Graham Hill

Graham Hill
OBE

Hill in 1975
Born	Norman Graham Hill (1929-02-15)15 February 1929 Hampstead, London, England
Died	29 November 1975(1975-11-29) (aged 46) Arkley, Greater London, England
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1958–1975
Teams	Lotus, BRM, Brabham, Hill
Entries	179 (176 starts)
Championships	2 (1962, 1968)
Wins	14
Podiums	36
Career points	270 (289)[1]
Pole positions	13
Fastest laps	10
First entry	1958 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1962 Dutch Grand Prix
Last win	1969 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1975 Monaco Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career Participating years 1958-1966, 1972 Teams Team Lotus Porsche AG NART/Rob Walker Aston Martin BRM Maranello Concessionaires Alan Mann Racing Ltd Equipe Matra-Simca Shell Best finish 1st (1972) Class wins 1 (1972)

Norman Graham Hill OBE^[2] (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 ever to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport—the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and either the Monaco Grand Prix or the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.^[3][4] He also appeared on TV in the 1970s on a variety of non sporting programmes including panel games. He liked painting in his spare time.

Hill and his son Damon were the first father and son pair to have both won the Formula One World Championship. Hill's grandson Josh, Damon's son, also raced his way through the ranks until he retired from Formula Three in 2013 at the age of 22.

Hill died at age 46 when the twin-engine six-seat Piper Aztec aeroplane he was piloting crashed and burned in foggy conditions at night near Arkley golf course in North London. Hill, Tony Brise, and four other members of Hill's racing team were returning from car testing at Circuit Paul Ricard in France and were due to land at Elstree Airfield; all six were killed.^[5][6][7]

Early life

Born in Hampstead, London, Hill attended Hendon Technical College and joined Smiths Instruments as an apprentice engineer before being conscripted into the Royal Navy, in which he served as an Engine Room Artificer (ERA) on the light cruiser HMS Swiftsure, rising to the rank of petty officer. After leaving the Navy, he rejoined Smiths Instruments.^[8]

Racing career

Hill and Colin Chapman at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix.

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.

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.

Hill at the 1962 German Grand Prix

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 both his legs and interrupted his career. Typically, when asked soon after the crash if he wanted to pass on a message to his wife, Hill replied "Just tell her that I won't be dancing for two weeks."^[9]

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. 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.

Hill at the 1969 German Grand Prix

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,^[10] 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 (with a stuck-on moustache in Hill's style) on a silver platter, which runs around the floor making putt-putt noises of a race car engine.

Hill at the 1971 Race of Champions

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.^[11]

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 (1963–65, 1968, 1969),^[12][13] or
• the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Formula One World Championship (1962, 1968).^[14][15][16]

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 until being equalled by Jacques Laffite.

Family

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

Rowing

Hill at the 1974 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.^[17]

Death

Hill at the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix

On November 29, 1975 returning from the Paul Ricard circuit, France, Hill was killed when the Piper PA 23-250 Turbo-Aztec that he was piloting (not registered, but displaying its previous cancelled US registration N6645Y) crashed near Arkley golf course in London, while attempting to land at Elstree Airfield at night in heavy fog.^{[5][6][7][18]} 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.^[5][6][7]

Originally U.S.-registered, Hill's aircraft was "unregistered and stateless" at the time of the accident. His U.S. pilot certification had expired, as had his FAA instrument rating. His UK Private Pilot’s Licence Instrument Meteorological Conditions rating, which would have permitted him to fly passengers in the visibility that prevailed at the time of the accident, was also out of date and invalid.^[18] The Independent stated he was effectively uninsured.^[19]

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

Eponymy

After his death, Silverstone village, home to the track of the same name, named a road, Graham Hill, after him^[20] and there is a "Graham Hill Road" on The Shires estate in nearby Towcester. 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.^[21] In Bourne, Lincolnshire, where Hill's former team BRM is based, a road called Graham Hill Way is named in his honour.

Gallery
Hill driving the BRM at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix.  Hill at the 1969 German Grand Prix.  Hill at the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix.  Hill at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix.  Hill testing the BRM P261.  Hill after winning the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix.  Hill leading Richie Ginther, Jim Clark and Dan Gurney at the 1965 Dutch Grand Prix.  Hill practising the Lotus 63 at the 1969 Dutch Grand Prix.

Career results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Indy 500 results

• 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.^[23][24]
• 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.

Complete Tasman Series results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Driver	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1958	Team Lotus	Cliff Allison	Lotus XV-Climax	S 2.0	3	DNF	DNF
1959	Team Lotus	Derek Jolly	Lotus XV-Climax	S 2.0	119	DNF	DNF
1960	Porsche KG	Jo Bonnier	Porsche 718/4 RS	S 2.0	191	DNF	DNF
1961	North American Racing Team	Stirling Moss	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	GT3.0	121	DNF (Water leak)
1962	David Brown Organisation	Richie Ginther	Aston Martin DP212	Exp 4.0	78	DNF	DNF
1963	Owen Racing Organisation	Richie Ginther	Rover-BRM	ACO Prize	310	(8th)*	(1st)*
1964	Maranello Concessionaires	Jo Bonnier	Ferrari 330P	P 4.0	344	2nd	2nd
1965	Owen Racing Organisation	Jackie Stewart	Rover-BRM	P 2.0	284	10th	2nd
1966	Alan Mann Racing	Brian Muir	Ford GT Mk.II	P 7.0	110	DNF	DNF
1972	Equipe Matra-Simca Shell	Henri Pescarolo	Matra-Simca MS670	S 3.0	344	1st	1st

• 1963 Rover-BRM ran for the ACO prize for a gas turbine car covering a minimum of 3600 km, not officially classified.

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.^[25]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Graham Hill.

• 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
• Graham Hill at Find a Grave

Team Lotus
Founder Colin Chapman Noted personnel Frank Dernie Gérard Ducarouge Maurice Philippe Peter Warr Peter Wright Len Terry World Champions Mario Andretti Jim Clark Emerson Fittipaldi Graham Hill Jochen Rindt Other notable drivers Elio de Angelis Martin Donnelly Mika Häkkinen Johnny Herbert Jacky Ickx Nigel Mansell Satoru Nakajima Gunnar Nilsson Ronnie Peterson Nelson Piquet Carlos Reutemann Ayrton Senna John Surtees Derek Warwick Alex Zanardi Drivers' titles 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1978 Constructors' titles 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1973 1978 Formula One cars 12 16 18 21 24 25 33 43 49 56B 63 72 76 77 78 79 80 81 86 87 88 91 92 93T 94T 95T 97T 98T 99T 100T 101 102 107 109 112 Formula Two cars 12 16 18 32 35 41 44 48 59 69 Formula Three cars 22 31 35 41 55 59 69 Formula Junior cars 18 20 22 27 Formula Ford cars 51 59 61 69 Formula 5000 cars 68 70 Tasman Series cars 32 39 67 Indianapolis 500 cars 29 34 38 42 56 64 96T Sports racing cars 15 17 19 23 30 40 47 53

Embassy Hill
Founder Graham Hill Noted Personnel Ray Brimble Andy Smallman Notable drivers Graham Hill Guy Edwards Peter Gethin Rolf Stommelen François Migault Tony Brise Alan Jones Vern Schuppan Formula One cars GH1 GH2