Schenken built a strong record in lower categories before reaching Formula One. In 1968 alone he won the British Lombank Formula Three Championship, the British Formula Ford Championship, the ER Hall Formula Three Trophy, and the Grovewood Award. He added the French Craven A Formula Three Championship and the Greater London Formula Three Trophy in 1969. He finished fourth in the 1971 European Formula Two Championship and third in the 1972 Brazilian Formula Two International Tournament. These results placed him among the more decorated single-seater graduates of his generation from the southern hemisphere.
Schenken made his Formula One World Championship debut in 1970 and participated in 36 Grands Prix over his career. His sole World Championship podium came at the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, and he finished his F1 career with seven championship points. He also took non-championship podiums, finishing third in both the 1971 BRDC International Trophy and the 1972 International Gold Cup.
As of the 2025 season, Schenken is one of only six Australians ever to have stood on the Formula One World Championship podium, alongside Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo, and Oscar Piastri.
Schenken had a particularly rich record in sports cars, primarily racing for Ferrari. The 1972 season was his most prolific: he won the Buenos Aires 1000 km and the Nürburgring 1000 km, finished second at the Daytona 6 Hours, the Sebring 12 Hours, the Brands Hatch 1000 km, and the Watkins Glen 6 Hours, and took third at the Monza 1000 km and the Zeltweg 1000 km. In 1973 he was second at the Vallelunga 6 Hours and the Monza 1000 km. He won the Nürburgring 1000 km again in 1977, his second victory at that circuit. At Le Mans in 1976 he finished second in the GT class and sixteenth overall. He was runner-up in the 1975 European GT Championship and third in 1976.
In 1974, Schenken co-founded Tiga Race Cars in Britain with New Zealander Howden Ganley. The marque achieved notable success in the Sports 2000 category and also constructed cars for several other formulae over the years.
Following his driving career, Schenken became a prominent motorsport official. He served annually as Race Director for the Australian V8 Supercars Championship Series and as Clerk of the Course at the Australian Grand Prix. He was Clerk of the Course for the inaugural 2008 Singapore Grand Prix and has served as a director of Motorsport Australia. On 16 June 2016 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division as part of the Queen's Birthday honours, recognising his long contribution to Australian motorsport.
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