Shekhar Mehta

WRC driver
Name = Shekhar Mehta


Caption =
Nationality = flagicon|Kenya Kenyan
Years = 1973–87
Teams = Audi, Nissan, Peugeot, Lancia
Races = 47
Championships = 0
Wins = 5
Podiums = 11
Stagewins = 13
Points = 229
First race = 1973 Safari Rally
First win = 1973 Safari Rally
Last win = 1982 Safari Rally
Last race = 1987 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire

Chandrashekhar "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, [ [http://www.rallybase.nl/index.php?type=rally&rallytype=Ken Safari Rally Roll of Honour] , Rallybase.nl] and in 1981 finished fifth in the World Rally Championship. [ [http://www.rallybase.nl/index.php?type=standing&standingid=wcd1981 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers Final classification] , Rallybase.nl] A Kenyan of Asian 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. [ [http://www.fia.com/automotive/issue4/news/article2.html "Shekhar Mehta and John Large"] , Issue 4 Article 2, FIA News] In 1972 he and his family fled Idi Amin's regime to Kenya, [ [http://www.nationaudio.com/News/EastAfrican/09092002/Opinion/Opinion14.html "Come, Let Us Now Praise Famous Ugandans..."] , Joachim Buwembo, "The Daily Nation", September 2, 2002] the year before he clinched his first Safari Rally title.

He married his sometime co-driver Yvonne Pratt in 1978 after a ten year courtship, and they had one son, Vijay, in 1991. [ [http://www.sportsmonthly.wananchi.com/issue52/achieng.shtml "Rally icon remembered"] , "Sports Monthly", issue 52]

Through the most successful period of his career he drove Datsun cars. He won the inaugural African Rally Championship in 1981, [African Rally Championship [http://www.africanrallychampionship.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=80 Past Winners] ] and the Cyprus Rally in 1976. [ [http://www.cyprusrally.com.cy/en/pastrallies.htm Cyprus Rally - past events] ] 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 1987 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 April 12 2006 from liver problems, hepatitis, and illness relating to complications from an old injury. [ [http://eastandard.net/hm_news/news_s.php?articleid=1143950939 "Shekhar Mehta dies in London"] , Eastandard.net, April 13, 2006] [ [http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/12042006/29/shekhar-mehta-loses-battle-illness.html "Shekhar Mehta Loses Battle With Illness"] , Yahoo UK & Ireland Sports, April 12 2006]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.rallybase.nl/index.php?type=profile&driverid=3160 Driver profile] , Rallybase.nl
* [http://www.datsunhistory.com/Safari1.html "Datsun and The East African Safari Rally"] , Datsunhistory.com