The 110th Indianapolis 500 has been run and won, but it’s been 35-years since the first Australian featured on the podium in what was an outdated package.
South Australian Vern Schuppan had already competed in Formula 1, but turned to America and the aura of the world’s biggest race beckoned.
The history of Schuppan’s McLaren M24B can be traced back to 1977 when the model debuted at The Brickyard, but was Johnny Rutherford’s back-up chassis for the 1978 event.
It remained unused at Indy until Schuppan entered it in the 1981 as Rutherford had competed in the chassis at short tracks.
Listed as owners at the 1981 Indy 500 was Lem Immke and son Jim. Len was a car dealer and an early investor in friend Dave Thomas’ Wendy Hamburger fast food chain.
Schuppan enjoyed a long relationship with Jim as he entered team ownership towards the end of the 1980s.
Run by himself and backed by Red Roof Inns, the McLaren matched with a sole Cosworth engine for the event proved reliable.
Qualifying 18th, a steady run and plenty of drama ensured Schuppan finished third in what proved a controversial finish.
It was found both Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti passed cars under yellow, but it was the former taking the win after being re-instated.
Murmurs believed Schuppan was up for victory, but he failed to finish the distance being a lap down at the time.
However, Schuppan’s result didn’t go unnoticed and he was contacted by Manfred Jantke from Porsche to replace a severely burnt Rick Mears after a methanol spill during a pit stop at Indy.
“In 1981 I ran my own McLaren at Indy and I finished third in that,” Schuppan explained.
“Porsche had actually asked Rick Mears to drive at Le Mans after Indy, but he sustained some facial burns in a pit stop refuelling fire.
“When we returned, there were messages there from Manfred Jantke to call him.
“When I did, he just said ‘we’ve been trying to reach you, we’d like for you to drive with us at Le Mans and that’s really how my relationship started with Porsche.
“Originally, at the time it was going to be myself and Jochen Mass, but when they couldn’t get hold of me, they contacted Hurley Haywood, but they still asked me to drive.”
This led to a 24 Hours of Le Mans victory in 1983 and a strong relationship with Porsche ever since.