Syd van der Vyver (1 June 1920 – 20 August 1989) was a

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, who won the South African Drivers Championship in 1960 and 1961.

Career

After starting his motor sport career in

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

, van der Vyver switched to cars in the early 1950s, participating in both circuit racing and

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

. He found success quickly, and by the end of the decade had established himself as one of the top drivers in the country. As well as winning the national championship twice in the early 1960s, he performed well in

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

races against the top drivers in the world in the well-attended

Rand Grand Prix The Rand Grand Prix was a auto racing, motor race held at various circuits in South Africa. The first event took place in 1937 but it was not held regularly until the 1960s, when it was run to Formula One rules and formed part of the non-champion ...

Natal Grand Prix NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

and

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, South Africa, East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Ri ...

, finishing in the top 10 in all three races in 1961.John Thompson, "The Formula One Record Book", Frewin, 1974, pp 62-67. He had entered the World Championship

1962 South African Grand Prix The 1962 South African Grand Prix, formally titled the 9th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa, was a Formula One motor race held at East London on 29 December 1962. It was the ninth and final race in both the 1962 World Championship o ...

, but had to withdraw after rolling and seriously damaging his new

Lotus 24 The Lotus 24 was a Formula One racing car''Automobile Year'', No. 10, 1962-1963, Page 198. designed by Team Lotus for the 1962 Formula One season. Despite some early success in non-Championship Grands Prix, it was eclipsed by the technically s ...

the previous week in the

1962 Natal Grand Prix The 2nd Natal Grand Prix was a auto racing, motor race, run to South African Formula One-style rules, held on 22 December 1962 at Westmead Circuit, South Africa. The field was split into two heats, with a subsequent final. The heats consisted of ...

. This was his only entry to a World Championship Grand Prix. With the car repaired, he raced and won again in local events, but did not compete again in Formula One. After this car was destroyed in a fire, van der Vyver retired from the sport.

Results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Non-Championship Formula One results

( key)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van der Vyver, Syd South African racing drivers Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent South African Formula One drivers 1920 births 1989 deaths