George Robert Fouché (nicknamed Fast Fouché; 15 May 1965 – 5 May 2023) was a South African international motorsport race car driver, Le Mans 24 Hour winner and South African Formula 1 Powerboat pilot. He retired from competition in 2005.
Fouché grew up on his father's brick factory, and by the age of 6 he was able to drive a bulldozer. His passion for motorsport began when he started driving go-karts in races at the age of 8. This continued until he was able to race cars at the age of 16.
At 16 he got his first competition licence from Motorsport South Africa and started competing in motorsport while he was still not allowed to drive on public roads.
Fouché had a very large scar over his left eye that many believe is a result of a motorsport accident. In fact, he got the scar when on his 8th birthday - he was teaching someone to drive a tractor. While teaching him, the tractor accidentally jerked and George fell off and the tyre rode over the side of his head, causing a massive cut that went halfway around his head.
Due to his extensive travels between Japan and South Africa, he was actually booked on the ill-fated
South African Airways Flight 295
South African Airways Flight 295 (SA295/SAA295) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, Taipei, Taiwan, to Jan Smuts International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa, with a stopover in Plais ...
, The Helderberg, which crashed off
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
on 28 November 1987 en route from Taiwan to South Africa, but missed the flight when his connecting flight from Japan to Taiwan was cancelled due to a typhoon.
On 2 April 2007, he suffered a
perforated ulcer
A perforated ulcer is a condition in which an untreated ulcer has burned through the mucosal wall in a segment of the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., the stomach or colon) allowing gastric contents to leak into the abdominal cavity.
Signs and symp ...
which was misdiagnosed as
pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormone
A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...
. He spent 63 days in intensive care in Montana Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa and was released on 6 June 2007.
George died following complications from a fall in Pretoria, on 5 May 2023, at the age of 57.
According to his brother Pete, George had an accidental fall during
load shedding Load shedding (LS) is a protective method of emergency power control where, during a large disbalance between supply and demand, the demand (load) is intentionally disconnected ("shed") so that the available electricity supply within a safe timefr ...
in February 2023 and suffered a cut to the head and significant blood loss. The hospital managed to stop the bleeding and stitch the wound but did not give him a blood transfusion. Over the next two months, his health deteriorated and was admitted to Pretoria West Hospital on 1 May 2023.
International racing career
At 17, he raced in the
Kyalami
Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (from ''Khaya lami'', ''My home'' in Zulu language, Zulu) is a motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa, just north of Johannesburg. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix motor racing, Grand ...
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...
1000 km on 10 December 1983 in a
Kremer Racing
Kremer Racing is a motorsports team based in Cologne, Germany, founded by racing driver Erwin Kremer and his brother Manfred. They have competed internationally with Porsches for nearly all of their existence, and were even one of the factory-back ...
Porsche CK5 with co-drivers
Franz Konrad and Kees Kroesemeijer, but was disqualified for a push start.
While racing in round three of the 1989 Fuji Long Distance Series, George came across the burning car of
Oscar Larrauri
Oscar Rubén Larrauri (born 19 August 1954) is a racing driver from Argentina. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, all with the EuroBrun team, debuting at the 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix. He scored no championship points, only qualify ...
that had just crashed. Oscar was still in the car, and noticing that the marshals were not equipped to deal with the fire, George stopped his car and pulled Oscar out. George eventually finished 2nd in the race, which would eventually cost him the championship. George received an impromptu "The Hero Award" from the Japanese Automobile Federation while on the podium.
While qualifying for the Fuji 1000 km race in October 1992, one of his car's tyres burst, sending him head-on into a concrete wall at 280 km/h. George's foot was crushed and he spent seven months on crutches.
In 1993, George test drove the
Sasol
Sasol Limited, commonly referred to as Sasol, is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa.
The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa, and built around coal liquefaction processes that German ...
Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team was named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan and was based at Silverstone, England, but raced with an Irish licence.
In early 2005, the team ...
Formula 1 car at the
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand ...
in England.
24 Hours of Le Mans
World Sportscar Championship (Europe)
All Japan Sports Prototype Championship (Japan)
Fuji Long Distance Series
IMSA
Fouché competed in the 2nd round of the 1993 Imsa series in Miami alongside
Wayne Taylor
Wayne Taylor (born 15 July 1956) is a South African sports car racing driver and team owner. He won the 1996 and 2005 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 2005 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype drivers' championship. He drove for Su ...
in an Intrepid RM1 Chevrolet GTP. They finished 5th.
Fouché also competed in the 1994
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...
alongside fellow South Africans
Hilton Cowie and
Stephen Watson driving a
Lotus Esprit
The Lotus Esprit is a sports car built by Lotus Cars from 1976 to 2004 at their Hethel, England factory. It has a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. Together with the Lotus Elise / Exige, it is one of Lotus' most long-lived models.
Th ...
S300 in the
GTU class. On the 354 lap the car suffered engine failure.
South African racing career
*F1 Powerboat (South Africa)
*Sascar
2000 Champion
*Wesbank V8
* Formula Atlantic
Fouché competed in the South African Formula Atlantic Championship in 1983
before starting his international career in the World Sportscar Championship in Europe in 1984.
*
Group One Racing
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
*Group N
*Formula Ford
*Rally
Post racing career
Fouché owned Dermalamp South Africa, a company that manufactures and sells
phototherapy
Light therapy, also called phototherapy or bright light therapy is the exposure to direct sunlight or artificial light at controlled wavelengths in order to treat a variety of medical disorders, including seasonal affective disorder (SAD), circ ...
equipment for the management of
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by patches of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small localized patches to complete b ...
and
Eczema
Dermatitis is a term used for different types of skin inflammation, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fouche, George
1965 births
2023 deaths
South African racing drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
White South African people
Sportspeople from Pretoria
Racing drivers from Gauteng
World Sportscar Championship drivers