Australian System One world champion Alan Jones has died aged 80, simply three days after celebrating his birthday.
The Melbourne-born racing nice, who drove Williams to its first drivers’ world championship in 1980 earlier than turning into a well-known face on Australian tv, died following a brief sickness.
9 reported Jones had been recognized with cancer solely weeks in the past.
His loss of life brings to an finish a exceptional motorsport life that took him from working at his father’s Holden dealership to beating the world’s greatest on grand prix circuits.
Jones gained 12 System One races and stays considered one of solely two Australians to have claimed the drivers’ world title, alongside Sir Jack Brabham.
For generations of Australian viewers, he was additionally the straight-talking former champion who helped deliver the game into their residing rooms alongside Darrell Eastlake on 9.
Aussie System 1 world champion Alan Jones has died, aged 80
Jones gained a complete of 12 grands prix in his F1 profession
Alongside Sir Jack Brabham, Jones was the one different Australian to have earned the world champion title
Born on November 2, 1946, Jones grew up with racing in his blood.
His father Stan gained the 1959 Australian Grand Prix, giving the youthful Jones a formidable instance to observe as he started competing in Minis and Coopers.
However his path to the highest was something however easy.
An preliminary journey to Europe in 1967 ended with Jones unable to afford the drive he wanted. He returned to Britain in 1970 and labored in direction of one other alternative, shopping for and promoting used vehicles with fellow Australian Brian McGuire to assist finance his ambitions.
A testing crash at Manufacturers Hatch left him with a damaged leg and a wrecked automotive, delivering one other setback earlier than his System One profession had even begun.
His fortunes improved in System Three, the place he completed runner-up within the 1973 British championship.
Two years later, he lastly reached System One, making his debut in a privately entered Hesketh on the Spanish Grand Prix.
It was a devastating introduction to the game’s greatest stage. The race at Barcelona’s Montjuïc circuit was stopped after a crash killed 5 spectators.
Jones gained the 1980 world championship, delivering Williams its first drivers’ title
The Melbourne-born champion was recognized with most cancers simply weeks earlier than his loss of life
After leaving System One, Jones grew to become a well-known face on 9’s protection alongside Darrell EastlakeÂ
Jones subsequently drove for Graham Hill’s crew earlier than securing a full-time seat with Surtees in 1976.
His breakthrough got here the next yr with Shadow, which signed him after the loss of life of driver Tom Pryce on the South African Grand Prix.
Jones seized his likelihood with victory in Austria, establishing himself as a grand prix winner and attracting consideration from Ferrari.
The Italian crew finally selected Gilles Villeneuve, leaving Jones to hitch Frank Williams for the 1978 season.
It proved the defining transfer of his profession.
4 victories in 1979 established Jones as a championship contender. The next yr, he gained in Argentina, France, Britain, Canada and the USA to safe the world title.
He clinched the championship in Canada with a race to spare, ultimately ending 13 factors away from Brazilian rival Nelson Piquet.
Jones had delivered the primary drivers’ crown for Williams and restored Australia to the highest of System One for the primary time since Brabham’s closing championship in 1966.
He additionally gained that yr’s non-championship Australian Grand Prix at Calder Park, becoming a member of his father on the occasion’s winners’ listing.
Jones initially retired after the 1981 season, signing off with victory in Las Vegas.
However he couldn’t keep away utterly, making a short return with Arrows in 1983 earlier than one other comeback with Haas in 1985 and 1986.
His closing System One look got here on the 1986 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide.
Even then, his racing profession continued throughout different classes.
Already the 1978 Can-Am champion, Jones later competed extensively in Australian touring vehicles and gained the 1993 Bathurst 12 Hour alongside Garry Waldon.
Away from the cockpit, he constructed a second profession in broadcasting.
Jones joined 9’s System One protection in 1987, bringing a world champion’s perspective to a sport that was growing an more and more devoted Australian following.
His partnership with Eastlake grew to become a fixture of the community’s protection, with Jones persevering with at 9 till 2002. He later joined Ten’s System One crew in 2013.
Awarded an MBE for companies to motor racing in 1980, Jones was inducted into the Sport Australia Corridor of Fame in 1989.
He’s survived by his spouse Amanda and household.
