Graham Hill

Graham Hill

Norman Graham Hill OBE (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner from England, who was twice Formula One World Champion. He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.

Graham Hill and his son Damon are the only father and son pair both to have won the Formula One World Championship. Graham's grandson Josh, Damon's son, is also a racing driver.

Graham Hill died when the aeroplane he was piloting crashed in foggy conditions near Arkley golf course in North London. Hill and five members of his racing team were returning from car testing at Circuit Paul Ricard in France and due to land at Elstree Airfield. All six were killed.

Biography

Professional history

Hill, who was born in Hampstead, London, served in the Royal Navy as an Engine Room Artificer. After leaving the Navy he re-joined Smiths Instruments. Hill did not pass his driving test until he was 24 years old, and he himself described his first car as "A wreck. A budding racing driver should own such a car, as it teaches delicacy, poise and anticipation, mostly the latter I think!" He had been interested in motorcycles but in 1954 he saw an advertisement for the Universal Motor Racing Club at Brands Hatch offering laps for 5 shillings. He made his debut in a Cooper 500 Formula 3 car and was committed to racing thereafter. Hill joined Team Lotus as a mechanic soon after but quickly talked his way into the cockpit. The Lotus presence in Formula One allowed him to make his debut at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, retiring with a halfshaft failure.

File:J Crosthwaite in duffel coat with Graham Hill in BRM.jpg

Graham Hill testing the BRM P261. Chassis designer John Crosthwaite in pale duffel coat

In 1960, Hill joined BRM, and won the world championship with them in 1962. Hill was also part of the so-called 'British invasion' of drivers and cars in the Indianapolis 500 during the mid-1960s, triumphing there in 1966 in a Lola-Ford.

In 1967, back at Lotus, Hill helped to develop the Lotus 49 with the new Cosworth-V8 engine. After team mates Jim Clark and Mike Spence were killed in early 1968, Hill led the team, and won his second world championship in 1968. The Lotus had a reputation of being very fragile and dangerous at that time, especially with the new aerodynamic aids which caused similar crashes of Hill and Jochen Rindt at the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix. A crash at the 1969 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen broke his legs and interrupted his career.

Upon recovery Hill continued to race in F1 for several more years, but never again with the same level of success. Colin Chapman, believing Hill was a spent force, placed him in Rob Walker's team for 1970, sweetening the deal with one of the brand-new Lotus 72 cars. Although Hill scored points in 1970 he started the season far from fully fit and the 72 was not fully developed until late in the season. Hill moved to Brabham for 1971-2; his last win in Formula One was in the non-Championship International Trophy at Silverstone in 1971 with the "lobster claw" Brabham BT34. But the team was in flux after the retirements of Sir Jack Brabham and then Ron Tauranac's sale to Bernie Ecclestone; Hill did not settle there.

File:HillGraham19690801Lotus-Nordkehre.jpg

Graham Hill driving a Lotus 49 at the Nürburgring in 1969

Hill was known during the latter part of his career for his wit and became a popular personality - he was a regular guest on television and wrote a notably frank and witty autobiography, Life At The Limit, when recovering from his 1969 accident. Hill was also irreverently immortalized on a Monty Python episode ("It's the Arts (or: Intermission)" sketch called "Historical Impersonations"), in which a Gumby appears asking to "see John the Baptist's impersonation of Graham Hill." The head of St. John the Baptist appears on a silver platter, which runs around the floor making putt-putt noises of a race car engine.

Hill was involved with four films between 1966 and 1974, including appearances in Grand Prix and Caravan to Vaccarès, in which he appeared as a helicopter pilot.

Although Hill had concentrated on F1 he also maintained a presence in sports car racing throughout his career (including two runs in the Rover-BRM gas turbine car at Le Mans). As his F1 career drew to a close he became part of the Matra sports car team, taking a victory in the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans with Henri Pescarolo. This victory completed the so-called Triple Crown of motorsport which is alternatively defined as winning either:

• the Indianapolis 500 (won by Hill in 1966), the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1972) and the Monaco Grand Prix (1963-1965, 1968-1969), or
• the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Formula One World Championship (1962, 1968).

Using either definition, Hill is still the only person ever to have accomplished this feat.

With works drives becoming hard to find, Hill set up his own team in 1973: Embassy Hill with sponsorship from Imperial Tobacco. The team used chassis from Shadow and Lola before evolving the Lola into its own design in 1975. After failing to qualify for the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix, where he had won five times, Hill retired from driving to concentrate on running the team and supporting his protege Tony Brise.

Hill's record of 176 Grand Prix starts remained in place for over a decade, being equalled by Jacques Laffite.

Family

Hill married Bette in 1955. Because Hill had spent all his money on his racing career, Bette paid for the wedding. They had two daughters, Brigitte and Samantha, and a son, Damon, who himself later became Formula One World Champion – the only son of a former world champion to emulate his father.

Rowing

Hill at the 1971 Race of Champions.

Before taking up motor racing, Hill spent several years actively involved in rowing. Initially, he rowed at Southsea Rowing Club, while stationed in Portsmouth with the Royal Navy and at Auriol Rowing Club in Hammersmith. He met Bette at a Boxing Day party at Auriol and, while courting her, he also coached her clubmates at Stuart Ladies' Rowing Club on the River Lea.

In 1952 he joined London Rowing Club, then as now one of the largest and most successful clubs in Great Britain. From 1952 to 1954, Hill rowed in twenty finals with London, usually as stroke of the crew, eight of which resulted in wins. He also stroked the London eight in the highly prestigious Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, losing a semi-final to Union Sportif Metropolitaine des Transports, France by a length.

Through his racing career he continued to support rowing and London. In 1968 when the club began a financial appeal to modernise its clubhouse, Hill launched proceedings by driving an old Morris Oxford, which had been obtained for £5, head-on into a boundary wall. Hill made three runs to reduce the wall to rubble, and the car was subsequently sold for £15.

Hill felt that the experience gained in rowing helped him in his motor-racing. He wrote in his autobiography:

"I really enjoyed my rowing. It really taught me a lot about myself, and I also think it is a great character-building sport... The self discipline required for rowing and the 'never say die' attitude obviously helped me through the difficult years that lay ahead."

Famously, Hill adopted the colours and cap design of London Rowing Club for his racing helmet - dark blue with white oar-shaped tabs. His son Damon and his grandson Josh later adopted the same colours.

Death

[

IN MEMORY OF GRAHAM HILL. TWICE WORLD CHAMPION RACING DRIVER WHO DIED WITH FIVE COLLEAGUES WHEN THEIR AIRCRAFT CRASHED HERE IN FREEZING FOG 29TH NOVEMBER 1975

]

In November 1975, returning from the Paul Ricard circuit, France, Hill was killed when the Piper PA 23-250 Turbo-Aztec, registration N6645Y, that he was piloting crashed near Arkley golf course in North London while attempting to land at Elstree in foggy conditions at night. The crash also resulted in the deaths of team manager Ray Brimble, mechanics Tony Alcock and Terry Richards, up-and-coming driver Tony Brise and designer Andy Smallman; all from the Embassy Hill team.

His funeral was at St Albans Abbey, and he is buried at St Botolphs church in Shenley.

After his death, Silverstone village, home to the track of the same name, named a road, Graham Hill, after him. Graham Hill Bend at Brands Hatch is also named in his honour. A blue plaque commemorates Hill at 32 Parkside, in Mill Hill, London NW7.

Race results

Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	WDC	Pts.
1958	Team Lotus	Lotus 12	Climax L4	ARG	MON Ret	NED Ret	500												NC	0
		Lotus 16	Climax L4					BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret*	POR Ret	ITA 6	MOR 16
1959	Team Lotus	Lotus 16	Climax L4	MON Ret	500	NED 7	FRA Ret	GBR 9	GER Ret	POR Ret	ITA Ret	USA							NC	0
1960	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM L4	ARG Ret															15th	4
		BRM P48	BRM L4		MON 7	500	NED 3	BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	POR Ret	ITA	USA Ret
1961	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P48/57	Climax L4	MON Ret	NED 8	BEL Ret	FRA 6	GBR Ret	GER Ret	ITA Ret	USA 5								16th	3
1962	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P57	BRM V8	NED 1	MON 6	BEL 2	FRA 9	GBR 4	GER 1	ITA 1	USA 2	RSA 1							1st	42 (52)
1963	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P57	BRM V8	MON 1	BEL Ret	NED Ret		GBR 3	GER Ret		USA 1	MEX 4	RSA 3						2nd	29
		BRM P61	BRM V8				FRA 3			ITA 16
1964	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P261	BRM V8	MON 1	NED 4	BEL 5	FRA 2	GBR 2	GER 2	AUT Ret	ITA Ret	USA 1	MEX 11						2nd	39 (41)
1965	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P261	BRM V8	RSA 3	MON 1	BEL 5	FRA 5	GBR 2	NED 4	GER 2	ITA 2	USA 1	MEX Ret						2nd	40 (47)
1966	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P261	BRM V8	MON 3	BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 3	NED 2	GER 4										5th	17
		BRM P83	BRM H16							ITA Ret	USA Ret	MEX Ret
1967	Team Lotus	Lotus 43	BRM H16	RSA Ret															7th	15
		Lotus 33	BRM V8		MON 2
		Lotus 49	Ford V8			NED Ret	BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	CAN 4	ITA Ret	USA 2	MEX Ret
1968	Team Lotus	Lotus 49	Ford V8	RSA 2															1st	48
	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus 49	Ford V8		ESP 1
		Lotus 49B	Ford V8			MON 1	BEL Ret	NED 9	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 2	ITA Ret	CAN 4	USA 2	MEX 1
1969	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus 49B	Ford V8	RSA 2	ESP Ret	MON 1	NED 7	FRA 6	GBR 7	GER 4	ITA 9	CAN Ret	USA Ret	MEX					7th	19
1970	Rob Walker Racing Team	Lotus 49C	Ford V8	RSA 6	ESP 4														13th	7
	Brooke Bond Oxo Racing - Rob Walker	Lotus 49C	Ford V8			MON 5	BEL Ret	NED NC	FRA 10	GBR 6	GER Ret	AUT
		Lotus 72C	Ford V8										ITA DNS	CAN NC	USA Ret	MEX Ret
1971	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham BT33	Ford V8	RSA 9															21st	2
		Brabham BT34	Ford V8		ESP Ret	MON Ret	NED 10	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 9	AUT 5	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA 7
1972	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham BT33	Ford V8	ARG Ret	RSA 6														15th	4
		Brabham BT37	Ford V8			ESP 10	MON 12	BEL Ret	FRA 10	GBR Ret	GER 6	AUT Ret	ITA 5	CAN 8	USA 11
1973	Embassy Racing	Shadow DN1	Ford V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP Ret	BEL 9	MON Ret	SWE Ret	FRA 10	GBR Ret	NED NC	GER 13	AUT Ret	ITA 14	CAN 16	USA 13	NC	0
1974	Embassy Racing with Graham Hill	Lola T370	Ford V8	ARG Ret	BRA 11	RSA 12	ESP Ret	BEL 8	MON 7	SWE 6	NED Ret	FRA 13	GBR 13	GER 9	AUT 12	ITA 8	CAN 14	USA 8	18th	1
1975	Embassy Racing with Graham Hill	Lola T371	Ford V8	ARG 10	BRA 12	RSA DNQ	ESP												NC	0
		Hill GH1	Ford V8					MON DNQ	BEL	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	USA

* Hill entered the 1958 German Grand Prix in a Formula Two chassis.

Indy 500 results

Year Car number Start Qual. speed Speed rank Finish Laps completed Laps led Race status Chassis 1966 24 15 159.243 23 1 200 10 Running Lola-Ford 1967 81 31 163.317 21 32 23 0 Piston Lotus-Ford 42/B1 1968 70 2 171.208 2 19 110 0 Crash T2 Lotus - Pratt&Whitney 56/3

Starts 3 Poles 0 Front Row 1 Wins 1 Top 5 1 Top 10 1 Retired 2

• Hill failed to qualify the innovative John Crosthwaite (who had worked with Hill at Team Lotus) designed 'roller skate' car for the 1963 Indianapolis 500 race after crashing in practice. Hill, who had been commuting weekly due to other commitments in Europe, would not wait in the USA while the car was repaired and risk not qualifying or qualifying badly.
• Hill's 1966 victory marked the first win by a rookie driver since Frank Lockhart's 1927 win and the last until Juan Montoya's visit to Victory Lane in 2000.
• Hill entered the 1969 Indianapolis 500, but his car (Lotus-Ford Chassis 64/2) was withdrawn during practice along with those of Mario Andretti and Jochen Rindt due to delays rectifying problems associated with hub failure on Andretti's car.

Credits

Hill's easy wit and charm helped him become a television personality, notably on the BBC show Call My Bluff with Patrick Campbell and Frank Muir. For a number of years in the early 1970s he appeared as one half of a double act, with Jackie Stewart, as an insert within the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show.

In 1990, Hill was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

A one-off BBC Four documentary called Graham Hill: Driven was first broadcast on 26 May 2008.

External links

• Graham Hill profile at The 500 Owners Association
• Grand Prix History - Hall of Fame, Graham Hill
• Graham Hill Statistics
• Graham Hill Photos
• Graham Hill, The Stig
• The Greatest 33
• The Greatest 33 Profile
• Official Accident Report on crash of N6645Y by the AAIB

Achievements Preceded by: Stirling Moss BRDC International Trophy winner 1962 Succeeded by: Jim Clark Preceded by: Phil Hill Formula One World Champion 1962 Succeeded by: Jim Clark Preceded by: Jim Clark Indianapolis 500 Winner 1966 Succeeded by: A. J. Foyt Preceded by: Denny Hulme Formula One World Champion 1968 Succeeded by: Jackie Stewart Preceded by: Chris Amon BRDC International Trophy winner 1971 Succeeded by: Emerson Fittipaldi Preceded by: Helmut Marko Gijs van Lennep Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1972 with: Henri Pescarolo Succeeded by: Henri Pescarolo Gérard Larrousse Records Preceded by: Jack Brabham 128 entries, 126 starts (1955 - 1970) Most Grand Prix entries 179 entries, 176 starts (1958 - 1975), 129th entry at the 1971 Dutch GP 127th start at the 1971 Monaco GP Succeeded by: Jacques Laffite 180 entries (176 starts), 180th at the 1986 British GP Awards Preceded by: Stirling Moss Hawthorn Memorial Trophy 1962 Succeeded by: Jim Clark Preceded by: Denny Hulme Hawthorn Memorial Trophy 1968 Succeeded by: Jackie Stewart Template:Formula One World Drivers' Champions Gallery