On This Day Graham Hill
On This Day Graham Hill
Author
Discussion

johnhere

Original Poster:

168 posts

214 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
I am a bit shocked been on a few motor sport forums and not found one tribute to the late Graham Hill who on this day died in an air crash.
He was without doubt one of the best all round drivers Britain has ever produced winning the F1 World Championship, Le Mans 24 Hour and the Indianapolis 500 the only man in history to have done the triple crown.
John.

so called

9,154 posts

225 months

Saturday 30th November 2013
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Thanks for the reminder.
Yes, he was a great driver. I've got a lot of memories from my childhood of watching Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and co.

Maulden7

147 posts

248 months

Saturday 30th November 2013
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A Lotus legend, perhaps still in the wrong forum?

nightflight

814 posts

233 months

Saturday 30th November 2013
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A gentleman racer.

skeggysteve

5,724 posts

233 months

Saturday 30th November 2013
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Don't forget that Tony Brise, a very promising young driver, and four others died as well.

Eric Mc

124,059 posts

281 months

Sunday 1st December 2013
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It just shows the silly nonsense of splitting F1 from other motorsport.

Graham Hill is a great example of how earlier generations of racing drivers could excel in different disciplines of the sport. He is still the only person to have been F1 World Champion (twice), Le Mans 24 Hour winner and Indy 500 winner.

That is something that we will most likely never see again.

On balance, a tribute to Graham Hill is best off here as he was so much more than an F1 driver.

The day his death was announced it was a big shock to me. I was 18 at the time and closely following the rise and rise of Tony Brise. Only a few weeks before the crash I'd seen Brise race a Formula Atlantic at the 1975 Phoenix Park meet in Dublin.

Graham

16,376 posts

300 months

Monday 2nd December 2013
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[quote=Eric Mc}

Graham Hill is a great example of how earlier generations of racing drivers could excel in different disciplines of the sport. He is still the only person to have been F1 World Champion (twice), Le Mans 24 Hour winner and Indy 500 winner.

That is something that we will most likely never see again.
[/quote]


there is also Nigel Mansell he held f1 and indycar championships at the same time, and he went to Le mans, ahh I see you r point crashed on the outlap...

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

168 months

Monday 2nd December 2013
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Eric Mc said:
He is still the only person to have been F1 World Champion (twice), Le Mans 24 Hour winner and Indy 500 winner.

That is something that we will most likely never see again.

.
Jacques Villeneuve came within an ace...(despite him not really being able to hold a candle to Graham).

belleair302

6,982 posts

223 months

Monday 2nd December 2013
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I remember the evening well, foggy as hell in Elstree and was shocked when my Mother told me via friends who were close to Betty that the plane had come down on the golf course just minutes from the airport. A basic mistake lost the world some wonderful people and two children and a lovely lady lost a father and a husband, along with the other families that lost loved ones. If Graham had lived would Damon have raced, I think not. A gentleman, a great driver and a real character.

Eric Mc

124,059 posts

281 months

Monday 2nd December 2013
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The nearest to matching Graham Hill's achievements was Mario Andretti.

Justaredbadge

37,069 posts

204 months

Tuesday 3rd December 2013
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There's a few drivers that have done the double, but only Graham Hill managed the triple.

Off the top of my head:

Jochen Rindt
Mario Andretti
Emerson Fittipaldi
Jacques Villeneuve
Phil Hill
Mike hawthorn
Nigel Mansell

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

168 months

Tuesday 3rd December 2013
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Eric Mc said:
The nearest to matching Graham Hill's achievements was Mario Andretti.
Very good point

Paul Dishman

5,023 posts

253 months

Tuesday 3rd December 2013
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Justaredbadge said:
There's a few drivers that have done the double, but only Graham Hill managed the triple.

Off the top of my head:

Jochen Rindt
Mario Andretti
Emerson Fittipaldi
Jacques Villeneuve
Phil Hill
Mike hawthorn
Nigel Mansell
Our Noige hasn't won Le Mans or Indy

carl_w

9,929 posts

274 months

Tuesday 3rd December 2013
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Our car club had its annual dinner at Arkley golf club a few years back. Apparently there's a plaque where the plane crashed.

Halmyre

12,022 posts

155 months

Thursday 5th December 2013
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Eric Mc said:
The nearest to matching Graham Hill's achievements was Mario Andretti.
Jim Clark was also close, 3rd at Le Mans in 1960, and Clark won Indy and the World Championship in the same year.

Eric Mc

124,059 posts

281 months

Thursday 5th December 2013
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True.

The strange thing was why Andretti never managed to win his "home" event - the 500.

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

168 months

Thursday 5th December 2013
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Presume that Phil Hill never did the Indy 500?

Halmyre

12,022 posts

155 months

Thursday 5th December 2013
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Eric Mc said:
True.

The strange thing was why Andretti never managed to win his "home" event - the 500.
He won it in 1969.

Tony2or4

1,283 posts

181 months

Thursday 5th December 2013
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belleair302 said:
I remember the evening well, foggy as hell in Elstree and was shocked when my Mother told me via friends who were close to Betty that the plane had come down on the golf course just minutes from the airport. A basic mistake lost the world some wonderful people and two children and a lovely lady lost a father and a husband, along with the other families that lost loved ones. If Graham had lived would Damon have raced, I think not. A gentleman, a great driver and a real character.
There is an excellent account and analysis of the crash in the book Disasters in the Air (ISBN 1-84037-204-4) by Jan Bartelski (a very authoritative writer on the subject of air accidents; he himself died earlier this year).

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

168 months

Thursday 5th December 2013
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Halmyre said:
He won it in 1969.
I thought he had too... Which is why he is closest to Graham having come second at Le Mans in 95