In the grand theater of motorsport, where adrenaline meets asphalt, very few have managed to master the art of racing quite like John Lineham Love. As racing drivers go, he didn’t just drive fast; he took it to a whole new level. Buckle up, dear reader, as we navigate the thrilling—and often humorous—highway of Love's life at full throttle. Imagine a man born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on December 7, 1924. Not exactly the birthplace of legendary racing figures, right? But John, fueled by an ambition as potent as rocket fuel, noticed something vital: if you can't find a racetrack in your country, just create your own lane on the dirt roads. What could go wrong? They say race car drivers are a bit eccentric, and Love was no exception. He might well have been behind the wheel of a car made for speed while simultaneously pioneering a concept in racing that few have dared to explore since: the dramatic art of parking. At the tender age of 38, after polishing his talents in the world of Formula Junior, Love made his Grand Prix debut racing into the annals of history with enough flair to outshine fireworks on the Fourth of July. His career in racing was filled with achievements, including a podium position in Formula One and a whopping six points. Six points! Using modern academic grading, that's closer to a C- in “How to Drive.” If Love ever received a trophy for being "Consistently Medium," he would have been the undisputed champion. However, what really peddles him into the hearts of racing fans was not just his prowess on the track, but his remarkable ability to nail the art of parking—with panache. Picture it: Love, freshly off the track, hair tousled, and adrenaline pumping, pulling into the pit stop with the kind of finesse usually reserved for ballet dancers. But instead of a ballet, he's executed a pirouette of a parking job. With the casual elegance of a supermodel strutting down a runway, he would slide into a parking space like it were a Sunday drive—one hand draped over the steering wheel, sipping Earl Grey, while continuing an intense debate with co-pilots on the merits of parking regulations across Africa. Who could possibly claim the soul of an artist like Love was not multitasking to the extreme? John Love could tackle corners sharper than a chef's knife, yet parking? That was an unforgiving affair. Local news reports once claimed that he could fit his car into any space, regardless of size, so long as it wasn't occupied by another car. Love’s philosophy tended to lean toward divine providence: "Why take two spaces, when you can take one and put it in 130 degrees of angle?" After all, who needed a parking lot to have a joyride? Having conquered racing, Love moved on to the fascinating domain of car dealership ownership. The people of Bulawayo who walked into his Jaguar dealership now had a racing legend to engage with—not that they cared for racing, mind you, but they couldn’t resist the tales of him zipping through the African roads like a bat out of something unnamed for fear of upsetting sensitive environmentalists. He might’ve considered crafting pamphlets that read: “Speak to Love! He knows not just about fast cars, but also about how to elegantly jam them into tiny spaces!” As evenings rolled in, you might catch him in the 1980s overseeing his own stock car racing team, urging drivers to avoid the only romantic tension one might experience with a neighbor—an unfortunate fender bender. In the low-lit evenings of Zimbabwe, he would polish his stock cars while contemplating intricate strategies to add "parking perfectionist" to his résumé. Rumor has it that he contemplated a second career teaching the fine arts of parking etiquette in local schools, where students would ask, “Can we please learn how to drift?” Sadly, the world of racing lost John Lineham Love in 2005. But in our hearts, he remains a twisted gumbo of speed and charm, a legendary figure who showed us that racing was not just about reaching the finish line but also how to park in style! In the end, he was truly the full throttle of racing and parking—charming, enthusiastic, and sometimes taking a sharp turn just for the fun of it. So here’s to Love, who taught us to race for glory, but more importantly, to park like it’s an Olympic sport!