13th, Stewart Overcomes Adversity at the 1968 German Grand Prix
It’s an oft-repeated cliché that this was the apotheosis among many fine moments in Jackie Stewart’s Grand Prix career, but the full circumstances bear repetition.
In April 1968 the Scot fractured his right wrist in an F2 accident at Jarama and had since competed with his forearm in a plastic splint. He’d been obliged to skip the Grands Prix in Spain and Monaco, but the setback hadn’t stopped him winning the rain-affected Dutch GP. It would be rather more ferociously wet in Germany.
During the build-up Stewart learned that he wouldn’t require corrective surgery at the campaign’s end, but there remained doubts that he’d be fit enough to withstand the Nordschleife’s pummelling twists and leaps. As a precaution, his Monaco stand-in Johnny Servoz-Gavin completed many laps in a Matra 530 road car prior to the race weekend, to acclimatise to the track lest he should be needed.