John Maxwell Lineham Love (7 December 1924 – 25 April 2005) was a

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

n racing driver. He participated in 10

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 29 December 1962. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of six championship points. He also won the 1962 British Saloon Car Championship, now known as the British Touring Car Championship All but one of his Formula One entries were in races held within Africa, either as championship or non-championship rounds. Love was born in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

. He attended

Gifford High School Gifford High School is a government-owned boys-only high school in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The school was founded in 1927 as the Bulawayo Technical School led by Mr Philip Henry Gifford and four teachers, with an enrolment of 39 pupils. Timeline ...

. He started his car racing career in a single-seat

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

F3 with a

Manx Norton The Norton Manx or Manx Norton is a British racing motorcycle that was made from 1947 to 1962 by Norton Motors Ltd. Norton had contested every Isle of Man TT race from the inaugural 1907 event through into the 1970s, a feat unrivalled by any ...

500 cc engine after racing a Triumph Grand Prix motorcycle, which Love then-allowed

Jim Redman James Albert Redman, (born 8 November 1931) is a British-born Zimbabwean former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1959 to 1966. Redman is notable for being a six-time Grand Prix road racing world c ...

to ride when starting his race career, in recognition of Redman's assistance in preparing and maintaining Love's Cooper.Carrick, Peter. ''Motor Cycle Racing'' Hamlyn Publishing, 1969, p. 72; ; retrieved 13 February 2014. Six times South African Formula One Champion in the 1960s, he had originally shone in the European

Formula Junior Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...

firmament back in 1961–62 at the wheel of a Cooper-Austin from

Ken Tyrrell Robert Kenneth Tyrrell (3 May 1924 – 25 August 2001) was a British Formula Two racing driver and the founder of the Tyrrell Formula One constructor.Setright, L. J. K. "Tyrrell: A Shrewd Talent-spotter", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Automo ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

. An unfortunate accident at

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig� ...

resulted in a very badly broken arm and effectively thwarted his chances of moving into full-time Formula One, but he came close when he was nominated as

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...

's replacement in the works Cooper team for the 1964 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. He was a regular contestant in the

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, Richa ...

from 1965 to 1972. He was leading the

1967 South African Grand Prix The 1967 South African Grand Prix, formally the 1st AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans: ''Eerste AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix''), was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 2 January 1967. It was race 1 of 11 in both the 1967 World Ch ...

Kyalami Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (from ''Khaya lami'', ''My home'' in Zulu) is a motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa, just north of Johannesburg. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix and Formula One races and has ho ...

in his 2.7 L

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

-engined

, when a misfire prompted him to make a precautionary stop for extra fuel. He dropped back to finish second behind the works Cooper-Maserati of Pedro Rodríguez. Love would dominate racing in southern Africa in the 1960s, winning the

South African Formula One Championship The South African Formula One Championship, was a Formula One motor racing championship held in South Africa between 1960 and 1975, including races in Rhodesia and Portuguese Mozambique. The front-running cars in the series were recently retire ...

six times in succession from 1964 to 1969. He would also win his home race, the

Rhodesian Grand Prix The Rhodesian Grand Prix was an open-wheel motor race held in the 1960s and 70s, most often as a round of the South African Formula One Championship. During that time it played host to wide variety of racing cars, Formula One, Formula 5000, For ...

, six times. He owned the Jaguar dealership in Bulawayo and had his own stock car racing team in the 1980s. He died in 2005, aged 80, from cancer, in Bulawayo.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

Complete Formula One non-championship results

(

)

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

References

External links

F1 Rejects - To Have Loved and Lost
1924 births 2005 deaths Deaths from cancer in Zimbabwe Rhodesian people of British descent British Touring Car Championship drivers British Touring Car Championship Champions Sportspeople from Bulawayo Rhodesian Formula One drivers Cooper Formula One drivers Team Gunston Formula One drivers White Rhodesian people Formula One team owners {{autoracing-bio-stub