South African A1 GP driver Stephen Simpson has settled in Indianapolis, from where he now participates in the IndyPro series. Will the US-based Cape Town boy eventually disappear from the hearts of his countrymen? Does anyone in South Africa belong to the Tomas Scheckter fan club? Is there such a thing, anyway? For which Indy team does he drive these days, and, how many races has he won in five and a half Indy seasons? (The answer is two, but I had to google the question).
You see, the ever-controversial Scheckter settled in Indianapolis in ’02 and said that he’d be happy to remain in the ‘States for the rest of his career. He was fired as a Jaguar Racing F1 test driver and headed across the Atlantic, where he won a race in his first season. He had a few, unsuccessful, outings in the SA A1 GP car in the recent past, but he’s not well-known in South Africa, other than being Jody’s son… Let me put it this way, if Tomas was to be spotted disembarking a 747 at Cape Town International, would he be mobbed by a crowd? No, but had he been Alonso…
The very likeable and media savvy Stephen Simpson, who was paired up with rally ace Gugu Zulu for CAR Magazine’s Track Attack in January, is also from Cape Town and, like Tomas, moved to the US because he ran out of options in European formulae (Stephen was never fired, though)… When he drove for CAR at the Track Day last year, Stephen impressed with his metronomic consistency and detailed feedback to the editors. Unfortunately, he’ll never realise his dream of becoming an F1 star – Swiss-based GP2 driver Adrian Zaugg is probably South Africa’s biggest hope for Formula One stardom now.
So what does the future hold for Stephen, and will the South African public eventually “forget” about our local lad in far-flung Yankee land?
I must admit that the time zone difference between SA and the States plays a role in whether we watch, or don’t watch, an Indy race. Also, Indy is only broadcast on DStv’s ESPN channel over here and let’s face it, if one’s spent the entire weekend watching rugby, cricket, tennis AND a Formula One grand prix, you’re obliged to be less self-indulgent on Sunday nights and hand over the remote to your home’s Sunday TV movie watchers.
As long as Indy suffers the same plight as many forms of local motorsport (the lack of live exposure on terrestrial TV channels), Simpson will end up with many more fans in the US than his home country. The bloke’s just trying to further his career abroad and logic dictates that most of us will gradually lose interest in his poorly-publicised Indy exploits. But I have to wonder… If Stephen gains stardom in the US, will he remember us when we belatedly clamour for attention from SA’s prodigal (the post-Oscar Charlize Theron effect)?
If he doesn’t, could we honestly blame him?