David Clapham David Clapham David Philip Clapham (17 May 1931 in Rawmarsh, Yorkshire, UK – 22 October 2005) was a racing driver and motor sport journalist from South Africa. Clapham participated at many levels of motor sport in South Africa, including Formula Vee, Formula Ford and saloon car racing, as well as the South African Formula One Championship. He was instrumental in bringing Formula Vee and Formula Ford to South Africa, and helped Jody Scheckter move to Europe where he got his big break into international motorsport. He took part in the Formula One Rand Grand Prix in 1963 and 1964, blowing
Jody Scheckter development the following year, winning the 1973 SCCA L&M Championship and racing five times in F1. In France, he almost won in only his third start in F1 before crashing into Emerson Fittipaldi, the reigning World Champion, who said after the crash about Scheckter: "This madman is a menace to himself and everybody else and does not belong in Formula 1." In his next start, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Scheckter's spin triggered a major accident which took nearly a dozen cars out of the race. The Grand Prix Drivers Association demanded his immediate banishment, which was only put