Mr Shekhar Mehta passed away in a London hospital on 12th April 2006 after a short illness. He was taken ill on the island of Corsica, where he was attending to his duties as the Rally Commissioner for the FIA on the 'Tour De Corse' round of the World Rally Championship. He was just 60 years old.
Born in 1945 - a Ugandan of Indian extraction - Shekhar entered his first competitive event in 1966. He went on to win the East African Safari Rally a total of 5 times - four of them in 'Datsun'-branded cars. First of these ( in 1973 ) in a Works Datsun 240Z co-driven by Lofty Drews - the second Safari win for the 240Z.
Shekhar rallied all over the world, in famous events such as the RAC Rally in the UK, The Monte Carlo Rallye, The Southern Cross Rally in Australia, The TAP Rallye in Portugal, The Acropolis Rally etc etc - as well as many national and club events here in the UK.
Acknowledged as a fast and flamboyant driver ( sometimes, to be fair, slightly overexuberant ) Shekhar made a big impression wherever he drove, more often than not pictured with a smile on his face and a glint in his eye. He will be sadly missed.
Sincere condolences to his wife Yvonne and son Vijay.