Hill wins the 1966 Indy 500

Norman Graham Hill OBE (1929 – 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, 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 the Monaco Grand Prix. He also appeared on TV in the 1970s on a variety of non sporting programmes including panel games.

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Hill was born in Hampstead, London and after leaving school he attended Hendon Technical College and joined Smiths Instruments as an apprentice engineer. He then joined the Royal Navy in which he served as an engine room artificer on the light cruiser HMS Swiftsure and attained the rank of petty officer.

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Hill did not pass his driving test until he was 24 years old, and he himself described his first car as

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"A wreck. A budding racing driver should own such a

car, as it teaches delicacy, poise and anticipation,

mostly the latter I think!"

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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.

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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, triumphing there in 1966 in a Lola-Ford.

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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.

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 "Just tell her that I won't be dancing for two weeks."

Source: www.wikipedia.com

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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:

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The Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and

the Monaco Grand Prix. Hill is still the only person

ever to have accomplished this feat!

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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.

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

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In November 1975, returning from the Paul Ricard Circuit, France, Hill was killed when the Piper PA 23-250 Turbo-Aztec that he was piloting crashed while attempting to land at Elstree Airfield at night, in foggy conditions. 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.

London Rowing Club

Before taking up motor racing, Hill spent several years actively involved in rowing. 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.

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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.

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

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"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."

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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.

Watch the interview

Hill kept his sense of humour - even in hospital!

Graham Hill in the BRM P57 - Holland 1963

Early testing of the BRM P261 - 1964

Graham Hill in his BRM P261, leading in the early laps of the 1965 Dutch Grand Prix.

Graham Hill at the 1966 Indianapolis 500.

A race he won on his first attempt.

Hill in conversation with Lotus boss, Colin Chapman - 1967

Debut of the Lotus 49 DFV in 1967. Hill took pole postion but retired early in the race and had to push the car back!

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Hill won the Monaco GP a record (at the time) 5 times

Hill won the Le Mans 24 hour race in 1972.

The last part of the 'Triple Crown'.

Hill in the Lola T370 at Brands Hatch - 1974

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