Starting out in Formula One with his Ford-engined Lotus 18 in 1961, he retired from the Rand Grand Prix and only managed 14th in the Cape Grand Prix in January 1962. Later that year, however, he acquired a Lotus 21 with a Climax engine and came fifth in the 1962 Rand Grand Prix and fourth in the Natal Grand Prix. This form led him to a sixth place in the World Championship South African Grand Prix and thus a World Championship point in his first event at that level.