The South African Formula 1 champion who owns a R1.3 billion farm in the UK

·12 Jun 2025

F1 champion Jody Scheckter’s life has taken many dramatic turns: from a world-renowned racer, shooting simulator developer, and owner of the UK’s largest dairy buffalo herd.

Sheckter was born in East London in 1950 and attended Vincent Primary School (East London) and Selborne College.

After moving to the UK in 1970, he rapidly rose through the ranks to Formula 1, racing his first race with McLaren in 1972 in the USA.

On top of his racing prowess, he was respected for stopping his car during a race to attend to the crash involving fellow driver, François Cevert, whose fatal accident left a scar on Scheckter.

As his driving style matured, Scheckter would race for top brands like McLaren, Walter Wold Racing and Ferrari.

After winning the F1 world championship in 1979, Scheckter controversially retired from the sport in 1980, admitting that his ‘fire’ for the sport had started to fade.

Although he still participated in the F1 through media appearances in the future, his path after his racing career took a surprising turn into firearms training.

This era started when Scheckter saw a magazine advertisement in Monaco that showed a simulated scene of a gun shooting at a screen.

Understanding the concept to be something like an interactive movie, the F1 champion would eventually go to visit the company in England to see what it was all about.

What he had witnessed in the ad was in fact very early conceptualisation of simulated shooting, much like emerging light gun arcade games at the time.

Although Scheckter believed it was a great concept, it was poorly executed, and he aimed to do a better job of it.

He worked with a friend to research potential business opportunities for the system, and eventually found that law enforcement agencies were in need of something to train police in high-pressure situations.

The emerging business would then become Firearms Training Systems (FATS), founded in 1984, operating out of Hilton Head, South Carolina.

While previous simulators were simply an image of a shooting range, FATS took a movie and used a laser detection system, making the simulations more accurate.

The company would eventually make its way into military training.

Despite being largely irrelevant to the general public, the system would be adopted in 35 countries and generated £100 million in its final year.

However, with shareholders calling it a day and fatigue starting to creep in, FATS was sold in 1996 to a fund in New York that took the company public a few months later.

Driving to farming

Jody Schekter and his Ferrari 312 T4 with which he won the 1979 F1 Championship

With his wife being English, Scheckter and his family returned to the UK far wealthier than when they left for the USA. However, at only 46, he started looking for what was next.

He bought the 530-acre Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire, England. With no desire to go into the firearms business again, he instead wanted to produce organic, healthy and the best-tasting food.

With his interest in organics starting in the US, Schekter would then buy the farm next door, expanding the overall property to 2,500 acres.

The investment in Laverstoke Park was significant, and he admitted in 2013 that the farm was not profitable.

It was styled as the world’s biggest small-holding and owned the UK’s largest dairy buffalo herd.

The farm won several plaudits, including celebrity chef Raymond Blanc, who said Scheckter’s Laverstoke lamb was the best he had ever tasted.

Scheckter’s son, Tomas, would also shift from racing to farming and started working at the farm after retiring from the US-based IndyCar series.

The farm is also the site of the large CarFest, with the 2024 edition seeing over 100,000 attendees. On top of the car expeditions, the festival also features live music, food and lifestyle offerings.

The festival is also a massive fundraiser for those in need, raising over £1 million yearly for UK children’s charities.

Despite the beauty of the site and the success of CarFest, the farm has faced a tough few years.

With the business struggling amidst unprecedented cost increases, it had to shut down its buffalo farming and dairy manufacturing in 2014. Its compost site, however, remained fully operational.

Now in his mid-70s, Scheckter is selling Laverstoke Park for £58 million (R1.3 billion). Potential suitors can bid for individual lots at £8 million (R191 million).