Percival Guy Tunmer (1 December 1948 in Ficksburg – 22 June 1999 in Sandton, Johannesburg) was a racing driver from South Africa.
He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, his home race in 1975, driving a Lotus 72 for a local team, Team Gunston. He finished 11th, scoring no championship points. He later found success in Formula Atlantic. Guy Tunmer was killed in a motorcycle accident in his native South Africa in 1999. Info from Wiki
Bio by Andrew Thompson
Guy Tunmer, who died tragically in June at the age of 50, was one of an elite band of South Africans who competed in a world championship Formula One Grand Prix. Guy drove his Team Gunston Lotus 72 Cosworth to 11 th place in the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami in 1975, sandwiched between the similar works Lotuses of Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx.
This prompted Lotus founder Colin Chapman to visit the Team Gunston pit after the race to congratulate all concerned, and to warn us not to repeat the exercise or he would stop supplying us with cars. It just wasn’t done for the local yokels to beat the might of Team Lotus!
Percival Guy Tunmer had petrol in his veins and a strong determination to succeed in motor sport. His early racing was in saloon cars, where his courage exceeded his skill by a large percentage. He was involved in some spectacular prangs, both on the road and the track. One such road prang, which has become legendary, revolved around a special racing crankshaft which Guy (or Percy as he became known to all his friends) and mechanic Piet van As had collected from JT Engineering. The journey back to the Tunmer workshop was typical, with Percy trying to push the accelerator of the Jaguar E-Type through the floorboards and go round all the corners sideways. Al some point the limit was exceeded and the E-Type became an upside-down wreck in a roadside ditch, the post-prang silence broken by Percy’s urgent enquiries to Piet of “How’s the crankshaft, how’s the crankshaft?” I guess the incident demonstrated Percy’s priorities.
Another serious road accident nearly ended the Guy Tunmer saga prematurely, but the fighting spirit prevailed and his burgeoning motor racing career was soon back on schedule. The saloon cars made way for more sophisticated machinery. In 1973 he campaigned a Formula Two March in the Tunmer family’s Paradise Beach colours, and the following year he appeared in a Team Gunston Formula Two Chevron. He rewarded Gunston’s faith in him by winning the Formula Two championship that year and in 1975 was promoted to the Gunston Formula One team to join Eddie Keizan in a pair of ex-works Lotus 72 Cosworths.
Guy’s first outing in the Lotus at Kyalami comes to mind. The car was obviously much quicker and more powerful than anything he had driven previously. Someone had told him that the very fast Jukskei and Barbecue sweeps at the old Kyalami circuit could be taken “flat”. After a few familiarizations laps, the times started coming down progressively until Guy came into the pits. It was a very pale and wide-eyed driver who emerged from the cockpit. On asking Dave Charlton to confirm the “Jukskei flat” theory. Charlton replied “Yes, but in fourth, not fifth”. If nothing else, the incident proved Guy’s bravery and car control.
Tunmer and Keizan were perhaps overshadowed by Ian Scheckter and Charlton that year, but nevertheless they flew the Team Gunston flag proudly, with Guy winning the season-closer at Killarney to end his Formula One career on a high note.
Formula Atlantic was introduced as the premier South African formula in 1976. Guy competed in Chevrons for a couple of seasons, but his focus was shifting to the business world and the start of a new and successful career, primarily in the human resources and medical insurance fields. This culminated in his appointment as managing director of MAPP Franchising (Pty) Ltd.
Guy married Brenda in 1978, and theirs was a fruitful and rewarding partnership. They raised two sons, Victor, who is now 19, and Gilbert, who is 17. Brenda was also very much involved in Guy’s business career.
At the time of his death, from injuries sustained in a motorcycling accident, Guy was being drawn back into classic racing and rallying. Sadly, we are now denied the chance of watching a great talent in action again.
I remember Guy as a most engaging personality, whose easy-going manner concealed a will of steel. It is said that modesty is the hallmark of greatness, and that applied to Guy.
He is sadly missed by his wife and sons, his mother, sister Annie, brother Mervyn and many, many friends who enjoyed the company of this fine man. May he rest in peace.
Andrew Thompson – many thanks for this bio for AJ Tunmer
