Graham
Hill
Hill came late
to motor racing, in fact he had not even driven a car until he was
24. His early years marked by a profound lack of money and one of
the first passenger cars that Hill owned was a 1929 Austin. The car
was a wreck which is just about what you would expect for 70
dollars. Soon losing its brakes Hill would have to scrub the car's
tires against the curb in order to stop. He would later remark that
all budding race car drivers should own such a car. "The chief
qualities of a racing driver are concentration, determination and
anticipation", he said "A 1929 Austin without brakes develops all
three - anticipation rather more than the first two,
perhaps."
Graham Hill is the only driver to win the so-called Triple Crown of
Motorsport — 24 Hours of LeMans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula
One World Championship — and, with his son Damon, is part of
the only father and son pair both to have won the Formula One World
Championship.
Growing up, Hill 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. Graham
joined Team Lotus as a mechanic soon after but quickly talked his
way into the cockpit. 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.
In November
1975, returning from the Paul Ricard circuit, France, Hill was
killed when the Piper Aztec aeroplane he was piloting crashed while
attempting to land in foggy conditions near Arkley golf course in
North London. 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.
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.
World
Championships 2
Grand Prix Entries 179
Grand Prix Wins 14
Pole Positions 13
Nationality British
Remember to
record the number inside the cache as it will be needed to
determine the coordinates of the final in the
series:
GC31PQ4 Grand
Prix Legends - Finish Line
