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Former SA Formula One star passes away

Cape Town - Neville Lederle, former South African Formula One motor racing champion, passed away quietly at his home in Knysna last Friday.

He was 80-years-old.

Lederle, born in Theunissen in the Free State in 1938, was schooled at St Andrews in Bloemfontein.

His motor racing career started in Europe where he raced a VW Beetle entering events at Goodwood and Silverstone. He eventually acquired a Formula One car and competed successfully in South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

Lederle's sixth place finish at the 1962 world drivers' championship in East London saw him claim a Formula One point, becoming one of only three South African drivers to achieve the feat, the others being Jody Scheckter and Tony Maggs.

This enabled Lederle to race alongside some of the greatest of the time, including the likes of English duo Jim Clark and Graham Hill and Australia's Jack Brabham.

Lederle went on to race successfully in South Africa where he won the South African Formula One Drivers' Championship in 1963. Later in that year he seriously injured his leg in practice for The Rand 9 Hour and spent most of 1964 recovering. He continued in 1965 with little success and effectively retired to concentrate on business (VW and Audi franchises throughout the Free State).

Lederle went on to live a meaningful life with his family in Bloemfontein and eventually moved to Knysna where he passed quietly last Friday morning. He is survived by his wife, three sons and grandchildren.

Neville Lederle

Neville Lederle after winning the SA championship (Photo supplied by Lederle family)

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