Piet - or Peter as he was often known - retired from driving sportscars in the late '80's but remained interested in the sport until his death. Piet trained as a diesel mechanic and worked in the maintenance division of a truck and transportation company. Wanting to work in the sport, it saw him move to England (He hitch-hiked from South Africa all the way to Mombasa, sailed to France and then hitched again from France to England in a mammoth journey) and then worked with Lotus for a few years, rebuilding the Coventry Climax engines with Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth. He built his own cars, achieving real success against the odds in his homeland, with a real highlight being the Rand Grand Prix of 1963, when against a strong field from Europe, Piet came 3rd, beaten only by the Ferrari duo of John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini. He worked at Continental Cars as a mechanic and also liked scuba diving and flying. He died after a long illness in 2015.

Biography last updated 12 Aug 2021