Johannesburg - Celebrated South African racing driver and founder of Tiger Wheel & Tyre, Eddie Keizan passed away on Saturday 21 May.
Keizan was bitten by the racing bug in the mid-1960s when he modified his Mini road car for competition, and went on to win local Production Car Championships in 1969, 1970, 1977, and 1978. During this period he also raced on a bigger scale, winning the SA Formula 5000 Championship in a Surtees TS5A. Keizan also won The Roof of Africa Rally twice, the Wynns 1000 endurance race, and contested three South African F1 Grands Prix, twice in a Tyrrell 004 race car and once in a Lotus 72.
Keizan used his prize money (R3000) from winning the F5000 Championship in 1972 to buy a tiny wheel and tyre shop in Fordsburg called Tiger Speed Den.
From there he grew the business into the successful Tiger Wheel & Tyre franchise and also became one of the largest alloy wheel manufacturers in the world, not only with the TSW mag wheel line but also as a supplier of original-equipment wheels to major carmakers.
The Wits graduate’s byline has also appeared in our sister print publication Star Motoring, as for 10 years he was a road tester under former editor Harvey Thomas in the 1970s.
In Keizan's recent years he dabbled in property and also ran a charter flight company ferrying tourists around southern Africa.
He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Hilary, and two children Natasha and Gary. He was 71.
Motoring Staff