South Africa’s rich and vibrant, even amazing, motorsport history has been fading away, partly because some of the protagonists involved have passed on and more literally because the reams of fax paper containing the results of bygone races from circuits around the country have faded to nothingness.
Much of that has changed and hot off the press and ready for global delivery, Michele Lupini's South African Champion arrives as a substantial and welcome addition for motorsport enthusiasts. This impressive volume tackles the complete 125-year saga of single-seater racing across the subcontinent, offering a ride through time that brought back sone wonderful memories as I avidly consumed the words and images on the pages.
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As a teenager I sold Cokes and made hamburgers at the old Kyalami Clubhouse for my race day ticket and then, from the early 70’s, translated that into a lifelong career as a motoring and motorsport journalist and photographer privileged to be able to get up close and personal with competitors, teams and cars.
Going through the book, every page rekindled memories and produced reminders of what is truly an amazing motorsport heritage considering South Africa, on the tip of Africa, was very far removed from British and European motorsport activity, yet still managed to produce a World F1 Champion, the only woman to have won a Formula 1 race (Desiree Wilson) and a slew of some of motorsport’s finest ‘backroom’ boys such as Gordon Murray, Andre Verwey, Bernie Marriner and Rory Byrne among them.
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Kicking off with that very first race back in 1900, the book navigates smoothly through the pioneering Grand Prix days of the 1930s and into the intense Championship decades that followed. It meticulously examines each of the 33 South African Championship seasons, revisits every single one of the 33 South African, Rand, Cape, and other local Grand Prix events and keeps pace with the action right up to the present day.
Author Michele Lupini shares that South African Champion aims to chart this extensive history while presenting the racing narrative in a fresh way. "We bring many forgotten races back to life," Lupini notes, "recalling key facts and trends, and we also uncovered several surprising and meaningful revelations during the deep research that shaped the book."
He describes it as the culmination of 25 years of effort, evolving significantly from its origins as a magazine series into this standalone work. Lupini emphasises the book compiles this century-and-a-quarter-long story into one place for the first time, presenting a comprehensive and representative timeline of a major segment of South African sporting heritage.
And, indeed it is and I simply could not put it down – well, move it off the table being the weighty tome that it is – until I had read it from cover to cover.
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Physically, South African Champion is a proper luxury coffee table book. Measuring a generous 30 by 33 centimetres and spanning 304 pages, it's a limited edition designed to impress. Boasting a foreword by South Africa’s sole Formula 1 World Champion, Jody Scheckter, the content is organised into fifty detailed parts across eight chapters. Alongside the core narrative, it features profiles of champions and leading drivers, packed sections with relevant data, race results, championship standings, and plenty more essential information.
The visual journey is equally compelling. Hundreds of photographs, spanning all eras, bring the history vividly to life. A good number of these images are seeing print for the very first time, and several historic shots have been carefully colourised. Exclusive new artworks also capture pivotal moments from the sport's past. Adding a personal touch, each copy is individually signed and numbered by Lupini himself, and buyers can even select their preferred number from those still available when ordering.
“South African Champion is so much more than I ever thought it would be,” Jody Scheckter, South Africa’s 1979 Formula 1 World Champion acknowledged. Jody, who also wrote the foreword, is relishing in the history portrayed in the book. “I’m enjoying reliving all the stories in the book and reading about others for the first time. I can’t wait for what comes next.”
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Another South African Champion, 1982 winner Graham Duxbury says:“South African Champion is such an important tribute to an incredible motor racing history that has never been properly recorded before. It covers all the important details and records so much history that would otherwise be forgotten.”
Ready to claim your piece of this history? South African Champion is currently available exclusively through southafricanchampion.com. The final price, which includes delivery right to your door whether you're in South Africa or anywhere else worldwide, varies depending on your destination country. Simply head to the website, click the "Order Here" link, find the price for your location, and secure your numbered copy today.
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