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at the Nürburgring in 1969]] Norman Graham Hill ( February 15 , 1929 – November 29 , 1975 ) was an English racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He was born in Hampstead , London . Graham Hill is the only driver to win the so-called '' Triple Crown Of Motorsport '':
BIOGRAPHY Professional history After serving in the military, Hill became a mechanic at ''Smiths Instruments'', and then joined Team Lotus as a mechanic in the mid 1950s. At the unusually late age of nearly 30, he started racing, and due to Lotus' presence in Formula One, he quickly got a chance to race there, debuting 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 in the Indianapolis 500 during the mid-1960s, triumphing there in 1966 in a Lola -Ford. In 1967, back at Lotus , Hill helped developing 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 broke his legs and interrupted his career. At age 41, he did not retire, but continued to race in F1 for several more years, with little success. His last win in Formula One was in the non-Championship International Trophy at Silverstone in 1971 with the "lobster claw" Brabham BT34. Hill was known during the latter part of his career for his wit and endurance. With Henri Pescarolo he won the 1972 24 Hours Of Le Mans for Matra . This victory completed the so-called ''Triple Crown'' of motorsport: winning the Indy 500, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Le Mans 24 Hours. Hill is still the only person ever to have accomplished this. After failing to qualify for the . The team used chassis from Shadow and Lola before introducing its own design in 1975. Family Hill married Bette, in 1955. They had two daughters, Brigitte and Samantha, and a son, Damon who later became Formula One World Champion, the only son of a former champion to do so. Death In November 1975, Graham was killed when his Piper Aztec Aeroplane (which he was piloting at the time) crashed in foggy conditions over Arkley Golf Course in North London . Five members of the Embassy Hill team, including up-and-coming driver Tony Brise , also died in the accident. As Hill was uninsured his wife was prosecuted by the families of the other victims. Settling the claims wiped out Hill's estate. Rowing 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." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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