1967 S'pore Grand Prix champion had no airs

Rodney Seow loved fast cars and the thrill of racing and made history by winning the 1967 Singapore Grand Prix, but among his greatest traits was his humility.

The 85-year-old, who was a familiar and famous face in the local motor sports circuit, died last Friday. The Straits Times understands that his death was due to natural causes. He leaves behind his wife Evelyn, six children and eight grandchildren.

Fellow former racing car driver William Lyou, who attended the wake last Saturday night, paid tribute to his friend and said one of his fondest memories was watching Seow triumph in 1967 at the old Thomson Road Circuit.

Seow's victory remains the last time a Singaporean has won the Singapore Grand Prix. The annual race was discontinued after 1973 before it returned as part of the Formula One World Championship in 2008 and moved to the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Lyou, 72, who quit racing in 1973, said Seow was an inspiration to other local drivers. He added: "He was a good driver who was inspiring and down-to-earth. He was genuine and never boastful. I'm glad to have learnt all these attributes from him.

"Motor racing is a sport that you have to really put your dedication into to do well and that's what he did. Even after he stopped racing, he contributed to society as well."

After Seow called time on his racing career in 1968, he ran a car assembly plant in Johor where he hired workers directly from trade school and developed their skills.

In an interview with Esquire Singapore in 2014, he said building the plant was his biggest accomplishment and was more important than anything he had achieved in his racing career.

Former Singapore Motor Sports Association (now known as Motor Sports Singapore) president Harold Netto was the chief course marshal at the 1967 race where he watched Seow win.

"He's a very good driver as he could overtake people even along narrow roads in the circuit," said Netto, 79. "A lot of younger people used to go to him and ask how to get into racing. He's not someone who would chase them away. He used to sit down and give them advice."

In 2012, Seow attended an F1 event here alongside British star Lewis Hamilton, now a six-time world champion. The latter presented Seow with a customised Johnnie Walker race helmet, in recognition of Seow's contributions to Singapore's racing scene.

Hamilton said then: "I have a huge amount of respect for drivers like him. He raced during a 'dangerous' time, when there weren't the kind of safety measures there are now."

Veteran local racing driver Ringo Chong, 53, offered his condolences to Seow's family and hailed Seow as "one of the racing greats in Singapore", describing him as "a very humble and quiet man like all true heroes from the earlier days".