Neville Lederle (25 September 1938 – 17 May 2019) was a racing driver from South Africa.
He participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, scoring a single championship point. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Regarded as one of South Africa’s outstanding prospects, Neville Lederle made an immediate impression with his Lotus 18 late in 1961 and went on to finish sixth in 1962’s South African GP, scoring a point in his only GP start. It seemed to indicate a strong future in the sport for him but injury prevented that promise from being fulfilled.
Born on the 25th September 1938, at Theunissen in the Orange Free State, Neville was educated at Bloemfontein and after attending agricultural college obtained his diploma in farming and farm management. He started racing in 1958, while spending nine months in England and drove a VW in production car events at Goodwood, Silverstone and other circuits. On his return to South Africa he took up rallying and racing. During this period he was involved with the garage business his father John (a retired miller and farmer) had invested in though was able to continue racing, driving his VW with the Goldfields Motor Club plus on occasion raced a Porsche 356. He contested Winter Motor Races in East London and took part in the Caltex Protea trial, a gruelling three-day event in the northern Cape, coming home third with his Beetle. With support from his father, who bought him a Porsche 356 Super 90 to race, he finished third in the 1960 Junior Transvaal Summer Handicap. During that year he contested a 2 Hour East London event with the VW and was seventeenth and in the following year raced Phoenix Motor’s VW Okrasa in the 9 Hour Kyalami race with I.A.Galloway.
He and his father realised that if he wanted to make a career in motorsport he needed to hone his single-seater skills by racing in the UK. After his father purchased a Formula Lotus Junior for him he returned to England and entered the Jim Russell Racing School. Neville was content to take his time and learn his craft before campaigning the car in national and international Formula Junior races and his unassuming manner made him popular with both local and overseas drivers. He began posting strong results with fourth at Silverstone and sixth at Snetterton’s John Law Trophy, ahead of sixth placed team mate Frank Gardner. There was almost a third place podium result at Mallory Park until it was thwarted when his car’s gearbox blew up but Autosport magazine would write in one edition that “Neville Lederle is a driver of great promise”. Following this he took his Lotus back to South Africa and began contesting local events and in mid-December raced in the non-championship Natal GP though retired from it.
1962 started at Killarney with a non-championship Cape Grand Prix at the beginning of January and he was fourteenth with the Lotus 18. This was followed by a win in March’s Bardahl Trophy race at Kyalami and in late April he was third in the Coronation 100 at Westmead, behind Syd van der Vyver and Ernie Pieterse (who would clinch the SA Drivers’ Championship that year). Further races with the 18 saw fourth place in the South South African Republic Festival race at Kyalami then in two races in August he was third at Kyalami’s Rand Winter Trophy and fourth in the Border 100 at East London.
By now he was was starting to get noticed and thanks to huge support from his father he acquired an ex Jim Clark/Trevor Taylor Lotus 21-Climax. This was bought from Syd van der Vyver, who himself then campaigned a Lotus 24. The upgrade to the 21 paid off and with it immaculately prepared by Vic Mobey, his and Neville’s focus on detailed preparation meant it was the only car to finish in all three Grands Prix of the 1962 Springbok series and without a pit-stop of any sort.
In his first outing in the car at the Rand Spring Trophy at Kyalami he was second in both heats and second in the final behind Gary Hocking. Another second place followed at the Rhodesian GP at Kumalo while at Kyalami’s Rand GP he took an impressive fifth place finish, behind Jim Clark, Trevor Taylor, John Surtees and Gary Hocking. The Natal GP took place the following week at Westmead and he impressed by making the front row of the grid, lining up alongside Graham Hill’s BRM and (eventual race winner) Trevor Taylor’s works Lotus-Climax. He missed the first heat but was third in the second and finished fourth in the final (the highest placed four-cylinder car) but any result was sadly overshadowed by his friend Gary Hocking’s fatal accident during practice. In November, away from single seaters, he contested the 9 hour Kyalami with Dave Clapham in Grand Prix Motor’s Saab 96.
Then came the South African GP at East London at the end of December, which was his and South Africa’s first World Championship race. During the practice day, the circuit’s lap record was broken 30 times, 22 of which came thanks to Jim Clark and Neville said he learnt a lot from studying him: “I was doing reasonably well in practice, setting lap times of about 1 minute 36 seconds..then Jim Clark came past me on the outside at Potters during practice-flat out! I thought, “If he can do that… So I steeled myself to do the same on the next lap and shaved two to three seconds off my lap times!” He qualified tenth although the main focus of the race was on Graham Hill and Jim Clark. The World Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships had not yet been decided and the two would battle for these during the race, with Clark’s Lotus succumbing to an oil leak after 60 laps and Hill taking the honours for BRM. Despite a broken steering wheel and a cracked engine block, Neville drove well to finish sixth and achieve a championship point, plus was the first placed four-cylinder car as those ahead had V8-engine power. Fellow South African Tony Maggs was third, though was driving for the Cooper works team, while Neville was running as a privateer. He later described feeling rather overawed at entering his first GP, telling how “I can remember going to the drivers’ briefing and Ernie Pieterse and I were saying to each other, “What the hell are we doing in this august company.? Of the race itself, he said “The guy who looked after my car was called Dick Mobey.
He had broken his fingers and could never straighten his hand properly. After I passed Salvadori my times came down a bit, and Dick came out of the pit and shook his crooked hand at me to say, “Slow down you little bastard!” I had always made a point of taking some coffee to the guys and spending time with them while they prepared my car for a race. But this time Dick said, “Bugger off! It’s a long race, go and get some sleep.” I thought that was odd. I only discovered later that he had found a crack in the cylinder block. I don’t know what he did, but he managed to patch it. I suppose it was better for me not to know.” Stirling Moss was at the race and asked by the media who had impressed him stated “I would unhesitatingly choose Neville Lederle as the most promising. Considering the equipment he had in the South African Grand Prix, he did amazingly well.”
The headlines following his exploits read ‘Free State’s Neville Has Now Arrived’ and ‘Lederle is a Champion in the Making’ and the point achieved at the GP now classed him as an F1 graded driver for 1963. However, FIA rules meant that internationally graded drivers were prohibited from competing in national events when racing outside their own country so he was forced to miss the annual Rhodesian GP (in which he came second the year before) and races in Mozambique.
Remaining in South Africa that year, he dominated in his Lotus 21 and concentrating on local events, including the Springbok Series races, his finishing record was six overall victories in seven events. He faced tough opposition during the year, including Ernie Pieterse in a Lotus, John Love in a Cooper, Peter De Klerk in a competitive Alfa Special and Doug Serrurier in his LDS Cooper. At the end of March, he raced in the Rand Autumn Trophy at Kyalami though ran out of fuel after leading for 38 of the 40-lap race. However, after spotting Brausch Niemann’s Lotus 7, which had come to a halt several laps before, he climbed from his car, pulled the reserve fuel tank off Brausch’s car and poured it into his tank. Peter De Klerk and Ernest Pieterse had now passed him but he resumed the race and chased them down. After crossing the line, complaints were raised and the stewards deliberated over the matter but eventually allowed the result to stand, declaring he had assisted himself and not been helped by an outside party. In April he won the Easter GP at Westmead and followed it with another win at the Coronation 100 in Durban, which put him on 34 points in the Championship and leading over nearest rivals Ernie Pieterse (who was the reigning Champion), Peter de Klerk and Doug Serrurier. He took another victory in June’s South African Republic Festival at Kyalami after a strong battle with Syd van der Vyver. In the following month’s Border 100 in East London, he beat E.Pieterse, which meant the South African Drivers’ Championship title was his as, although there were still four races remaining, he was so far ahead in the points that he could not be caught. His wins continued though, taking Kyalami’s Rand Winter Trophy and Autosport magazine’s cover featured cockpit close-ups of Neville, Peter de Klerk and Brausch Niemann. At the Van Riebeeck Trophy at Killarney in late September, he suffered gearbox problems but was still able to win the event’s two heats. The next event was the Rand Spring Trophy at Kyalami where he scored his seventh win of the season, achieving the six consecutive victories. The South African Drivers’ Championship title was his and newspaper headlines read ‘Goldfields Man New S. African Champion’ and ‘Lederle-Virginia’s Hero.’ He was eager to contest the upcoming South Africa GP as it would be a chance to race with Jim Clark again (and other international stars) plus Ferrari would be attending for the first time. However, it wasn’t to be as he suffered a nasty accident while practising in Thompson Bros. entered Lotus 23 for the Kyalami 9 Hours, where he was to co-drive with Brausch Niemann. As he was negotiating the Leeukop bend his right foot caught between the pedals and, unable to make the corner at over 90mph, he hit the banking and in the heavy impact his left leg was broken in two places. Unfortunately, his recovery from the accident was a lengthy one as the severity of the breaks (one of which required a bone graft from his hip in order to make it heal) meant it was slow to heal.
He had hoped to be back in action for the 1964 season but it took almost an entire year to recuperate and he missed a large part of that season whilst recovering. During this time his father John sadly died which let him as owner of the family business and his increasing business commitments eventually saw him sell his Lotus to Aldo Scribante and retire from racing. Speaking of his retirement he stated “the greatest thing racing ever gave me was the relationship I built up with my father-and then he died in my title year, 1963. Then I broke my leg in the Rand Nine Hours of ’64. I’d lost my dad and our VW/Audi franchise had expanded, so I decided to stop.” However, Aldo Scribante persuaded him to race again and he returned for 1964’s end of season Rand Grand Prix where he finished tenth but narrowly failed to qualify for January’s South African GP. He then concentrated on his business interests but continued competing in rallying and in 1968’s Roof of Africa event his Beetle was the only car to make it over the gruelling Sani Pass unaided.
Some years later Neville participated in a supporting race in the 1983 Killarney Castrol 3 Hour, in an event that included ex-drivers such as John Love, Basil van Rooyen, Bob Olthoff, Doug Serrurier and Peter Gough in VW Golf GTIs. In 2002 he was reunited with his F1 Lotus at Killarney. American Bob Woodward (the Lotus’s then-owner), had brought it out to contest David Piper’s Springbok Series and he offered him the chance to get behind the wheel again. However, a race official refused to allow it, until David Piper’s wife heard about it and stridently overturned the decision, and soon afterwards Neville was happily piloting the car for a few laps of the circuit.
Neville sadly passed away on the 17th May 2019 at Knysna, Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Bio by Antonio Vasques
Neville Lederle
Is a former racing driver from South Africa and he had a short but notably successful racing career including taking part in the 9th SA Grand Prix held at East London on 29 December 1962. Despite a broken steering wheel and a cracked engine block, Neville finished sixth in his privately entered Lotus 21, was the first four-cylinder car home, and gained a World Championship point for his efforts, which made him an F1 graded driver for 1963. Legendary British driver Stirling Moss described Neville as “the most promising young driver of the year”. However, Neville stayed in South Africa and concentrated on local events, including the Springbok Series races where his finishing record – six overall victories in seven events – led him to the 1963 SA Drivers’ Championship title.
However, later in the year the death of his father meant he had to take over the family business. Following this, a broken leg in a practice accident for the 1963 Nine Hour took a long time to heal. So he missed a large part of the 1964 season whilst recovering. He returned with his Lotus 21 for the end-of-season 1964 Rand Grand Prix where he finished 10th, but he narrowly failed to qualify for January’s 1965 South African Grand Prix. After this disappointment, Lederle effectively retired from racing to concentrate on business interests.
Star of tomorrow? – Motor Racing 1963 Vol 10 No 05 May – P172 Star of Tomorrow
By Leonard de Villiers
NEVILLE ANTHONY LEDERLE. This quietly – spoken, unassuming young South African has caught the eye of many enthusiasts in his country as an up-and-coming driver. His performances ín the Rand, Natal and South African Grands Prix were nothing short of amazing, particularly as Lederle was mixing it in a 4-cylinder Lotus – Climax against VSs and, in some instances, beating them. It is no wonder that Stirling Moss has stated emphatically that he would choose Lederle as the most impressive driver of 1962.
Born at Theuníssen, in the Orange Free State, on September 25, 1938, Lederle was educated at Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State. After attending an agricultural college, where he obtained his diploma in farming and farm management, Lederle decided to visit the United Kingdom and follow his favourite sport-motor racing. Helped by his father, a retired miller and farmer, and a great motor sport fan, this 24-year-old South African spent nine months in England in 1958 driving a VW in production car events at Goodwood, Silverstone and other circuits.
Returning to South Africa, Lederle continued racing on SA circuits, but was content to learn, and his name did not figure prominently among the winners of South African races.
In 1961 Lederle returned to the UK, and this time his mount was somewhat more ambitious a Formula Junior Lotus 20, which he raced at Snetterton and Mallory Park, with indifferent results, but learning all the time. That would appear to be a characteristic of this likeable young driver he is always ready to learn, and his unassuming manner has made him popular with both local and overseas drivers.
His first really big moment in South Africa came in October 1961, when he came second behind the late Gary Hocking in the Rand Spring Trophy, driving the 4-cylinder Lotus-Climax he had bought from Syd van der Vyver.
DETAILED PREPARATION
With the assistance of Vie Moby, his mechanic, Lederle makes a fetish of having his car immaculately prepared- if he can’t win, then, by gum, he’ll finish! It is this devotion to detailed preparation that ensured that his Lotus-Climax 4 was the only car to finish in all three Grands Prix of the 1962 Springbok series, and without a pit-stop of any sort at that! Lederle’s mechanic has had an excellent background, of course, having worked for Syd van der Vyver before joining the young Free Stater.
During the Springbok series it was, for me at any rate, difficult to distinguish between Lederle’s car and those of Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor, so consistent was his driving.
At the time of writing Lederle has not been approached by any of the ‘Big Three’ in the UK and it is his intention to have a crack at the South African driver’s championship this year, before considering a third visit to England.
The Royal Automobile Club of South Africa, who govern motor racing in that country, have announced that the 1962 Rand, Natal and South African Grands Prix will count towards the 1963 championship, so Lederle has got off to a flying start with fifth, fourth and sixth places, respectively, in the three grand prix. He was the first South African home in all three events, excepting Tony Maggs and Gary Hocking, who were, however, driving for overseas teams. Lederle’s points in the SA championship total 21, and he has a commanding lead over the second-place man, Ernest Peterse’s, 8 points.
With this experience of both the FJ and Fl Lotus, Lederle could well find Colin Chapman sympathetic towards his desire to race in the UK when he comes over at the end of the South African series in December.
Motor Racing 1963 Vol 10 No 05 May – P172 Star of Tomorrow
Gallery F1
