr.5 | 15 | DNF | DNF |
| Gelo Racing Team |
Toine Hezemans Hans Heyer |
Porsche 935 | Gr.5 | 269 | DNF | DNF |