F1 HISTORY
By Graham Duxbury @ TheRealDux
F1 AT THE TIP OF AFRICA:
SA ' s amazing Grand Prix era
While the Formula One World Championship grew into a European-dominated global spectacle during the 1960s and early 1970s, a parallel motorsport universe was thriving in South Africa. Between 1960 and 1975, the country ran a national drivers ' championship to full international single-seater regulations.
This 16-year period is recognised as a golden era for South African racing- defined by world-class machinery, local heroes, dramatic rivalries, and races at iconic circuits like Kyalami, East London and Killarney.
The SA championship featured F1-level cars, often only one season removed from world championship competition. It also produced drivers who could- and often did- compete with the best in the world.
The story of the SA F1 championship series began in earnest in 1960. Local motorsport authorities were looking for a formula for SA ' s premier single seater championship and settled on then-new international 1.5-litre Formula 2 rules.
Sportingly, older specials and sportscars as well as Grand Prix machinery from SA ' s previous Formula Libre( free formula) era were allowed to compete alongside the new cars.
It was a move that would prove quite prophetic as international F1 rules for the following season – 1961 – became, in effect, the 1960 F2 rules.
For 1961, SA seamlessly adopted F1 ' s new technical regulations and for the first time its domestic series was fully aligned with the F1 World Championship
The South African summer overlapped with the European off-season, allowing international stars to join local events. Nonworld championship races like the Rand,
Natal, and Cape GPs drew legends such as Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, John Surtees, Lorenzo Bandini and other stars enhancing the series ' prestige.
At the heart of the SA F1 scene were its homegrown stars. Rhodesian-born John Love dominated the 1960s, winning six national titles between 1964 and 1969. His near-win at the 1967 SA GP, leading in a private Cooper before a late fuel stop handed victory to Pedro Rodriguez, remains a local legend.
Dave Charlton followed with six titles of his own( 1970- 1975), often driving topspec machinery such as the Lotus 72. In 1972, Charlton even contested three World Championship races in Europe, bringing his own car and drums of South African Sasol fuel- to the amazement of the establishment.
Other standout locals included Neville Lederle, who scored a World Championship point in 1962; Ian Scheckter, who went on to race internationally with March and Williams; and Jackie Pretorius, a flamboyant racer who drove briefly for Frank Williams.
Machines used in SA races often came from top constructors- Brabham, Lotus, McLaren, and Surtees. SA also fostered homegrown innovation. Doug Serrurier ' s LDS cars, inspired by then-state-of-the-art Cooper and Brabham designs, showcased impressive engineering. In the 1966 SA GP, Serrurier finished 10th against top international competition.
John Love won six national championship titles between 1964 and 1969. Photocredit: www. f1forgottendrivers. com
Graham Duxbury is a former professional racing driver, celebrated SA champion and acclaimed motorsport administrator and commentator. A South African Hall of Fame Inductee, he made history in 1984 by winning the famous Daytona 24-hour sports car race in the USA in an all-South African team. Today, he heads Duxbury Networking, a leading IT company.
One of the most famous locally-built cars was the Alfa Special, created by Peter de Klerk. In the 1963 Rand GP at Kyalami Lotus boss Colin Chapman called it " the fastest 4-cylinder F1 car in the world ".
South Africa was often ahead of the curve. When F1 announced a move from 1.5-litre to 3-litre engines for 1966, SA adopted the new formula a year early.
The 1965 Rand GP was the first international event to run under the new rules and drew a strong field, with Jack Brabham winning ahead of De Klerk and Paul Hawkins.
Motorsport enjoyed immense popularity in South Africa at the time, with robust media coverage, live radio, and packed paddocks turning race weekends into major social events.
But by the mid-1970s, the golden age was drawing to a close. Costs soared, international machinery became harder to acquire, and sponsors tightened their belts.
In 1976, the national F1 series was officially discontinued and replaced by the more costeffective Formula Atlantic category that would capably carry SA single-seater racing through the late 1970s and ' 80s, spawning a new breed of highly-acclaimed champions.
Though it no longer exists, the SA F1 Championship left a lasting legacy that is being rediscovered as SA once again seeks to return to the F1 calendar. The memory of its homegrown GP era still inspires – half a century on.
WORDS IN ACTION 28 AUGUST 2025