Paddy Driver

Ernest Gould 'Paddy' Driver (13 May 1934 - Present): South African professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing driver from Johannesburg who achieved far greater success in motorcycle racing, finishing third in the 1965 500cc Motorcycle World Championship behind Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini, than in his brief Formula One career which consisted of two World Championship Grand Prix entries in 1963, scoring no points. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa on 13 May 1934, Driver (whose surname actually is 'Driver,' creating endless possibilities for confusing headlines like 'Driver Wins Race') began his motorsport career on two wheels rather than four, competing on the Grand Prix motorcycle racing circuit from 1959 to 1965.

His motorcycle career proved highly successful, with Driver competing primarily in the 500cc class on a Matchless motorcycle. The highlight of his motorcycle racing career came in 1965 when he rode his Matchless to a brilliant third-place finish in the 500cc World Championship, beaten only by the legendary Mike Hailwood (champion on an MV Agusta) and the rising Italian star Giacomo Agostini (second on an MV Agusta). This podium finish in the premier motorcycle class established Driver as one of the finest motorcycle racers of his era and South Africa's leading motorcycle competitor internationally. In 1963, while still competing in motorcycle racing, Driver briefly switched to four wheels, attempting to establish a car racing career alongside his motorcycling exploits.

He drove a Lotus 24 in South African national events and made his Formula One debut at the 1963 Rand Grand Prix at Kyalami, a non-championship Formula One race that served as a precursor to the World Championship South African Grand Prix. Driver finished seventh on aggregate in this race, showing promise. However, disaster struck during practice for the 1963 South African Grand Prix World Championship race. Driver had a serious crash that left him injured and unable to take the start, ending his Formula One debut attempt before it began.

This crash represented his first Formula One World Championship entry, though he never actually started the race. Driver returned to Formula One for the 1965 South African Grand Prix at East London on 1 January 1965, driving a Lotus 24-BRM as a privateer entry. However, the car proved uncompetitive and Driver failed to qualify for the race, his lap times insufficient to make the grid. This represented his second and final Formula One World Championship entry: one DNS (Did Not Start) due to practice crash in 1963, and one DNQ (Did Not Qualify) in 1965, resulting in zero starts, zero points, and an abbreviated Formula One career.

Following these unsuccessful Formula One attempts, Driver focused primarily on his motorcycle racing career until retiring from two-wheel competition after his brilliant 1965 season, going out on top with his World Championship podium finish. However, Driver's car racing career was far from over. He became a regular and successful competitor in the South African Formula One championship throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, a separate series from the FIA Formula One World Championship that initially featured Formula One cars but later evolved to primarily use Formula 5000 and Formula Atlantic machinery. Driver graduated to full-time car racing in 1969, driving a Formula 5000 Lola for Doug Serrurier, a prominent South African team owner.

In 1970, Driver won the South African Formula 5000 championship twice in his privately funded McLaren M10B, establishing himself as one of South Africa's leading car racers. From 1971 he entered his own McLaren under the Team Personality banner, finishing third in the championship final classification, demonstrating his abilities as both driver and team owner. In 1974, Driver was hired by Team Gunston, one of South Africa's premier racing teams, to drive a Formula One Lotus 72 in the South African national championship. He again finished third in the championship, proving his consistency at the top level of South African motorsport.

Driver continued competing in South African national racing throughout the 1970s, achieving numerous podium finishes and race victories, establishing himself as one of the country's most successful and consistent circuit racers despite his lack of World Championship Formula One success. Following his retirement from active competition in the late 1970s, Driver remained connected to South African motorsport through various roles and occasionally attended historic motorcycle and car racing events. He has lived primarily in South Africa throughout his life and as of recent accounts remains alive, now in his 90s, one of the surviving links to South Africa's golden era of motorsport during the 1960s and 1970s when drivers like Jody Scheckter, Tony Maggs, and others were competing internationally while domestic championships featured world-class talent.

Driver's career presents an interesting contrast between his international success (third in the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship) and his Formula One failure (zero starts from two attempts), demonstrating that skills on two wheels don't automatically translate to four wheels at the highest level, though his subsequent South African car racing success proves he was a talented four-wheel racer when competing in appropriate categories. Known for his 1965 third-place finish in the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship, his unfortunate nickname creating endless headline confusion, his unsuccessful two-attempt Formula One career resulting in zero starts, his later success in South African Formula 5000 and national championships, and his longevity, Paddy Driver remains a respected figure in South African motorsport history whose greatest achievements came on motorcycles rather than in cars.