Leon Harmse † 14 May 1947 – 3 May 2024
Former Western Province Argus Modified Production Car champion driver Leon Harmse could be considered one of the original Renault R8 Gordini aces and the number 4C Joubert Motors Renault R8 on three wheels, a motoring spectacle that will live on.
Matriculating from Hottentots-Holland High School in Somerset West in 1965, he would become a motorsport legend in his lifetime. Living in Strand, he would enjoy support from local Renault agents, Joubert Motors (who would eventually become Auto Alfa), and after winning the Western Province Championship, Leon moved to the northern side of the Oranje to finish his racing career at Kyalami in 1976.
Leon and his wife, Magda, wore the orange of Algoa Motorsport marshals during their stay in Port Elizabeth. They retired to the Askham village in Dawid Kruiper Municipality, in the Mqcawu District of the Northern Province (roughly 11 hours from Cape Town and near Upington). But Leon will always remain an HHH motorsport legend.
Sincere condolences to Magda and family.
