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Non-European drivers without European origins?

Started by WHITE , Aug 16 2005 06:27

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12 replies to this topic

#1 WHITE

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 06:27

Hi,

It has always called my attention that, in motorsport, winners ( let alone champions ) have always been drivers from europe or with an european origin ( Andretti, Jones, Fangio, etc. ).
I do not remember having ever seen drivers from other ethnic groups. I only know the case of the indian rally drivers Singh and Metha winning the safary rally in the 70s and the japanese Fujimoto too.
I also heard that Rick Mears is native from Hawaii but, apart from these drivers, I do know not any other cases.
Does anyone know more about drivers like these ones ?

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#2 Darren Galpin

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 07:03

Howabout "B.Bira", a Prince from Siam (Thailand)? Won races, wasn't of European origin.

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#3 Hieronymus

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 07:19

Rally Driver, Simon Jean-Joseph

...South African racers, Gugu Zulu and Tchops Sipuka.

Old NASCAR favourite...Wendell Scott, that we discussed in detail on TNF.

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#4 KJJ

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 07:21

Kishichiro Okura who competed in the first Brooklands meeting in 1907

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#5 Hieronymus

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 07:24

There are also some pretty fast rally men in the Middle East with impressive winning records.

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#6 theunions

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 07:41

Mears is from Kansas, not Hawaii.

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#7 Darren Galpin

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 07:50

Danny Ongais was from Hawaii.

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#8 WHITE

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 10:44

Originally posted by Darren Galpin
Danny Ongais was from Hawaii.

Thankyou

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#9 BRG

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 12:49

Originally posted by Hieronymus
There are also some pretty fast rally men in the Middle East with impressive winning records.

Only in their home rallies though - few have been able to compete in the broader international arena. In the Production (Gp. N) category in the WRC, Toshi Arai of Japan is a regular winner. Karamjit Singh of Malaysai was PWRC in the past, I believe. As previously mentioned, Shekhar Mehta (Uganda) and Joginder Singh Bachu (Kenya) won WRC Safari Rallies outright and were competitive on other events as well. Joginder's cousin, whose name temporarily eludes me, also won the Safari and Bandama (Ivory Coast) WRC rounds in a Colt. in the 1970s.

Japanese racing drivers have been competitive in every category up to F1, where for some reason none of them have quite made it. There is a long list of names from Ikuzawa through to Sato.

Then there is of course Alex Yoong....

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#10 Rob G

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 14:00

Willy T. Ribbs was an accomplished road racer with over 20 victories in SCCA Trans-Am and IMSA GTP.

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#11 D-Type

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 18:36

I'm not sure I'm very comfortable with this thread.

International motor racing has historically been a European sport, with some participation from the USA, south America and the Antipodes.

This is reflected in the ethnicity of the participants and hence of the winners and champions.

There is no racial discrimination or Nazi-style racist supremacy at work here

Edit: typos

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#12 bretonbanquet

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 19:50

Originally posted by D-Type
I'm not sure I'm very comfortable with this thread.

International motor racing has historically been a European sport, with some participation from the USA, south America and the Antipodes.

This is reflected in the ethnicity of the participants and hence of the winners and champions.

There is no racial dediscrimination or Nazi-style racist supremacy at work here

I don't think anyone suggested that

How about Fairuz Fauzy...? There are a few non-European racers in lower formulae like Cheong Lou Meng from Macao in F3, and I recall Ho Pin Tung from China testing for Williams a couple of years back.

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#13 gerrit stevens

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Posted 16 August 2005 - 20:13

Willy T. Ribbs
Hiro Matsushita (he was a winner of the 1989 North American Toyota Atlantic series eastern divison)
The Japanese Le Mans winners
Weren't the Galvez brothers of native origin.

Gerrit Stevens