The Most Famous

RACING DRIVERS from South Africa

This page contains a list of the greatest South African Racing Drivers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,080 Racing Drivers, 17 of which were born in South Africa. This makes South Africa the birth place of the 17th most number of Racing Drivers behind Netherlands, and Austria.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary South African Racing Drivers of all time. This list of famous South African Racing Drivers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of South African Racing Drivers.

1. Jody Scheckter (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 62.18, Jody Scheckter is the most famous South African Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages on wikipedia.

Jody David Scheckter (; born 29 January 1950) is a South African former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980. Scheckter won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1979 with Ferrari, and remains the only African driver to have won either a Formula One Grand Prix or the World Drivers' Championship; he won 10 Grands Prix across nine seasons. Born and raised in East London, Cape Province, Scheckter rapidly ascended through the ranks of motor racing upon moving to the United Kingdom in 1970. His Formula One debut came two years later at the 1972 United States Grand Prix, driving for McLaren, whom he had raced for that year in British and European Formula Two. Amongst winning the SCCA Continental Championship in Formula 5000, Scheckter entered a further five Grands Prix in 1973 with McLaren. Scheckter earned a full-time drive with Tyrrell the following season, taking his maiden win at the Swedish Grand Prix and finishing third in the championship. Scheckter won his home Grand Prix in South Africa in 1975 and placed third in the standings again in 1976, driving the six-wheeled P34; he remains the only driver to win a Grand Prix on six wheels. Moving to Wolf in 1977, Scheckter took several race wins—including the Monaco Grand Prix—as he finished runner-up to Niki Lauda in the standings. After a winless season for Wolf in 1978, Scheckter moved to Ferrari to partner Gilles Villeneuve. Taking three Grand Prix wins in his first season for Ferrari, Scheckter clinched the World Drivers' Championship with his victory at the Italian Grand Prix, becoming the first African Formula One World Champion. He was unable to defend his title in 1980 as Ferrari struggled immensely with the 312T5, retiring at the end of the season having achieved 10 race wins, three pole positions, five fastest laps and 33 podiums in Formula One. Upon retiring from motor racing, Scheckter worked as a broadcaster for CBS, ABC and ITV. He founded a weapons simulation business in 1984 called Firearms Training Systems, whose revenue eclipsed £100 million by the early 1990s. Scheckter then moved into organic farming, owning Laverstoke Park Farm in England. His sons Toby and Tomas are both racing drivers.

2. Ian Scheckter (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 51.42, Ian Scheckter is the 2nd most famous South African Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Ian Scheckter (born 22 August 1947) is a South African former racing driver. He participated in 20 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 30 March 1974. He scored no championship points.

3. Gordon Murray (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 51.15, Gordon Murray is the 3rd most famous South African Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Ian Gordon Murray (born 18 June 1946), is a South African-British designer of Formula One racing cars for Brabham and McLaren and the McLaren F1 high-performance road car. Founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Design and Gordon Murray Automotive, he has subsequently designed and built a number of sports cars and a variety of other automotive vehicles.

4. Basil van Rooyen (1939 - 2023)

With an HPI of 49.61, Basil van Rooyen is the 4th most famous South African Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Basil van Rooyen (19 April 1939 – 14 September 2023) was a South African racing driver, race car developer, inventor, and engineer. His career comprised racing a motorcycle, Anglia, Lotus Cortina, Mustang, Alfa Romeo, Capri Perana Chevy Can-am, Fiat/Ferrari saloon cars, sports cars, single seaters and Formula 1.

5. Peter de Klerk (1935 - 2015)

With an HPI of 48.82, Peter de Klerk is the 5th most famous South African Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Peter David de Klerk (16 March 1935 – 11 July 2015) was a racing driver from South Africa. He participated in four Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 28 December 1963. He scored no championship points.

6. Doug Serrurier (1920 - 2006)

With an HPI of 44.53, Doug Serrurier is the 6th most famous South African Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Louis Douglas Serrurier (9 December 1920 – 4 June 2006) was a racing driver and racing car constructor from South Africa. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix in the 1960s, only racing in the South African Grand Prix event, debuting on 29 December 1962. He scored no championship points.

7. Desiré Wilson (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 44.02, Desiré Wilson is the 7th most famous South African Racing Driver. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Desiré Wilson (née Randall), born 26 November 1953, is a former racing driver from South Africa and one of only five women to have competed in Formula One.: 62–68 Born in Brakpan, she entered one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1980 with a non-works RAM Racing-prepared Williams FW07, but failed to qualify. She also raced in the 1981 non-world championship South African Grand Prix in a one off deal with Tyrrell Racing. This race was not part of the 1981 World Championship due, in part, to the FISA–FOCA war. She qualified 16th and, after the car stalled during the start of the race, she moved up through the field in wet conditions; as conditions dried, she fell back and damaged the car when it touched a wall while she was letting the race leader through. She became the only woman to win a Formula One race of any kind when she won at Brands Hatch in the short-lived British Aurora F1 Championship in 1980. As a result of this achievement, she has a grandstand at Brands Hatch named after her. Following her attempts in Formula One, Wilson participated in other disciplines including CART and sports car racing. Wilson entered the Indianapolis 500 three times in 1982, 1983, and 1984, but failed to qualify for any.

8. Paddy Driver (b. 1934)

With an HPI of 43.79, Paddy Driver is the 8th most famous South African Racing Driver. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Ernest Gould "Paddy" Driver (born 13 May 1934) is a South African former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and a racing driver.

9. Trevor Blokdyk (1935 - 1995)

With an HPI of 43.79, Trevor Blokdyk is the 9th most famous South African Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

John Trevor Blokdyk (30 November 1935 – 19 March 1995) was a South African motorcycle speedway rider and Formula One driver who participated in two World Championship Grands Prix, although qualifying for only one. He earned 6 caps for the South Africa national speedway team.

10. Jackie Pretorius (1934 - 2009)

With an HPI of 43.47, Jackie Pretorius is the 10th most famous South African Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Jacobus "Jackie" Pretorius (22 November 1934 – 30 March 2009) was a racing driver from South Africa. He participated in four Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 1 January 1965, and scoring no championship points. Pretorius competed in Formula One at national level in his home country of South Africa, enjoying some success throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. After racing a Lotus and a Lola, he won two races in 1971 driving a Brabham. Jackie Pretorius died in Johannesburg aged 74, on 30 March 2009, after being in a coma for three weeks. He was attacked in his home early on a Friday morning by burglars. His wife Shirley died in a similar incident in the same house several years earlier.

People

Pantheon has 19 people classified as South African racing drivers born between 1920 and 1995. Of these 19, 6 (31.58%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living South African racing drivers include Jody Scheckter, Ian Scheckter, and Gordon Murray. The most famous deceased South African racing drivers include Basil van Rooyen, Peter de Klerk, and Doug Serrurier. As of April 2024, 2 new South African racing drivers have been added to Pantheon including Gordon Murray, and Bruce Johnstone.