Trevor Blokdyk

John Trevor Blokdyk (30 November 1935 in Krugersdorp, Transvaal – 19 March 1995 in [1] was a South African motorcycle speedway rider[2] and Formula One driver who participated in two World Championship Grands Prix, although qualifying for only one.[3]

Trevor Blokdyk
Born(1935-11-30)30 November 1935
Krugersdorp, Transvaal, South Africa
Died19 March 1995(1995-03-19) (aged 59)
Hekpoort, near Krugersdorp, South Africa
Formula One World Championship career
NationalitySouth Africa South African
Active years1963, 1965
Teamsnon-works Cooper
Entries2 (1 start)
First entry1963 South African Grand Prix
Last entry1965 South African Grand Prix
Speedway career
Career history
1958–1959Poole Pirates
1961–1962Ipswich Witches
1962Leicester Hunters

Career

Blokdyk rode in speedway in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s for Poole Pirates and Ipswich Witches.[4] In 1962 he signed for Leicester Hunters but after one match for the team announced that he was quitting speedway to concentrate on motor racing.[4]

Blokdyk competed in Formula One for the first time in the non-Championship Rand Grand Prix at Kyalami in 1961, in a Cooper, but spun out early on.[5] He was more successful at his next race, the Natal Grand Prix at Westmead, where he finished eighth.[6]

In late 1962, Blokdyk went to Europe to pursue a career in Formula Junior and was soon a front-runner, until he ran short of finances and returned to South Africa.[3] In 1963 he started his only World Championship race at East London, driving a three-year-old Cooper-Maserati prepared by Scuderia Lupini, and coming in 12th.[6] He also finished third in the Mozambique Grand Prix in 1963 and 1964.[1]

He continued in the South African Formula One Championship in 1964 and then moved back to Europe and drove in Formula 3, scoring some good results, including a win at Magny-Cours and Nogaro.[6] He returned to South Africa for the 1964 Rand Grand Prix, where he retired his Cooper-Alfa Romeo with engine problems, and he failed to qualify for the 1965 South African Grand Prix.[6]

Later in 1965 he continued in European Formula 3, and suffered serious pelvic and leg injuries in a crash at Albi which ended his season.[3] On his return in 1966, he finished sixth at Rouen-Les-Essarts, and continued to race in Europe in F3 until 1969, before returning permanently to compete in South Africa.[3] On his retirement he became a farmer, but died following a heart attack aged 59.[6]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WDC Points
1963 Scuderia Lupini Cooper T51 Maserati Straight-4 MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER ITA USA MEX RSA
12
NC 0
1965 Trevor Blokdyk Cooper T59 Ford Straight-4 RSA
DNQ
MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX NC 0
Source:[3]

Complete Formula One non-championship results

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1961 Trevor Blokdyk Cooper T52 Ford LOM GLV PAU BRX VIE AIN SYR NAP LON SIL SOL KAN DAN MOD FLG OUL LEW VAL RAN
Ret
NAT
8
RSA
1962 Hoffman Racing Team Cooper T59 Alfa Romeo CAP BRX LOM LAV GLV PAU AIN INT NAP MAL CLP RMS SOL KAN MED DAN OUL MEX RAN
DNQ
NAT
Ret
1963 Scuderia Lupini Cooper T51 Maserati LOM GLV PAU IMO SYR AIN INT ROM SOL KAN MED AUT OUL RAN
Ret
1964 Hoffman Racing Cooper T59 Alfa Romeo DMT NWT SYR AIN INT SOL MED RAN
Ret
1965 Hoffman Racing Cooper T59 Ford CAP
NC
ROC SYR SMT INT MED RAN

References

  1. "Trevor Blokdyk biography". MotorSport Magazine. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  2. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  3. Small, Steve (1996). The Grand Prix Who's Who (2nd ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 0-85112-623-5.
  4. Jones, Alan (2004) Speedway in Leicester: The Hunters Era, Automedia, p. 145
  5. "1961 Rand Grand Prix results". Chicane F1. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  6. "Trevor Blokdyk biography". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.