George Robert Fouché nicknamed "Fast Fouché" is a former South African and international motorsport race car driver and South African Formula 1 Powerboat pilot. He retired from competition in 2005.

George Fouché grew up on his father's brick factory, and by the age of 6 he was able to drive a bulldozer. His passion for motorsport began when he started driving go-carts in races at the age of 8. This continued until he was able to race cars at the age of 16.

At 16 he got his first competition licence from Motorsport South Africa and started competing in motorsport while he was still not allowed to drive on public roads.

George has a very large scar over his left eye that many believe is a result of a motorsport accident. In fact, he got the scar when on his 8th birthday - he was teaching someone to drive a tractor. While teaching him, the tractor accidentally jerked and George fell off and the tyre rode over the side of his head, causing a massive cut that went half way around his head.

Due to his extensive travels between Japan and South Africa, he was actually booked on the ill-fatedSouth African Airways Flight 295

South African Airways Flight 295

South African Airways Flight 295 was a commercial flight that suffered a catastrophic in-flight fire in the cargo area and crashed into the Indian Ocean east of Mauritius on 28 November 1987, killing everyone on board...

, The Helderberg, which crashed off Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

 on 28 November 1987 en route from Taiwan to South Africa, but missed the flight when his connecting flight from Japan to Taiwan was cancelled due to a typhoon.

On 2 April 2007, he suffered a perforated ulcer

Perforated ulcer

A perforated ulcer, is a very serious condition where an untreated ulcer can burn through the wall of the stomach , allowing digestive juices and food to leech into the abdominal cavity. Treatment generally requires immediate surgery...

 which was misdiagnosed as pancreatitis

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. It occurs when pancreatic enzymes that digest food are activated in the pancreas instead of the small intestine. It may be acute – beginning suddenly and lasting a few days, or chronic – occurring over many years...

. He spent 63 days in intensive care in Montana Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa and was released on 6 June 2007.

International racing career

At 17, he raced in the Kyalami

Kyalami

Kyalami is a motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng province, South Africa. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix and Formula One races and has hosted the South African Grand Prix many times. In recent years, the area surrounding the circuit has developed into a residential and...

 World Sportscar Championship

World Sportscar Championship

The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...

  1000 km on December 10, 1983 in a Kremer Racing

Kremer Racing

Kremer Racing is a motorsports team based in Cologne, Germany, founded by racing driver Erwin Kremer and his brother Manfred. They have competed internationally with Porsches for nearly all of their existence, and were even one of the factory-backed squads for many years...

 Porsche CK5 with co-drivers Franz Konrad

Franz Konrad

Franz Konrad is a former race driver and founder of Konrad Motorsport in 1976.As a driver, he won the 1983 German Formula 3 Championship in an Anson SA4-Toyota. In 1990, he took a career best 2nd in the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Jaguar, then followed this with an overall victory in the...

 and Kees Kroesemeijer, but was disqualified for a push start.

While racing in round three of the 1989 Fuji Long Distance Series, George came across the burning car of Oscar Larrauri

Oscar Larrauri

Oscar Rubén Larrauri is a racing driver from Argentina. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, all with the struggling EuroBrun team, debuting on April 3, 1988...

 that had just crashed. Oscar was still in the car, and noticing that the marshals were not equipped to deal with the fire, George stopped his car and pulled Oscar out. George eventually finished 2nd in the race, which would eventually cost him the championship. George received an impromptu "The Hero Award" from the Japanese Automobile Federation" while on the podium.

While qualifying for the Fuji 1000 km race in October 1992, one of his car's tyres burst, sending him head-on into a concrete wall at 280 km/h. George's foot was crushed and he spent 7 months on crutches.

In 1993, George test drove the Sasol

Sasol

Sasol Ltd. is a South African company involved in mining, energy, chemicals and synfuels. In particular, they produce petrol and diesel profitably from coal and natural gas using Fischer-Tropsch process...

 Jordan Grand Prix

Jordan Grand Prix

Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...

 Formula 1 car at the Siverstone Circuit in England.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Year	Co-Driver	Result
1984	Jürgen Lässig Jürgen Lässig Jürgen Lässig is a German former racing driver.Lässig began competing in endurance sports car racing, often World Sportscar Championship races in the early 1980s for Obermaier Racing and drove in several 24 Hours of Le Mans races. He and the Kremer Racing team were the winners of the 1995 24 Hours... ,   John Graham John Graham - Politics and history :*John de Graham , Scottish soldier*John Graham, Earl of Menteith*John Graham, 3rd Earl of Montrose , Scottish peer*John Graham, 4th Earl of Montrose, , Scottish peer... ,	DNF
1985	Mario Hytten,   Sarel van der Merwe Sarel van der Merwe Sarel Daniel van der Merwe is a South African former rally driver, who was a multiple South African Rally Drivers Champion. He is sometimes referred to as "Supervan".... ,  South Africa	5th
1986	Emilio de Villota Emilio de Villota Emilio de Villota Ruíz is a former racing driver from Spain, born in Madrid. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 May 1976... ,   Fermin Velez Fermín Vélez Fermín Vélez was a Spanish sports car racing driver, two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring and two-time World Sportscar Championship Group C2 champion.... ,	4th
1987	Franz Konrad,   Wayne Taylor Wayne Taylor Wayne Taylor is a South African sports car racer. He won the 1996 and 2005 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 2005 Rolex Series. He co-drives for SunTrust Racing with Max Angelelli... ,  South Africa	4th
1988	Kris Nissen Kris Nissen Nils-Kristian "Kris" Nissen is a retired Danish auto racing driver. He is Volkswagen's motorsport director.-Single seater and sports car racing racing:... ,   Harald Grohs Harald Grohs Harald Grohs is a race driver and team owner from Essen, Germany.Grohs took part in more than 50 24 Hours endurance racing races, mainly 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours Nürburgring.- Career as driver :... ,	8th
1989	Hideki Okada,   Masanori Sekiya Masanori Sekiya is a racing car driver from Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, most famous for being the first Japanese driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1995.Sekiya drove in single-seaters in his early career, contesting the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and Formula Nippon from 1987 to 1993, mostly for the... ,	DNF
1990	Steven Andskär Steven Andskär Steven Andskär is a Swedish race car driver. His long career started out in the mid 1970s when he competed in karting. After that—in the early 1980s—he went from karting to driving several races in Formula 3. Later on he advanced to Formula 3000 which he raced in from 1986 until 1988... ,   Syunji Kasuya,	13th
1991	Steven Andskär,	DNF
1992	Stefan Johansson Stefan Johansson Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson is a former Formula One driver from who drove for among others both Ferrari and McLaren during his Grand Prix career. Since leaving Formula One he has raced in a number of categories, including CART, various kinds of Sports car racing, and Grand Prix Masters... ,   Steven Andskär,	Category 2 winner
1993	Eje Elgh Eje Elgh Eje Elgh is a Swedish racing driver and television reporter. He participated in Le Mans 24 Hours. He currently works as a Color commentator for Formula One in Sweden together with Janne Blomqvist... ,   Steven Andskär,	6th
1994	Steven Andskär,   Bob Wollek Bob Wollek Bob Wollek , nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on March 16, 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for the following day's race, the 12 Hours of... ,	4th
1995	Steven Andskär,   Thomas Danielsson,	DNA
1996	Steve Fossett Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon... ,  Stanley Dickens Stanley Dickens Stanley Dickens is a Swedish race car driver who won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1989 driving a Sauber C9-Mercedes.-External links:*http://stanleydickens.com/... ,	DNF
1997	Geoff Lees Geoff Lees Geoffrey Lees is a former racing driver from England. He participated in 12 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 July 1978. He scored no championship points.-Career:... , Tiff Needell Tiff Needell Timothy "Tiff" Needell isa British racing driver and television presenter. He is best known as a former co-presenter of Top Gear and current co-presenter of Fifth Gear.-Biography:... ,	DNF

World Sportscar Championship (Europe)

.	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991
Points	0	0	0	16th	10th	0	17th	0	12th
Championship rank	N/A	N/A	N/A	29th	34th	N/A	25th	N/A	27th

All Japan Sports Prototype Championship (Japan)

.	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991
Points	6th	N/A	N/A	17th	55th	47th	52nd
Championship rank	29th	N/A	N/A	20th	3rd	5th	8th

Fuji Long Distance Series

1985	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Co-driver	N/A	N/A	Vern Schuppan Vern Schuppan Vernon "Vern" Schuppan is a racing driver from Whyalla, South Australia. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.-Formula One:... ,   Keiichi Suzuki,	Vern Schuppan,   Keiichi Suzuki,
Position	N/A	N/A	6th	6th

1986	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Co-driver	Vern Schuppan,   Keiichi Suzuki,	Vern Schuppan,   Keiichi Suzuki,	Vern Schuppan,   Keiichi Suzuki,	N/A
Position	DNF / Engine	1st	6th	N/A

1987	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Co-driver	N/A	N/A	Franz Konrad,	N/A
Position	N/A	N/A	12	N/A

1988	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Co-driver	Vern Schuppan,	Vern Schuppan,	Vern Schuppan,	Vern Schuppan,
Position	DNF / Electrics	DNF / Engine Fastest Lap	DNF / Engine	10

1989	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Co-driver	Steven Andskär,	Steven Andskär,	Steven Andskär,	Steven Andskär,
Position	DNF / hub bearing	2nd	2nd	2nd

1990	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Co-driver	Steven Andskär,	Steven Andskär,  , Shunji Kasuya	Steven Andskär,	Steven Andskär,
Position	3rd	Unknown	2nd	DNF / engine

Imsa

He competed in the 2nd round of the 1993 Imsa series in Miami alongside Wayne Taylor

Wayne Taylor

Wayne Taylor is a South African sports car racer. He won the 1996 and 2005 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 2005 Rolex Series. He co-drives for SunTrust Racing with Max Angelelli...

 in an Intrepid RM1 Chevrolet GTP. They finished 5th.

He also competed in the 1994 24 Hours of Daytona

24 Hours of Daytona

The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...

 alongside fellow South Africans, Hilton Cowie and Stephan Watson driving a Lotus Esprit S300 in the GTU class. On the 354 lap the car suffered engine failure.

South African racing career

• F1 Powerboat (South Africa)

• Sascar
  2000 Champion

• Wesbank V8

• Formula Atlantic

George competed in the South African Formula Atlantic Championship in 1983 before starting his international career in the World Sportscar Championship in Europe in 1984.

• Group One Racing

• Group N

• Formula Ford

• Rally

Post racing career

He now owns Dermalamp South Africa, a company that manufactures and sells phototherapy equipment for the management of Psoriasis

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system mistakes the skin cells as a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. However, psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of...

 and Eczema

Eczema

Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...

.