In the glittering world of Formula One, dominated by factory-backed teams and world-renowned champions, John Love stands as a remarkable exception—a privateer from Rhodesia who almost beat the sport’s giants with little more than talent, determination, and a home-prepared car.
From Bulawayo to the World Stage
Born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1924, John Love’s racing journey began not with cars but on two wheels. He competed on a Triumph motorcycle before switching to four wheels, where he started in local races with a single-seater Cooper F3 powered by a 500 cc Norton engine. He quickly made a name for himself in southern Africa and later in Europe’s junior formula scene, even driving for Ken Tyrrell’s Formula Junior team in the early ’60s.
His momentum was strong, and a move to full-time Formula One seemed inevitable—until a devastating crash at Albi in 1962 shattered his arm and, with it, his hopes of a full factory F1 seat. But John Love didn’t fade away.
The 1967 South African Grand Prix: A Near-Miracle
Love continued racing in southern Africa, where he became a six-time South African Formula One Champion between 1964 and 1969. Yet his most famous moment came on 2 January 1967, at Kyalami, in the South African Grand Prix.
Driving an aging Cooper T79 fitted with a 2.7-liter Climax engine, Love lined up against factory entries from Cooper, BRM, and Ferrari. No one expected the 42-year-old privateer to challenge the front runners—until he did.
Against all odds, Love took the lead and held it brilliantly for most of the race. The dream was alive. But a late-race misfire prompted him to pit for fuel, a move that cost him the win. Pedro Rodríguez in the works Cooper-Maserati took the victory, while Love finished a heroic second place—the closest a true privateer has ever come to winning a Formula One Grand Prix in the modern era.
A Legacy Written in Grit
John Love never became a full-time Formula One driver, but in southern Africa, he was a giant. He won his home race, the Rhodesian Grand Prix, six times, and remained a beloved figure long after he retired. He later ran a Jaguar dealership in Bulawayo and even managed a stock car team in the 1980s.
He died in 2005 at the age of 80, but his story remains a testament to the spirit of racing—where sometimes, passion and grit can carry a man from the edges of the sport to the brink of greatness.
More to know…
For the 1967 South African Grand Prix, Love drove a Cooper T79 chassis fitted with an old 2.7-liter Coventry Climax FPF engine — both were outdated by Formula One standards at the time.
The car wasn’t built from scratch by him, but it was maintained, entered, and run by his own team, often referred to as Team Gunston, which he managed himself.
Team Gunston had very limited resources compared to factory teams like Ferrari or Cooper-Maserati, but they were incredibly resourceful.
Love’s preparation and race-day decisions were made without major factory backing, which made his near-victory all the more remarkable.