John Trevor Blokdyk (30 November 1935 – 19 March 1995) was a South African

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

rider and

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 ...

driver who participated in two World Championship Grands Prix, although qualifying for only one. He earned 6 caps for the South Africa national speedway team.

Career

Blokdyk rode in speedway in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s for

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...

and

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...

.Jones, Alan (2004) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Hunters Era'', Automedia, p. 145 In 1962 he signed for

Leicester Hunters The Leicester Hunters were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1948 until 1962.Bamford, R & Jarvis J. (2001) ''Homes of British Speedway'', , p. 147-149 History Speedway had operated before the war at both Leicester Stadium and th ...

but after one match for the team announced that he was quitting speedway to concentrate on motor racing. Blokdyk competed in Formula One for the first time in the non-Championship

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 ...

Kyalami Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (from ''Khaya lami'', ''My home'' in Zulu language, Zulu) is a motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa, just north of Johannesburg. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix motor racing, Grand ...

in 1961, in a

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), an alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * "Cooper", a song by Roxette from ...

, but spun out early on. He was more successful at his next race, the

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 ( ...

at Westmead, where he finished eighth.

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees are a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon, Warwickshire, Brandon near Coventry, England. They are eight times champions of Britain. History Origins and 1920s The firs ...

attempted to sign him from

in June 1962 but failed to contact him to seal the transfer. In late 1962, Blokdyk went to Europe to pursue a career in

Formula Junior Formula Junior was an international single-seater auto racing, motor racing category that existed between 1958 and 1963. Devised by Italian motorsport promoter Count Giovanni "Johnny" Giovanni Lurani, Lurani, the formula was created as an ac ...

and was soon a front-runner, until he ran short of finances and returned to South Africa. In 1963 he started his only World Championship race at East London, driving a three-year-old Cooper-

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

prepared by Scuderia Lupini, and coming in 12th. He also finished third in the Mozambique Grand Prix in 1963 and 1964. He continued in the

South African Formula One Championship The South African Formula One Championship, was a national Formula One motor racing championship held in South Africa between 1960 and 1975, including races in Rhodesia and Portuguese Mozambique. The front-running cars in the series were recen ...

in 1964 and then moved back to Europe and drove in

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

, scoring some good results, including a win at

Magny-Cours Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is o ...

and

Nogaro Nogaro (; Gascon: ''Nogaròu'') is a commune in the Gers department, Southwestern France. It is the site of a distillery of Armagnac brandy. Geography The commune is bordered by six other communes: Caupenne-d'Armagnac to the northwest, ...

. He returned to South Africa for the 1964 Rand Grand Prix, where he retired his Cooper-

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

with engine problems, and he failed to qualify for the

1965 South African Grand Prix The 1965 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at East London on 1 January 1965. While originally scheduled to be the last race of the 1964 season, it was moved up by a week and thus became race 1 of 10 in the 1965 Formula ...

. Later in 1965 he continued in European Formula 3, and suffered serious pelvic and leg injuries in a crash at

Albi Albi (; ) is a commune in France, commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department, on the river Tarn (river), Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ...

which ended his season. On his return in 1966, he finished sixth at

Rouen-Les-Essarts Rouen-Les-Essarts was a motor racing circuit in Orival, Seine-Maritime, Orival, near Rouen, France. From its opening in 1950, Rouen-Les-Essarts was recognized as one of Europe's finest circuits, with modern pits, a wide track, and spectator gra ...

, and continued to race in Europe in F3 until 1969, before returning permanently to compete in South Africa. On his retirement he became a farmer, but died following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

aged 59.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Complete Formula One non-championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blokdyk, Trevor 1935 births 1995 deaths Sportspeople from Krugersdorp Racing drivers from Gauteng South African speedway riders South African racing drivers South African Formula One drivers Poole Pirates riders Ipswich Witches riders Expatriate speedway riders in England Leicester Hunters riders