Shekhar Mehta

Shekhar Mehta
Personal information
Nationality Kenyan
Born(1945-06-20)20 June 1945
Uganda
Died12 April 2006(2006-04-12) (aged 60)
London, England
World Rally Championship record
Active years1973–1987
Co-driver Lofty Drews
Geraint Phillips
Ensio Mikander
Keith Wood
Mike Doughty
Martin Holmes
Robert Bean
Yvonne Mehta
Henry Liddon
Rob Combes
TeamsDatsun, Lancia, Opel, Nissan, Audi, Peugeot
Rallies47
Rally wins5
Podiums11
Stage wins13
Total points229
First rally1973 Safari Rally
First win1973 Safari Rally
Last win1982 Safari Rally
Last rally1987 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire

Shekhar Mehta (20 June 1945 – 12 April 2006) was a Ugandan-born Kenyan rally driver. He won the Safari Rally a record five times (1973, 1979–82), including four consecutively,[1] and in 1981 finished fifth in the World Rally Championship.[2]

Biography

A Ugandan of Indian Gujarati descent, he was born in 1945 to a family of plantation owners in Uganda, and began rallying behind the wheel of a BMW aged 21.[3] In 1972, he and his family fled Idi Amin's regime to Kenya,[4] the year before he clinched his first Safari Rally title.

He was born into a wealthy business family, the son of Khimji Mehta and the grandson of Nanji Kalidas Mehta, founder of the Mehta Group. He was the cousin of Indian businessman, Jay Mehta who is the head of the Mehta Group.[5] He married his sometime co-driver Yvonne Pratt in 1978 after a ten-year courtship, and they had one son, Vijay, in 1980.[6]

Through the most successful period of his career he drove Datsun cars. He won the inaugural African Rally Championship in 1981,[7] and the Cyprus Rally in 1976.[8] He was on the podium at the 1981 Rally Codasur, twice at the Acropolis Rally and three times at the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire. His career came to an end in 1986 after a nearly fatal crash at Rallye des Pharaons, Egypt while driving for Peugeot.

After his driving days were over he held various administrative positions at the FIA. He became president of the FIA Rally commission in 1997, and was re-appointed as interim President of the World Rally Championship commission shortly before his death. He died in London on 12 April 2006 from liver problems, hepatitis, and illness relating to complications from an old injury.[9][10]

Racing record

Complete IMC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1970 Shekhar Mehta Datsun 1600 SSS MON SWE ITA KEN
Ret 		AUT GRE GBR
1971 Nissan Datsun 240Z MON SWE ITA KEN
2 		MAR AUT GRE
Nissan Europe Rally Team GBR
19
1972 Nissan Datsun 240Z MON SWE KEN
10 		MAR
Sears Roebuck Ltd GRE
6 		AUT ITA USA
Withers of Winsford GBR
Ret

Complete WRC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Points
1973 Nissan Datsun 240Z MON SWE POR KEN
1 		MOR
Ret 		GRE POL FIN
Ret 		AUT ITA USA N/A N/A
Datsun UK Ltd Datsun Sunny GBR
37 		FRA
1974 Lancia Marlboro Lancia Fulvia Coupé HF MON
C 		SWE
C 		POR KEN
11 		GRE
C 		FIN N/A N/A
Lancia Beta Coupé ITA
4 		CAN USA GBR FRA
1975 Lancia Alitalia Lancia Beta Coupé MON SWE KEN
Ret 		GRC N/A N/A
Datsun Dealers Datsun 160J MOR
6
Shekhar Mehta Datsun Violet 160J POR
7 		FIN ITA FRA GBR
1976 D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd Datsun 160J MON SWE POR KEN
Ret 		N/A N/A
N.I. Theocharakis GRC
3 		MOR FIN ITA FRA GBR
1977 D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd Datsun 160J MON SWE POR KEN
Ret 		NZL GRC FIN CAN ITA FRA GBR N/A N/A
1978 D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd Datsun 160J MON SWE KEN
Ret 		POR N/A N/A
N.I. Theocharakis GRC
3 		FIN CAN ITA
Opel Euro Händler Team Opel Ascona i2000 CIV
Ret 		FRA GBR
1979 D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun Datsun 160J MON SWE POR KEN
1 		GRC NZL FIN CAN ITA FRA GBR CIV 10th 20
1980 D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun Datsun 160J MON SWE POR KEN
1 		9th 30
Nissan ARG
4 		FIN NZL ITA FRA GBR
Comafrique CIV
Ret
Opel Euro Händler Team Opel Ascona 400 GRC
Ret
1981 D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun Datsun Violet GT MON SWE POR KEN
1 		FRA 5th 55
Ma. Ma. Sa. ARG
2
Nissan BRA
Ret 		FIN ITA
Comafrique CIV
3 		GBR
N.I. Theocharakis Datsun 160J GRC
5
1982 D.T. Dobie & Co Nissan Violet GT MON SWE POR KEN
1 		FRA 8th 30
N.I. Theocharakis GRC
Ret
Dealer Team Nissan NZL
Ret
Nissan Nissan Violet GTS BRA
Ret 		FIN ITA CIV GBR
1983 D.T. Dobie & Co Nissan 240RS MON SWE POR KEN
Ret 		FRA 9th 26
N.I. Theocharakis GRC
6
Dealer Team Nissan NZL
4
Audi Sport Audi Quattro A2 ARG
4 		FIN ITA CIV GBR
1984 Subaru Motor Sports Subaru Leone 1800 MON
14 		SWE POR 9th 27
D.T. Dobie & Co Nissan 240RS KEN
5 		FRA
N.I. Theocharakis GRC
7 		NZL ARG FIN ITA
Nissan CIV
3
Team Nissan Europe GBR
8
1985 D.T. Dobie & Co Nissan 240RS MON SWE POR KEN
Ret 		FRA 13th 20
N.I. Theocharakis GRC
4
Nissan New Zealand NZL
Ret
Nissan ARG
4 		FIN ITA CIV GBR
1986 Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 MON SWE POR KEN
8 		FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN CIV ITA GBR USA 49th 3
1987 Nissan Motorsports International Nissan 200SX MON SWE POR KEN
Ret 		FRA GRC
Ret 		USA
8 		NZL ARG FIN CIV
2 		ITA GBR 18th 18

References

  1. ^ Safari Rally Roll of Honour, Rallybase.nl
  2. ^ 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers Final classification, Rallybase.nl
  3. ^ "Shekhar Mehta and John Large" Archived 17 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Issue 4 Article 2, FIA News
  4. ^ "Come, Let Us Now Praise Famous Ugandans...", Joachim Buwembo, The Daily Nation, 2 September 2002.
  5. ^ "Shree Shekharbhai Khimjibhai Nanji Kalidas Mehta (formerly of Lugazi) died in London on Wednesday 12 April at the age of 61 years". Archived from the original on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Rally icon remembered" Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Sports Monthly, issue 52.
  7. ^ African Rally Championship Past Winners Archived 11 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Cyprus Rally - past events Archived 8 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Shekhar Mehta dies in London", Eastandard.net, 13 April 2006.
  10. ^ "Shekhar Mehta Loses Battle With Illness", Yahoo UK & Ireland Sports, 12 April 2006.
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