(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000

Родился: 23.07.1935 Абилин, Техас Сезонов в Ф1: 4 Лет в Ф1: 4 Гран При: 12 Старты: 11* *не стартовал: 1 Победы: - подряд: Подиумы: - подряд: Поул-позиции: - подряд: Первый ряд: - подряд: Быстрые круги: - подряд: Лучший финиш: 5 Лучший старт: 12 Дубли: Хет-трики: Лидирование старт/финиш: Большие шлемы: Круги: 622 - лидирования: Километры: 3416.51 - лидирования: Очки: 3 - за один сезон: 3 - подряд: 2

Ф1: 1960-1963

Год	Команда	Шасси
1960	Jim Hall	Lotus 18
1961	Jim Hall	Lotus 18/21
1962	Jim Hall	Lotus 21
1963	British Racing Partnership	Lotus 24

It is a pity that Jim Hall decided not to extend his season-long Grand Prix career and returned to the States, for he was undoubtedly a talented driver and could have gone much further in this sphere had he chosen to. As it was, Formula 1's loss was sports car racing's gain, for he would then set about building and racing a succession of just about the most exciting sports cars ever seen.

A multi-millionaire teenager after the death of his parents in an air crash, Hall soon became involved with racing and exotic cars, teaming up with Carroll Shelby to run a Texas Maserati dealership until he went into the oil business in 1958, continuing to race in SCCA events.

Hall made an impressive GP debut at Riverside in 1960, lying fifth until last-lap gremlins intervened. This encouraged him to race a Lotus in 1961 and '62 - without success, although he finished fourth in the non-championship 1962 Mexican GP. His 1963 season with BRP was quite encouraging, Jim twice finishing in the points in GPs and taking fourth place in the Glover Trophy and sixth in the Lombank Trophy and at Solitude.

With the Formula 1 bug out of his system, Hall set about completing the task he and Hap Sharp had first undertaken in 1962, namely building an advanced automatic-transmission sports car. Immersed in the Chaparral's innovative design, Jim continued to drive, regularly clocking up wins and placings, and in 1965 the car dominated USRRC sports car racing in North America. From 1966, he concentrated his driving activities on Can-Am, leaving the long-distance programme to Hill, Bonnier and Spence until rule changes forced his Chaparral 2F out.

However, in the 1968 Stardust GP at Las Vegas, his Can-Am car ran into the back of a McLaren driven by Lothar Motschenbacher. The Chaparral flipped and was demolished, and Hall lay in hospital for nine weeks with multiple injuries. Apart from a couple of Trans-Am races in 1970, his racing career was over, but he continued to be involved with the sport throughout the seventies, collaborating with Carl Haas in F5000 before making a successful move to Indy Car racing with his own chassis. Hall pulled out at the end of the 1982 season and did not return until 1991. A fairy-tale first-time victory by John Andretti proved to be illusory, for the next three seasons saw the Pennzoil entry consistently underperforming.

In 1995, bolstered by the talents of Rookie of the Year Gil de Ferran, the team were back in business, taking a win in the season's finale at Laguna Seca. More success was anticipated in 1996 but, despite another win in Cleveland, Jim, after much thought decided the time was right for him to call it a day.

it's been my life. It's been a lot of fun.' Certainly, the long, tall Texan took his leave having made an indelible mark on motor racing history.

(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000