37 Facts About Graham Hill

Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver, rower and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1975.

Graham Hill was a member of London Rowing Club from 1952 to 1954, contesting twenty finals and stroking the London crew in the Grand Challenge Cup.

Graham Hill made his racing debut in Formula Three aged 25.

Graham Hill initially joined Lotus in Formula One as a mechanic, before earning a driving debut with the team at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix and securing a full-time contract.

BRM fielded the competitive P57 in 1962, with Graham Hill taking his maiden victory at the season-opening Dutch Grand Prix and winning three further Grands Prix as he secured his maiden title, beating career rival Jim Clark and Bruce McLaren.

Graham Hill finished runner-up to Clark the following season, before losing the 1964 title by one point to John Surtees.

Graham Hill took multiple wins in 1965 as he finished runner-up to Clark once more in the standings.

In 1969, Graham Hill became a five-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, a record he held for 24 years.

Graham Hill founded and competed for Embassy Graham Hill from 1973 to 1975, retiring from motor racing after the Monaco Grand Prix to focus on team ownership and supporting his protege Tony Brise.

Outside Formula One, Graham Hill entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans 10 times between 1958 and 1972, winning the latter alongside Henri Pescarolo in the Matra-Simca MS670.

Graham Hill entered the Indianapolis 500 three times from 1966 to 1968, winning the Borg-Warner Trophy at his first attempt.

Embassy Graham Hill subsequently shut down ahead of the 1976 season.

Graham Hill was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Graham Hill was born in Hampstead, London, one of two sons of stockbroker Norman Herbert Devereux Graham Hill, of Belsize Park, and his wife Constance Mary, nee Philp.

Graham Hill attended Hendon Technical College and joined Smiths Instruments as an apprentice engineer.

Graham Hill was conscripted into the Royal Navy and served as an Engine Room Artificer on the light cruiser HMS Swiftsure, rising to the rank of petty officer.

Graham Hill made his debut in a Cooper 500 Formula 3 car and was committed to racing thereafter.

Graham Hill joined Team Lotus as a mechanic soon after but quickly talked his way into the cockpit.

In 1960, Graham Hill joined BRM, he won in that year on 8 May 1960 the Targa Florio in the class Sports 1600 together with a German driver Edgar Barth in a Porsche 718, and won the world championship with BRM in 1962.

Graham Hill was known for his race preparation, keeping records of the settings on his car and working long hours with his mechanics.

Graham Hill was 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.

Graham Hill achieved a best finish of sixth overall in 1961 driving a Jaguar Mark 2.

In 1967, back at Lotus, Graham Hill helped to develop the Lotus 49 with the new Cosworth-V8 engine.

Colin Chapman, believing Graham 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.

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

Graham Hill set up his own team in 1973: Embassy Graham Hill with sponsorship from Imperial Tobacco.

Graham Hill married Bette in 1955; because Graham Hill had spent all his money on his racing career, she paid for the wedding.

Graham Hill met his future wife Bette at a Boxing Day party at Auriol and, while courting her, he coached her clubmates at Stuart Ladies' Rowing Club on the River Lea.

From 1952 to 1954, Graham Hill rowed in twenty finals with London, usually as stroke of the crew, eight of which resulted in wins.

Graham Hill 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.

Graham Hill felt that the experience gained in rowing helped him in his motor-racing.

Graham Hill died on 29 November 1975 at the age of 46 when his Piper PA-23 Aztec twin-engine light aircraft crashed near Arkley in the London Borough of Barnet, while on a night approach to Elstree Airfield in thick fog.

Graham Hill's funeral was held at St Albans Abbey, and he is buried at St Botolph's graveyard, Shenleybury.

Graham Hill Bend at Brands Hatch is named in his honour.

In Bourne, Lincolnshire, where Hill's former team BRM is based, a road called Graham Hill Way is named in his honour.

Graham Hill's appearance was later rebroadcast as part of the twentieth anniversary celebrations of the programme in January 1995, with Damon presenting a new segment at the end.

Graham Hill was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1968 Birthday Honours for services to motor racing.