Shekhar Mehta

Shekhar Mehta
Born	(1945-06-20) 20 June 1945 Uganda
Died	12 April 2006(2006-04-12) (aged 60) London, England
Occupation	Rally driver
Years active	1966–1986

Shekhar Mehta (20 June 1945 – 12 April 2006) was a Kenyan rally driver born in Uganda, renowned for clinching the Safari Rally title five times—a record—including a streak of four consecutive victories from 1979 to 1982. He also achieved a fifth-place finish in the 1981 World Rally Championship standings.

Biography

Mehta hailed from an affluent family of Indian Gujarati heritage residing in Uganda, where his family owned plantations. He embarked on his rallying career at 21 years old. In 1972, Mehta and his family relocated to Kenya to escape the regime of Idi Amin, just one year prior to his initial triumph at the Safari Rally. He was the son of Khimji Mehta and grandson of Nanji Kalidas Mehta, the founder of the Mehta Group, and related as cousin to entrepreneur Jay Mehta. In 1978, he married his co-driver, Yvonne Pratt, and they had one son together.

His peak competitive years were marked by driving Datsun vehicles. Mehta claimed victory in the first-ever African Rally Championship in 1981 and won the Cyprus Rally in 1976. Additionally, he earned podium finishes at the 1981 Rally Codasur, twice at the Acropolis Rally, and three occasions at the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire. His rallying career concluded following a severe accident during the 1986 Rallye des Pharaons while competing for Peugeot.

Following retirement from active competition, Mehta assumed influential positions within the FIA, serving as president of the FIA Rally Commission starting in 1997 and later as interim President of the World Rally Championship Commission shortly before his passing. He died on 12 April 2006 in London due to liver complications associated with hepatitis and injuries sustained earlier.

Complete IMC results

Year	Entrant	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1970	Shekhar Mehta	Datsun 1600 SSS	MON	SWE	ITA	KEN Ret	AUT	GRE	GBR
1971	Nissan	Datsun 240Z	MON	SWE	ITA	KEN 2	MAR	AUT	GRE
	Nissan Europe Rally Team									GBR 19
1972	Nissan	Datsun 240Z	MON	SWE	KEN 10	MAR
	Sears Roebuck Ltd						GRE 6	AUT	ITA	USA
	Withers of Winsford										GBR Ret

Comprehensive WRC Results

... (table continues with consistent formatting)

Year	Team	Vehicle	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Points
1973	Nissan	Datsun 240Z	MON	SWE	POR	KEN 1	MOR Ret	GRE	POL	FIN Ret	AUT	ITA	USA			N/A	N/A
	Datsun UK Ltd	Datsun Sunny											GBR 37	FRA
1974	Lancia Marlboro	Lancia Fulvia Coupé HF	MON C	SWE C	POR	KEN 11	GRE C	FIN							N/A	N/A
		Lancia Beta Coupé							ITA 4	CAN	USA	GBR	FRA

External links

• Driver profile, Rallybase.nl
• "Datsun and The East African Safari Rally", Datsunhistory.com (archived 6 May 2006)