Chandra Shekhar Mehta (20 June 1945 – 12 April 2006) was a Kenyan rally driver. He was born in Uganda and won the Safari Rally a record five times (1973, 1979–82), including four consecutively,[1] and in 1981 finished fifth in the World Rally Championship.[2]
A Kenyan of Indian descent, he was born in 1945 to a family of plantation owners in Uganda, and began rallying behind the wheel of a BMW aged 21.[3] In 1972, he and his family fled Idi Amin's regime to Kenya,[4] the year before he clinched his first Safari Rally title.
He was born into a wealthy business family, the son of Khimji Mehta and the grandson of Nanji Kalidas Mehta, founder of the Mehta Group. He was the cousin of Indian businessman, Jay Mehta who is the head of the Mehta Group.[5] He married his sometime co-driver Yvonne Pratt in 1978 after a ten-year courtship, and they had one son, Vijay, in 1980.[6]
After his driving days were over he held various administrative positions at the FIA. He became president of the FIA Rally commission in 1997, and was re-appointed as interim President of the World Rally Championship commission shortly before his death. He died in London on 12 April 2006 from liver problems, hepatitis, and illness relating to complications from an old injury.[9][10]
shekhar, mehta, chandra, june, 1945, april, 2006, kenyan, rally, driver, born, uganda, safari, rally, record, five, times, 1973, 1979, including, four, consecutively, 1981, finished, fifth, world, rally, championship, bornchandra, 1945, june, 1945ugandadied12,. Chandra Shekhar Mehta 20 June 1945 12 April 2006 was a Kenyan rally driver He was born in Uganda and won the Safari Rally a record five times 1973 1979 82 including four consecutively 1 and in 1981 finished fifth in the World Rally Championship 2 Shekhar MehtaBornChandra Shekhar Mehta 1945 06 20 20 June 1945UgandaDied12 April 2006 2006 04 12 aged 60 London United KingdomNationalityUgandanCitizenshipKenyanOccupationRally DriverParent s Khimji Mehta father Hemlata Mehta mother RelativesNanji Kalidas Mehta grandfather Jay Mehta Cousin Biography EditA Kenyan of Indian descent he was born in 1945 to a family of plantation owners in Uganda and began rallying behind the wheel of a BMW aged 21 3 In 1972 he and his family fled Idi Amin s regime to Kenya 4 the year before he clinched his first Safari Rally title He was born into a wealthy business family the son of Khimji Mehta and the grandson of Nanji Kalidas Mehta founder of the Mehta Group He was the cousin of Indian businessman Jay Mehta who is the head of the Mehta Group 5 He married his sometime co driver Yvonne Pratt in 1978 after a ten year courtship and they had one son Vijay in 1980 6 Through the most successful period of his career he drove Datsun cars He won the inaugural African Rally Championship in 1981 7 and the Cyprus Rally in 1976 8 He was on the podium at the 1981 Rally Codasur twice at the Acropolis Rally and three times at the Rallye Cote d Ivoire His career came to an end in 1986 after a nearly fatal crash at Rallye des Pharaons Egypt while driving for Peugeot After his driving days were over he held various administrative positions at the FIA He became president of the FIA Rally commission in 1997 and was re appointed as interim President of the World Rally Championship commission shortly before his death He died in London on 12 April 2006 from liver problems hepatitis and illness relating to complications from an old injury 9 10 References Edit Safari Rally Roll of Honour Rallybase nl 1981 World Rally Championship for Drivers Final classification Rallybase nl Shekhar Mehta and John Large Archived 17 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine Issue 4 Article 2 FIA News Come Let Us Now Praise Famous Ugandans Joachim Buwembo The Daily Nation 2 September 2002 Shree Shekharbhai Khimjibhai Nanji Kalidas Mehta formerly of Lugazi died in London on Wednesday 12 April at the age of 61 years Rally icon remembered Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Sports Monthly issue 52 African Rally Championship Past Winners Archived 11 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine Cyprus Rally past events Archived 8 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Shekhar Mehta dies in London Eastandard net 13 April 2006 Shekhar Mehta Loses Battle With Illness permanent dead link Yahoo UK amp Ireland Sports 12 April 2006 External links EditDriver profile Rallybase nl Datsun and The East African Safari Rally Datsunhistory comSporting positionsPreceded byinaugural African Rally Champion1981 Succeeded byWalter Rohrl Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shekhar Mehta amp oldid 1121694264, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
