Tony Maggs, first South African

Tony Maggs sits confidently in his Cooper T60 Climax V8 ahead of the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix held at Spa-Francorchamps. The South African did well to qualify in tenth position in a field of 20 cars, but in the race, was forced to retire with a broken gearbox. The race was dominated by Jim Clark in a Lotus-Climax.

Tony Maggs (1937-2009) was a South African racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1961 to 1965. Maggs participated in 27 World Championship Grand Prix for the (privateer) Lotus, Cooper, Centro Sud and Parnell teams. He achieved three podiums (twice second in France and once third in South Africa in a Cooper) and scored a total of 26 championship points.

He was the first South African to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix, raced in Formula 2, in endurance and won the 1964 Kyalami 9 Hours with David Piper in the latter’s Ferrari 250 LM (picture-below).