Motorsport heroes who have put SA on the world map

The Binder brothers — Brad and Darryn — are well known to most South African petrol heads for their MotoGP exploits, particularly Brad who was the 2016 Moto3 world champion and has scored two victories with the KTM works team in the premier class.

Over the years SA has produced several other racers who have put the country on the international motorsport map by winning championships or races overseas:

Jody Scheckter

Jody Scheckter is the only African to win the Formula One championship and took the title with Ferrari in 1979 — the last driver to win for the prancing horse until Michael Schumacher 21 years later in 2000.

Born in East London in 1950, Scheckter moved to Britain in 1970 and made his Formula 1 debut in 1972 with McLaren. In 1974 with Tyrrell he became the only South African to win the SA Grand Prix.

In 1979 he joined Ferrari as teammate to Gilles Villeneuve and won the driver’s title. He quit the sport the following season having claimed 10 victories, three pole positions and 33 podiums in his F1 career.

Now a biodynamic farmer in the UK, Scheckter has helped the racing careers of his sons Toby and Tomas — the latter racing in the Indy Racing League where he won two races. Scheckter's brother, Ian, also raced in F1 for a few years.

Sarel van der Merwe

“Supervan” is not only SA’s most famous racing driver but also the most versatile, having won multiple titles on both tar and turf.

Van der Merwe won the SA Rally drivers championship a record 11 times between 1975 and 1988.

He won the SA Saloon Car championship in 1994 and SA Modified Saloon Car championship in 1994 and 2001. He received his Springbok Colours in 1976 and his SA National Colours in 1997, and in 2002 was given the Motorsport South African (MSA) Lifetime Achievement award.

Van der Merwe’s international career highlights include winning the 1984 24 Hours of Daytona in the IMSA series in the US, in a Kreepy Krauly March 83G-Porsche he shared with fellow South Africans Graham Duxbury and Tony Martin. He also placed third in the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans on debut.

These days he organises the annual Spirit of Amarok competition with Volkswagen.

Desiré Wilson

After winning the 1976 SA Formula Ford 1600 title, Desiré pursued an international racing career and was one of only five women to have competed in Formula One, and the only one to win an F1 race of any kind with her victory at Brands Hatch in the nonchampionship British Aurora F1 race in 1980. Wilson also competed in the world endurance championship, IndyCar and the US Porsche GT3 Cup, and retired in 2017 at the age of 63.

Giniel de Villiers

Like Sarel, Giniel de Villers has excelled on tar and off road.

After scooping four consecutive SA Touring Car titles with Nissan from 1997 to 2000, Giniel turned to off-road racing locally and internationally, winning the 2009 Dakar Rally with Volkswagen.

He has achieved six other Dakar podiums, five of them with his current Toyota team.

The Van der Linde clan

When it comes to motorsport families none is more well known than the Van der Linde dynasty which has been prominent in the local and international racing scene for decades.

It started with Hennie who won five national modified saloon car championships from 1972 to 1986 and dominated modified saloon car racing in the mid-1980s in his legendary Nissan Skyline GTX.

His son Etienne won national championships in karting, Formula Vee and Formula GTI in SA, and in Formula Opel in Europe and Germany in 1998. He also competed in Euro Formula 3000 and the German Formula Three Championship.

Hennie’s son Shaun won the 1992 Formula GTi championship, 1994 SA Touring Car championship and four Production Car championships between 2000 and 2005.

Currently Shaun’s sons Sheldon and Kelvin are flying the SA flag overseas in the DTM (German Touring Car Masters) championship, with Sheldon leading the championship in his BMW M4 and Kelvin ninth in his Audi R8.

Kelvin won the 2013 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup Championship in Europe, the 2017 and 2022 24 Hours of Nürburgring, and the 2014 and 2019 GT Masters championships.

Wayne Taylor

Wayne won the 1996 and 2005 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 2005 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype drivers' championship. He now owns and manages his own team competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (formerly known as IMSA), a sports car racing series based in the US and Canada.

Greg Albertyn

A three-times motocross world champion, Albertyn was the first South African to win an FIM motocross world title. His 125cc world championship in 1992 was followed up with the 250cc titles in 1993 and 1994. He thereafter moved to the US and won the 1999 AMA National championship.

Grant Langston

During a golden era for South African motocrossers competing overseas, Grant won the 2000 125cc motocross world championship.

In 2007 he won the AMA 450MX national championship in the US.

Tyla Rattray

Tyla Rattray won the MX2 motocross world championship in 2008 and also competed in the AMA championship in the US from 2009 to 2013, where he twice finished runner up.

Kork Ballington

SA’s most successful two-wheeled racer to date, Ballington won four FIM road racing world championships. Racing for Kawasaki, he won both the 250cc and 350cc titles in 1978 and 1979.

He was inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame in 2018.

Jon Ekerold

Ekerold’s claim to fame was winning a world title as a privateer, without the benefit of a motorcycle manufacturer’s support. He won the 1980 350cc Grand Prix world championship on a self-modified Bimota motorcycle with a Yamaha engine, defeating Kawasaki factory rider Anton Mang.