Summarize

The new book, South African Champion covering the entire, epic South African Grand Prix, Formula 1, Single Seater and Specials Racing Story, goes to print in the coming weeks. The book will be shipped to buyers from April 2025.

“We have the South African Champion mock-up in hand and we’re in the throes of final proofing and preparation to print the book towards the end of March,” author Michele Lupini confirmed. “It’s been an epic project, especially over the past year or so, where our research and investigation has revealed so much lost history. Now the book is fully laid out and we’re delighted to quite literally be on the final stretch.

“South African Champion is the culmination of a quarter century of effort that now takes a former magazine series into one book covering the entire 125-year history of Southern African Formula 1 and single-seater history. It covers every racing season, each of the 33 South African Championship years, every one of the 33 South African, as well as Rand, Cape and other local Grand Prix over the years, and the years before and after.

“Each South African Champion season and every South African Grand Prix is written in its own story. So, the reader can literally open the book on any page and have a solid, full story to read about that season, backed up by all data, the images and even a fair amount of original artwork.” 

The South African Champion story has also evolved significantly from its original magazine series format and is now far more detailed and complete. “We trust the book is now an accurate and authentic report on a most important era of South African sporting history,” author Lupini points out. 

“Our intensive research also proved many original facts to be inaccurate and also unearthed a huge amount of previously lost information. After a huge amount of investigation and with all the data at hand, we were able to marry that great original storyline with far more accurate facts to deliver what we feel is a most accurate, hugely interesting and most historically significant story. 

“We also gathered the most appropriate imagery, even if some of it may be a touch sketchy by contemporary standards, to best tell the story. It is laid all out in an easy reading style that will keep readers rapt for hours, days and even weeks at a time. That epic job is now done and we are now working through the mock up, to perfect it.

“We did not use any artificial intelligence in any form in creating South African Champion,” Lupini concluded. “We trust that this human story will thrill everyone who reads the book, or even a part of it.”

To be published in an exclusive limited number print run, South African Champion is a high quality 300-page large format coffee table book. It sells for R2,750.00. Be sure to pre order now at www.southafricanchampion.com for delivery during April 2025.