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 So ...
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 ...
. 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 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 ...
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 cla ...
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 Autom ...
's
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
. 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, albigé ...
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, Ri ...
from 1965 to 1972. He was leading the
1967 South African Grand Prix at
Kyalami 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 t ...
-engined
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 ...
, 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 six times in succession from 1964 to 1969. He would also win his home race, the
Rhodesian Grand Prix, 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)
Complete Formula One non-championship results
(
key)
Complete British Saloon Car Championship results
(
key) (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