Chandra Shekhar Mehta (20 June 1945 – 12 April 2006) was a Kenyan rally driver. He was born in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

and won the

Safari Rally The Safari Rally is a rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is historically r ...

a record five times (1973, 1979–82), including four consecutively, and in 1981 finished fifth in the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

Biography

A Kenyan of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

descent, he was born in 1945 to a family of plantation owners in Uganda, and began rallying behind the wheel of a BMW aged 21. In 1972, he and his family fled

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

's regime to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, the year before he clinched his first Safari Rally title. He was born into a wealthy business family, the son of Khimji Mehta and the grandson of

Nanji Kalidas Mehta Nanji Kalidas Mehta, MBE (17 November 1887 – 25 August 1969) was an industrialist and philanthropist from Gujarat. He founded the Mehta Group of Industries in British East Africa, now having its head office in India. His son Mahendra Mehta, ...

, founder of the

Mehta Group The Mehta Group of Companies, commonly referred to as the Mehta Group, is an Indian conglomerate based in Mumbai and headquartered in Gandhinagar, with subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, Kenya and Uganda. The group employs in excess of ...

. He was the cousin of Indian businessman,

Jay Mehta Jay Mehta (born 18 January 1961) is an Indian businessman and entrepreneur. He is the son of Mahendra Mehta and Sunayana Mehta and grandson of Nanji Kalidas Mehta, who own the Mehta Group which is spread over Africa, India, Canada and United ...

who is the head of the Mehta Group. He married his sometime co-driver Yvonne Pratt in 1978 after a ten-year courtship, and they had one son, Vijay, in 1980. Through the most successful period of his career he drove

Datsun Datsun (, ) was an automobile brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunche ...

cars. He won the inaugural

African Rally Championship The African Rally Championship (ARC) is an international automobile rally championship run under the auspicies of the FIA. The championship was first held in 1981 and won by Shekhar Mehta. The most successful driver in the championship's history ...

in 1981, and the

Cyprus Rally The Cyprus Rally is a rallying competition held yearly in Cyprus since 1970. The event is run by the Cyprus Automobile Association and is based in the city of Limassol (Lemesos). It is run on the winding roads of the nearby mountains of Troödo ...

in 1976. He was on the podium at the 1981 Rally Codasur, twice at the

Acropolis Rally The Acropolis Rally of Greece ( el, Ράλλυ Ακρόπολις) is a rally competition that is part of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The rally is held on very dusty, rough, rocky and fast mountain roads in mainland Greece, usually duri ...

and three times at the

Rallye Côte d'Ivoire The Rallye Côte d'Ivoire, perhaps better known as the Rallye Bandama as it was originally called, or the Ivory Coast Rally is a rally race held annually in Côte d'Ivoire in Africa. In common with other races on the continent, it is known for its ...

. His career came to an end in 1986 after a nearly fatal crash at Rallye des Pharaons,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

while driving for

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

. After his driving days were over he held various administrative positions at the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

. He became president of the FIA Rally commission in 1997, and was re-appointed as interim President of the

commission shortly before his death. He died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 12 April 2006 from

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

problems,

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes ( jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal ...

, and illness relating to complications from an old injury."Shekhar Mehta Loses Battle With Illness"
Yahoo UK & Ireland Sports, 12 April 2006.

References

External links

Driver profile
Rallybase.nl

Datsunhistory.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Shekhar 1945 births Ugandan people of Indian descent 2006 deaths Deaths from hepatitis Kenyan Hindus World Rally Championship drivers Ugandan emigrants to Kenya Kenyan rally drivers Kenyan people of Indian descent Arya Samajis Peugeot Sport drivers Audi Sport drivers Nismo drivers