Shekhar Mehta
Chandrashekhar Mehta , known as Shekhar Mehta , (born June 20, 1945 in Uganda , † April 12, 2006 in London ) was a rally driver from Kenya who had a British passport. As the son of an Indian family of plantation and cement plant owners, Mehta fled to Kenya from Uganda in 1972 before the regime of dictator Idi Amin's regime . Shekhar was married to Yvonne Mehta, the temporarily when his rally co-pilot in Autosport was active.
Mehta won the Safari Rally five times (1973, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982), each time in a Datsun car . His best year in the World Rally Championship was 1981 when he finished fifth overall in the World Championship series.
He ended his career as a rally driver in 1987 after a serious accident at the Pharaohs rally in Egypt , which almost cost him his life at the time - and from whose late effects he is reported to have died. After retiring as an active motor sportsman, Mehta remained connected to rallying and became president of the FIA Rally Commission for many years . A few weeks before his death, he took over this post on a provisional basis after his successor, the French Jacques Régis , prematurely announced his resignation and the Finnish and European Parliamentarian Ari Vatanen did not want to take over the post he had been offered.
Web links
- Datsuns success in the Safari Rally (english)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mehta, Shekhar |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mehta, Chandrashekhar |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Kenyan-British rally driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 20, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Uganda |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 12, 2006 |
| Place of death | London |