 The official reason for this was that he had fallen ill, although it was rumored at the time that the team had decided to join the French Renault and Ligier teams in boycotting the race in protest to South Africa's apartheid policy.In 2017, Jones described a meeting with Bernie Ecclestone the night before the race, who suggested that Jones feign illness the next morning and not show up.Ecclestone described how Beatrice were under pressure in the US from activists such as Jesse Jackson not to race, under threats including strike action by African Americans working in their businesses.