Гонщики, H | |
Hulme, Denny Курсивом отмечены гонщики, |
| Денни ХьюмHulme, DennyHulme, Dennis |
 (c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000 Родился: 18.06.1936 Нельсон Умер: 04.10.1992 трасса Батхерст, Новый Южный Уэльс, Австралия Сезонов в Ф1: Лет в Ф1: 10 Гран При: Старты: 113* *не стартовал: 8 Победы: - подряд: 2 Подиумы: - подряд: 4 Поул-позиции: - подряд: Первый ряд: - подряд: 3 Быстрые круги: - подряд: 2 Лучший финиш: Лучший старт: 1 Дубли: Хет-трики: Лидирование старт/финиш: Большие шлемы: Круги: - лидирования: 436 Километры: - лидирования: |
Год | Команда | Шасси |
If there can be such a thing as an unfashionable World Champion, then that is what Denny Hulme was. Self-effacing to the point of anonymity in his public persona, he eschewed the glamorous trappings that Grand Prix racing had to offer, but in fact he was no shrinking violet and his inner determination was second to none, born of many years working as a humble mechanic.
After making an impact on the local scene, he came to Europe in 1960 with George Lawton on the 'New Zealand Driver to Europe' scheme, racing a Cooper in Formula 2 and Formula Junior around the Continent. Unfortunately poor Lawton was soon killed at Roskilde Ring but Hulme carried on before returning home to contest his local series early in 1961. He was soon back in Europe, carving out a reputation for himself in Ken Tyrrell's Cooper and the works Brabham, replacing the retired Gavin Youl.
While still working as a mechanic at Brabham, Hulme took over the leadership of the Junior team in 1963, winning seven of the 14 races he entered. Although top-flight chances were limited, Jack was shrewd enough to realise the young New Zealander's potential and took him down to the 1964 Tasman series, where he won at Levin and finished second in the New Zealand GP. Supporting his boss in the Formula 2 championship that year, Denny won two races, at Clermont Ferrand and Zolder, with plenty of other good placings besides. In 1965 Brabham had the problem of running himself, Gurney and Hulme, so he shuffled the pack to ensure that Hulme was well prepared for the 3-litre formula, and Denny backed 'Black Jack' superbly in 1966 as his mentor enjoyed an Indian summer and took the championship. As well as having another successful Formula 2 season, Denny also raced sports cars, taking second place at Le Mans with Ken Miles in a Ford GT40, and winning the Tourist Trophy and Martini International in Sid Taylor's Lola.
In 1967 it was Hulme's turn to take the spotlight. His wins in the Monaco and German GPs were the outstanding performances, but he scored points in all but two races to edge out his boss and claim the drivers' crown for himself. Typically thinking ahead, Denny had already decided to join forces with fellow 'Kiwi' Bruce McLaren in 1968, and he started the year in the team's new bright-orange livery. An early-season win in the International Trophy and then third to Bruce in the Race of Champions indicated things were on the right track, and sure enough Hulme's consistent approach put him in with an outside title chance after wins at Monza and Mont Tremblant. In the end his efforts fell short, but as a team McLaren had established themselves as a front-line outfit in both Formula 1 and Can-Am, which proved a lucrative sideline for both driver and constructor. Hulme took the Can-Am title that year, but this success could have been a double-edged sword, for the 1969 Grand Prix season only provided Denny with an end-of-season win in Mexico.
The following season should have been a real breakthrough year for the team, but instead it saw catastrophe as McLaren was killed in a testing accident, and Hulme was involved in a practice crash at Indy which left him with nasty burns to hands and feet. That the team recovered so well from Bruce's loss was a great credit to Denny, who hid his own devastation and gave the team a new sense of purpose by winning the Can-Am championship for the second time. From then on the tough New Zealander's approach became more circumspect. If he could sniff the scent of victory then he would really get stuck in, as we saw at Kyalami in 1972 and Sweden in 1973, but generally he drove within his limits. He was always a factor, even in his final season in 1974 when he pounced to claim a win in Argentina after a patient race. But after he had been on the scene of Peter Revson's fatal accident at Kyalami, he was generally content to let younger lions risk their necks before unobtrusively easing himself into a retirement of sorts.
Though Formula 1 was in the past, the lure of competition was too strong, and from 1978 he raced touring cars and trucks as and when the fancy took him with all the grit and determination he showed in his heyday. He was competing in the Bathurst 1000 Km in October 1992 when suddenly he pulled his BMW M3 over and parked neatly on the grass alongside the Armco barrier. For a while nothing happened, and when marshals arrived they found Denny dead, still strapped into the car, having apparently suffered a heart attack at the early age of 56.
(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000
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