22 Oct THE LEFT AND RIGHT STUFF
Geoff Mortimer – Seven Decades in South African Motorsport
This book details the remarkable racing and rallying career of Geoff Mortimer, from racing Morris Minors at Roy Hesketh in Pietermaritzburg to engineering turbocharged Audis and Fords. In doing so, it also highlights the characters, technical development and local innovations across several eras of southern African motorsport.
Mortimer, now in his 90th year and still building cars, won two South African titles on the track. He took the 1970 SA Saloon Car Championship in a Renault R8 Gordini against the likes of Jody Scheckter and the 1979 SA Manufacturer’s Challenge Championship in a winged Z28-engined Chevair, beating the turbo Fiat-Ferrari of Basil van Rooyen, Dave Charlton’s monocoque Mazda-Rotary and the Cosworth GAA V6-powered Ford Escort of Sarel van der Merwe, among others.
After several near misses, he secured the SA rally championship in the fearsome Audi Quattro S1 in 1986. He was the man behind transforming the Marina into a V8-powered rally car capable of beating the BDA Escort, transplanted a Blydenstein engine into a Chevair – which proved to be the fastest car of its generation – and built the famed ‘Little Chevs’ which won on racing and forest tracks in the early 1970s.
This authoritative history is full of first-hand stories about the men and the machines, the shoe-string racers and the big teams, as well as the engineers and gifted tuners who built the iconic race cars we still talk about today – all first-hand from the people who were there.
Just 100 Limited Edition copies of this full colour 300 page journey through the life and times of Geoff Mortimer, autographed by Mortimer himself, Sarel van der Merwe and the author, are available from the Western Province Motor Club at R1150 each including VAT. All profits from these will go to the Club.
Contact Dave Abrahams at dave@wpmc.co.za or (021) 557-1639 to reserve yours.
