51 replies to this topic

[kayemod]

Yesterday October 4th was the 23rd anniversary of Denny Hulme's death in 1992 from a heart attack, while racing at Bathurst in a touring car race. Among the past champions that people remember, the name of Denny Hulme doesn’t crop up all that often, which is a bit sad. In my opinion and that of many who knew him and saw him race, he was the equal of many other past WDCs who for some reason, seem to be more highly rated, and certainly better remembered. I met Denny a few times at McLaren in Colnbrook, I made the seat that he won most of his F1 victories in. It was the easiest seat fitting I ever did, Denny had a rather nasty cracked and broken old thing that he’d brought with him from Brabham. I straightened it, made the seating position more reclined, smoothed and tidied everything, and met him at the factory to see if he liked it. Most drivers were very fussy when they had a seat made, according to one McLaren engineer, roughly in inverse proportion to their talent, but Denny couldn’t have been easier. He lowered himself into the car, just said “She’ll be right”, and that was it. He had a reputation for grumpiness, and it’s true that he could be “difficult” at times, but in the McLaren factory, a uniquely laid-back and friendly place among the race shops I saw, he couldn’t have been nicer, and that’s the way I remember him. One of my racing heroes.

 

 

This is Denny racing an E30 M3 BMW in his final race, he died at the wheel a few laps later, just managing to bring the car to a safe halt at the side of the track.

[Charlieman]

Thanks.

[Michael Ferner]

23 years already? Oh my, time really does fly...

The Bear is one of my all-time favourites, thanks for remembering him, Rob!

[B Squared]

A legend in America through his Can Am championships and victories; I saw him race with consistency near the front of the field at Indianapolis. He was fourth in 1967 and 1968, running second in 1969 (ahead of teammate and boss Dan Gurney) until breaking with about 50 laps left with Dan eventually finishing second to Mario, missed 1970 because of burns and qualified fourth in his last start at the Speedway in the M16, breaking with around 60 laps left. It was a wonderful period of international participation at IMS and he definitely represented himself in a fine manner.

[Risil]

Thanks for the reminiscences Kayemod.

 

One thing that bothered me about DH -- how do you pronounce his last name? My Dad always pronounced it "Hume" as in "Alec Douglas-Home", but most newsreels seem to go with "Hulm" as in "Spock, you take the hulm".

[Tim Murray]

Definitely 'Hullm', not 'Hyume'. According to Eoin Young in Memories of the Bear, Denny would say that his father had told him 'Never let them knock the "l" out of Hulme.'

[Doug Nye]

Hull-m - as in ship's hull.  If you asked Denny that's what he would say, or that's what he would snap. Wonderful bloke - hard as nails - but warm and friendly if he felt comfy with the company he was amongst - and a fine, fine driver. Jack Brabham rated him highly, and helped greatly in encouraging Denny to improve his own skills - something that Denny never forgot.  In fact I believe that Jack did probably more than any other World Champion Driver to encourage others to make the most of what driving talent God had given them...e.g. Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, Denny Hulme, Jochen Rindt.  Not too shabby a group... 

 

DCN

[Risil]

Thanks both. Glad my Dad was 10 at the time of Denny's world title, sounds like it saved him an ear bashing.

[jj2728]

It was 1972 and I remember the annual Argentsinger summer cookout at the Glen on Saturday evening following the 6 hour sports prototype race and prior to Sunday's Can Am race. Here was a 17 year old with press credentials sharing a picnic table with Francois Cevert and Denny. Fond memories of great men.

[Dave Ware]

Thank you, Kayemod.  Denny Hulme was always one of my favorite drivers.  He had his own attitude toward racing which I've always admired.

 

Only saw him race a few times, Mid-Ohio in the Can-Am in '72 (four pit stops for tires as the rain came and went and came and went again, but he drove the wheels off that car), Watkins Glen and Mosport for Can-Am and F1.  Saw him at the Canadian Grand Prix one year, walking down the driveway to the back of the garages, wearing his driving suit and eating a large sandwich by tearing pieces off with his fingers and feeding himself the pieces.  Saw him after the '74 Candian GP when Lauda was expressing frustration about his retirement while leading.  Denny said "Piss on 'em, Niki!" 

 

JYS wrote in the forward to "Memories of the Bear:"

 

"Yet Denny Hulme was the most relaxed and gentle man that you could ever encounter."

 

And:

 

As a driver, he was one of the best in the world, although he was seldom recognized as such by those who were not his peers.  Anyone who raced against Denny Hulme at close quarters, and there were few of them, knew that he had an amazing talent." 

[E1pix]

Thanks from me as well. Fabulous opening post!

Wow, seeing the photo of him enjoying his last moments, properly, is very moving for me. His and Bruce's names were the first Can-Am drivers I ever heard of as a seven year-old witnessing them in shock and awe. Wonderful stuff.

Thanks Again.

[JacnGille]

[Repco22]

Here's a trivial anecdote from the 'Small World' department; A Perth friend and motoring enthusiast who, incidentally, has owned all sorts of desirable sports cars including a brace of Maseratis and even built a monoposto special, was on an antique firearm buying trip to New Zealand. He was having trouble finding a certain house in the suburbs when he noticed a bloke raking leaves nearby. He approached him for directions and discovered it was... Denny! Well, I said it was trivial, but memorable to my friend.

[Claudio Navonne]

I saw him win his last GP here in Buenos Aires. I was then an immense sadness for the retirementt of Reutemann, who was surprisingly winning the race.

[group7]

nice photo of "the bear" here  http://www.fotocommu...isplay/24221248

 

Mike (group7)

[Giraffe]

Denny at Donington, May 1991.......

 

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[CSquared]

Monterey Historics, Laguna Seca, August 1992. Dad and I were watching Hulme sitting in a Can-Am car (McLaren, probably) in the paddock. He was working the pedal as mechanics were bleeding the brakes and adjusting the brake balance. One mechanic explained to him that they couldn't get it right because they were missing some little springs that they wouldn't be able to find locally. Hulme: "Well, you do what you can, and the old man will take care of the rest." Dad and I were fans after that. 

[ed holly]

I am the owner of Denny's works Formula Junior, which  Phil Kerr convinced Jack and Ron to give him to use for the 63 season. And use it Denny did, this is a precis of the results he managed that year, the last year of the Formula Junior series when there was just F1 and FJ. Denny missed out on the Express and Star FJ Championship by just 1 point to Arundell, an incredible effort by Denny.  It is recorded that the last round of the E&S championship was cancelled after Arundell was committed elsewhere. My research into Denny's time with the car now runs to some 124 pages, I have been fortunate to meet both Greta and Phil Kerr and discussed Denny's time during 1963 with them and Jack and Ron too. Oh how I wish I could just sit down for a while with Denny too and discuss those times.

 

6.4.63 Oulton Park GB D. Hulme not placed

15.4.63 Goodwood GB Chichester Cup D. Hulme 2nd

27.4.63 Aintree GB Spring Whiz D. Hulme 1st

11.5.63 Silverstone GB International Trophy D. Hulme 1st B

25.5.63 Aintree GB National meeting D. Hulme 1st + F/L

3.6.63 Crystal Palace GB Anerley Trophy D. Hulme 1st + F/L

23.6.63 Rouen   Fr GP de Rouen D. Hulme DNF G/box

30.6.63 Rheims   Fr IV de Juniors D. Hulme 1st F/L

20.7.63 Silverstone GB BRDC D. Hulme DNF crash

28.7.63 Wuttenberg Ger PreisVon Baden D. Hulme 2nd

24.8.63 Goodwood GB BARC FJ Champ D. Hulme 3rd

8.9.63 Albi Fr GP d'Albi D. Hulme 2nd

14.9.63 Brands Hatch GB Ango European Trophy D. Hulme Ht 1st, 2nd F/L

28.9.63 Snetterton GB Vanwall Trophy D. Hulme 1st + F/L

14 starts 9 pole positions - 6 1st's - 4 2nds's - 1 3rd - 2 dnf's - 1 unplaced - 5 fastest laps.

 

The photo here is after Denny had won his last race in the car at Snetterton, and no prizes for guessing who is just as happy for Denny as Denny himself !

 

picture uploading

 

[Robin Fairservice]

I have a different sort of story about Denny.  I was flagging at Brands Hatch for a Formula One race, at Station 2 which was on the inside of the entrance to Paddock Bend. There was a strip of grass between the end of our protective wall and the pavement. I went onto that strip to wave a blue flag to a slower car who was about to be lapped by Denny in his MacLaren.  I innocently thought that Denny would stay behind and pass on the exit of the corner; but Denny had other ideas - he dived onto the inside of the slower car and of course was using my strip of grass!  I don't know how fast I  moved, but it was a very close call.

[Wirra]

Not long after his championship I heard a reference to Denny that 'he could run across a field of broken glass and not cut his feet'. I had always thought it suggested he was a lucky driver. A little bit older now I think it might have suggested he was a chap who took on hard challenges and came out on top through sheer talent.

 

Does anyone recall who might have said that about Denny (Sir Jack?) and what it was meant to imply exactly.

 

Edited by Wirra, 07 October 2015 - 01:06.

[GMACKIE]

Wirra, that sounds like something Frank Gardner would come out with.

[ed holly]

Apparently he most often went bare-footed - even working at Brabham MRD ....

[fbarrett]

When I bought my Ducati 250 in 1967, I also got a Bell 500 helmet, pure white. Couldn't afford to pay anyone to custom paint it, so I applied two stripes of black electrical tape, in honor of DH.

Edited by fbarrett, 07 October 2015 - 01:55.

[bradbury west]

I cannot comment on any possible allegorical reference to the barefoot story, but from my visit to NZ I have always understood, and saw, that it was commonplace for children to run about barefoot in rural areas, and even walk to and from school thus, as we saw, and not through any reasons necessarily of poverty. Just one of those things, and with Denny it may just have been a generational thing, bearing in mind his age. This is one of those times when we miss David McKinney .... as is often the case , I find
Roger Lund

[Tim Murray]

The book Memories of the Bear mentions that in his early days Denny always used to drive barefoot, including when racing. It was only when he came to the UK and started getting strange looks when climbing barefoot into his Cooper that he took to wearing shoes when racing.

Later on, as Ed mentioned, he persisted in working in the Brabham workshops in bare feet, even after dropping a crankshaft on his big toe, and had to be persuaded to start wearing shoes after Phil Kerr got fed up with the oily footprints around the workshops and through the car showroom.

Edited by Tim Murray, 07 October 2015 - 08:21.

[wenoopy]

I cannot comment on any possible allegorical reference to the barefoot story, but from my visit to NZ I have always understood, and saw, that it was commonplace for children to run about barefoot in rural areas, and even walk to and from school thus, as we saw, and not through any reasons necessarily of poverty. Just one of those things, and with Denny it may just have been a generational thing, bearing in mind his age. This is one of those times when we miss David McKinney .... as is often the case , I find
Roger Lund

 As a fair-skinned New Zealander, I have not gone barefoot to any great extent in my 73 years, as the stones on the unsealed roads and footpaths of the 1940's and 1950's were too sharp for me. However, it was certainly the norm for schoolboys in the more Northerly parts of NZ, at least, in the summer. The dairy farming community would have also been well aware of the warmth of a fresh cowpat under the icy bare foot while bringing the cows in for early morning milking.

 

The Denny legend was that he drove(under-age) his father's truck(s?) barefoot while carrying sand, and found that this gave him a better feel of the pedals, and therefore better control, and carried this over to his motor racing career. However, I must say that I have never seen photographic evidence to confirm this point, but I'm sure there is some out there.

 

Stu

[Nigel Beresford]

Yes, there was a story about the time he was welding, and didn't realise that sparks were  dropping on to his feet until he smelled the burning flesh.

[kayemod]

Yes, there was a story about the time he was welding, and didn't realise that sparks were  dropping on to his feet until he smelled the burning flesh.

 

It's not just his feet that were tough. It's a story I've told on here before, but when sorting out his old seat I needed some aluminium brackets to hold the recline angle until I could finish the job properly back at SM in Huntingdon. Someone found some aluminium about 4mm thick, and I tried to bend it. Pathetic, I was skinny and a bit weedy in those days. A couple of the mechanics tried with similar results. Then Denny stepped in and bent the strips as if they were cardboard. The impressive thing though was that his poor old hands were still horribly scarred from the Indy Methanol fire, barely recovered in fact, almost painful even to look at, and he didn't seem to feel a thing. Tough guy, no doubt about that.

[opplock]

I recall reading many years ago that Denny raced in bare feet until his first visit to Enna. Burnt feet persuaded him of the wisdom of wearing driving boots. Possibly part of the legend but I'm not convinced that getting strange looks would have led him to change his habits.  

 

The greatest peril while walking in bare feet was bees. It hurt like hell the first time I was stung in the foot but after that I have always treated bee stings as a minor annoyance.   

[kayemod]

I recall reading many years ago that Denny raced in bare feet until his first visit to Enna. Burnt feet persuaded him of the wisdom of wearing driving boots. Possibly part of the legend but I'm not convinced that getting strange looks would have led him to change his habits.  

 

 

 

You wouldn't catch me with bare feet, bare anything in fact, anywhere in Sicily especially Enna. the place is alive with small viper type snakes, that lake is wriggling with them. I remember being told of a car retrieved after going into the water there, snakes coiled all around suspension parts and in the monocoque etc, no-one wanted to go near it. No idea how deadly they were, but I asked the owner of our hotel. He didn't say a word, just drew his finger across his throat, that was enough for me.

[Ray Bell]

I was looking at a school photo of my mum's old school the other night, almost all the kids were barefooted...

Of course that was the depression. But the other point is that the skin toughens up and, unlike feet which live inside socks and shoes, the toughened feet will not feel things like the bees you mention, the welding sparks will take more to do damage and so on.

One of my uncles had soles on his feet that seemed to be half an inch think of solid rubber. This, I'm sure would have some bearing on the 'field of broken glass' comment. And that does sound a bit Frank Gardner.

An interesting comment from you there, Doug... that Jack would have encouraged greats like Dan Gurney and Jochen Rindt (both further into their driving careers than was Denny when he went with Jack) to work on their skills.

That could well be the subject of another thread.

[nmansellfan]

What was Denny's reason for leaving Brabham and switching to McLaren in '68?  Did he just feel better working with Bruce McLaren as he already drove for them in Can-Am, or was it money (unlikely reason I would have thought) or something else?

[B Squared]

Denis Hulme in the official qualifying photo from 1971. He started fourth; Revson and Donohue started first and second in sister cars. Still one of my all-time favorite machines in Indy Car.

photo:IMS

[Obster]

Great stories about one of my childhood heroes. They don't make 'em like that anymore, do they?

Brian, the M16 is one of my all-time favorites, too. It took a lot of guts to present that car in your Sophmore year at the speedway. I still remember opening my copy of Autoweek and seeing it... and realizing the rear wing would be legal as it was part of the engine cover.

A true original, Denny the Bear. We loved him here in the States.

[GMACKIE]

 As a fair-skinned New Zealander, I have not gone barefoot to any great extent in my 73 years, as the stones on the unsealed roads and footpaths of the 1940's and 1950's were too sharp for me. However, it was certainly the norm for schoolboys in the more Northerly parts of NZ, at least, in the summer. The dairy farming community would have also been well aware of the warmth of a fresh cowpat under the icy bare foot while bringing the cows in for early morning milking.

 

The Denny legend was that he drove(under-age) his father's truck(s?) barefoot while carrying sand, and found that this gave him a better feel of the pedals, and therefore better control, and carried this over to his motor racing career. However, I must say that I have never seen photographic evidence to confirm this point, but I'm sure there is some out there.

 

Stu

We rarely wore shoes, even in winter [as kids,late '40s]. The things that stick in my mind about bare feet are - walking across a road in the middle of summer, taking care not to tread on the molten tar, and - riding a bike with those sharp serrated pedals.

[Lola5000]

Denny was my Brabham hero.

[Dipster]

One of my uncles had soles on his feet that seemed to be half an inch think of solid rubber. This, I'm sure would have some bearing on the 'field of broken glass' comment. And that does sound a bit Frank Gardner.

 

 

 

I can well believe it. When I was working in the Middle East some years ago my then 14 year old son took to walking barefoot. He certainly developed a thick sole to his feet. So thick that he managed to end up with a tack in the sole of one foot and did not know it.....  When we finished there we moved on to Poland and the lad had to wear shoes. It was a hard transition, both mentally and physically, which may explain Denny`s apparent reluctance initially (in Europe) to be shod.

Edited by Dipster, 08 October 2015 - 07:32.

[Doug Nye]

I recall Eoin Young telling me the story about the teenaged Denny standing on a welding ember in bare feet and not noticing it until he caught the smell of burning pork...

 

Back in May 1992 we did a pre-launch reveal for the McLaren F1 full-size mock-up in the Sporting Club at Monte Carlo. I had just written the original sales brochure for it, which I'm pleased to say became something of a collectors' item. It was Monaco GP week, and both Denny and Eoin were in town. We were killing time, I think watching the Indy 500 TV coverage (?) or the Eurovision Song Contest (?) or some such happening at that time, in one of our rooms and he and Eoin were both pumping me for preview detail on the new McLaren's much-rumoured 'secret features'.  I was fending them off as best I could - "You'll know soon enough" - "I couldn't possibly comment" - "Effin' well WAIT!" etc etc.  

 

But then Denny said quietly "Well I reckon it's got centre steer with a passenger seat each side of the driver".  And of course he was absolutely right.  But when I still just wouldn't rise to the bait he just tittered his near-silent big-chinned laugh and flopped back in his armchair to continue watching TV.  

 

Next day at the Sporting Club, after the reveal, I saw Denny in the scrum around the model and he beamed and grunted triumphantly "Right - wasn't I!" - and I said something like "Bloody racing drivers - you've got to win every time haven't you...", and he just tittered silently, waved and disappeared into the crowd.  

 

I had noticed over those few days he was eating hardly anything at all, and sipping only water. He was also too thin for his bull-strong frame, looking somehow hollowed-out.  We knew then he wasn't the indestructible Bear he had always been - but otherwise 'in himself' he seemed fine.  But that moment beside the McLaren F1 maquette in the Sporting Club was the last time I ever saw him - as five months later I saw the first Ceefax text report on BBC TV that he had "been killed" while racing at Bathurst. I'm not ashamed to admit I shed a tear for him.

 

DCN

[kayemod]

I’ve been gratified by the response to this thread, I knew that Denny Hulme was highly regarded by his peers, and the diminishing number of race fans who still remember him, but it’s been good to see evidence of this here. It seems to have almost run its course, so as a sort of postscript, one or two photo memories of the man.

 

 

This is a photo, either Geoff Goddard or Nigel Snowdon, no name on the back and I can’t remember who was responsible, of Denny in the 1972 French GP at Clermont Ferrand. DH loved the circuit, he was second fastest in practice, and followed Chris Amon when the flag dropped. Many will remember this as a race that Amon “should” have won, he led much of the way but was one of many to suffer punctures, recovering to third after a pit stop. Denny had been a strong second, he would have inherited the lead had he not also collected a puncture, he came seventh after his slow stop, but a memorable drive all the same. Because of the number of tyre failures, the GPDA insisted that kerbs should be installed everywhere thereafter, it was a stone in this race that caused Helmut Marko to lose an eye, ending his driving career. In this pic, I love the iron grating on the corner’s apex, and doesn’t Denny look comfortable in “my” seat?

 

 

One of my favourites, the bear in his lair. Denny in the McLaren workshop in Colnbrook, where he spent much time when not racing. This is the all-conquering M8A prior to shipping to the US for the 1968 Can Am season’s opening round at Elkhart Lake. Denny won that race, but probably not on the fabricated magnesium rear wheels shown. This was McLaren’s second attempt at this, the first ones failed through cracking, and these weren’t much better apparently. I’ve been told that he raced with them, but photos I’ve seen show him on the regular four spoke cast ones, so maybe they were only tried in practice. The photo came from French writer Jabby Crombac, and as far as I know it’s never been published anywhere, this post is probably its first public airing. The reverse is covered in barely legible French scribble in which Jabby incorrectly identifies the car as an M8B.

 

 

One from the Nigel Beresford collection of McLaren ephemera, the two M8As being readied for shipment to the USA for the 1968 Can Am season. That’s Teddy Mayer standing on the trailer, and I’m guessing that Nigel’s dad Don is the second figure on the left. This was taken outside the McLaren factory in David Road, Colnbrook, right under the flightpath to Heathrow, and Denny’s car is still wearing those experimental wheels.

 

 

A fitting postscript from The Man himself, part of a letter written by Denny to friends in England, see that line "I miss the workshop a bit", he means the McLaren workshop of course, always very "hands on", and I can't see any of the current crowd ever getting their hands dirty like that, a few years ago and a different era I suppose. No good trying that address at the bottom of course, as I said in the opening post, sadly, Denny left the building just over twenty three years ago. A real racer and a good man, and still one of my all-time favourites.

Edited by kayemod, 10 October 2015 - 22:31.

[kayemod]

I should perhaps mention that the letter above was written in 05.05.76, well after Denny retired, but still keeping in touch with old friends back in the UK.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by nmansellfan
What was Denny's reason for leaving Brabham and switching to McLaren in '68?  Did he just feel better working with Bruce McLaren as he already drove for them in Can-Am, or was it money (unlikely reason I would have thought) or something else?

A question unanswered at this stage...

My first thought would be that, together with the solidarity to be enjoyed with regard to Can-Am racing with the same team, McLaren were going with the DFV in '68 and Jack was committed to Repco.

The DFV was rapidly getting runs on the board even though it was only mounted in the fragile Lotus while Repco were still to come out with their 4-valve engines. Potentially, Repco had some reliability problems in their future together with their deficit in power alongside the DFV.

Aiding this, I'm sure Jack simply left it to Denny to make up his own mind. He knew full well he could hold up his end in the coming year and didn't pressure him at all.

But I'm speculating here. Perhaps Doug has more insight?

[Doug Nye]

Just as important as considerations of engine provision...

 

Where was Denny born?

 

Where was Jack born?

 

Where was Bruce born?

 

DCN

[Ray Bell]

Obviously logical there, Doug...

Both Denny and Bruce were NZ 'Driver to Europe' winners and were, as noted, already working together in Can-Am.

[wenoopy]

Obviously logical there, Doug...

Both Denny and Bruce were NZ 'Driver to Europe' winners and were, as noted, already working together in Can-Am.

 

'Motor Sport' of September 2003 contains an article by Adam Cooper entitled "The Bear Facts". Adam and his good lady were filling the gap between the Australian and Malaysian GP's by tripping around New Zealand.

 

Finding themselves in Denny's birthplace of Te Puke(as you do), Cooper enquired as to the existence of any memorial to the late local hero. He was directed to a real estate office a few doors along the road, where Denny's sister Anita worked, and she it turn contacted Denny's widow Greeta, and a very interesting interview and story resulted. 

 

Denny seems to have had a better rapport with McLaren than with the 10-years older (?inscrutable) Jack, and from his CanAm experiences would have had some insight into where McLaren was heading.

 

Possibly the article might be found on the 'Motor Sport' site. I haven't looked.

 

Stu Buchanan

[ed holly]

This photo comes from the   JACK BRABHAM ENGINES website from the "your Story" section which can be found at 

 

http://www.jack-brab.../yourstory.aspx

 

Photos from France


Date Added: 17/2/2009

Thanks again to Christophe Thiery - his uncle owned the garage in France where these rare photos were taken.

 

 This is my favourite photo of Denny out of all the research I have done delving into the history of his Formula Junior mentioned previously. You can see that his mate has cracked up with whatever was said to get Denny to look up for the photo. Maybe the distraction was what caused him to have his only mechanical DNF (at Rouen) - anyways it seems he was a trifle reluctant subject of the photo, but much to the amusement of those around. A real gem of a photo ... listed on the site by Christophe Thiery who very kindly sent me scans of the original photos there.

 

I thoroughly recommend a visit to this site as there are many wonderful photos and captions there - this photo is from a number of Denny around 1/3rd of the way down the page.

 

screenshot on pc

[2F-001]

Around the time that my father introduced me to live motorsport - at our local circuit Mallory Park - Denis Hulme took the outright circuit record there. Although I didn't witness that event, it seemed like he held the record for ages (years feel longer when you are young); in fact it was only until that first F5000 season, but repeatedly seeing his name in the programme, alongside a lap time that seemed so out-of-reach, established him for me as something of a legend before I ever saw him race.

 

As a kid, I knew little of any reputation for being difficulty or grumpy (maybe gruff, taciturn, no-nonsense is better?); when I stood by him shyly with my autograph book open ('69 or '70, I suppose) he seemed friendly enough and indulged my request freely, breaking off briefly from a conversation with someone else to do so and actually thanking me. Only later did I come learn what a man he was - typified by his role at McLaren, post June '70 - strong, resilient, dependable, honourable. It's a little sad that his driving achievements tend to be overlooked by a wider world - but those who matter know...

 

I probably saw Denny drive less than a dozen times, but I was at Silverstone for that final TT win, still with my Dad as my race-going companion.

[SJ Lambert]

The Bear in the Beast at the Glen - PERFECT!

 

 

Edited by SJ Lambert, 22 May 2016 - 09:22.

[Mohican]

No one here has mentioned Denny winning the 1973 Swedish GP at Anderstorp, taking the lead from Ronnie Peterson on the penultimate lap following the latter suffering a puncture. Ronnie had been in the lead from the start, and was less than happy; he would never come so close to winning his home race again.

 

Anyway, when Denny was handed the winner's trophy, it turned out to be a glass polar bear ! He himself commented on it in the column he wrote for Autosport.

This polar bear was the symbol of Polar caravans, who ironically became Peterson's sponsor a few years later - with even a polar bear logo on his helmet.

[kayemod]

No one here has mentioned Denny winning the 1973 Swedish GP at Anderstorp, taking the lead from Ronnie Peterson on the penultimate lap following the latter suffering a puncture. Ronnie had been in the lead from the start, and was less than happy; he would never come so close to winning his home race again.

 

Anyway, when Denny was handed the winner's trophy, it turned out to be a glass polar bear ! He himself commented on it in the column he wrote for Autosport.

This polar bear was the symbol of Polar caravans, who ironically became Peterson's sponsor a few years later - with even a polar bear logo on his helmet.

 

True, but of course Anderstorp has been mentioned several times on other threads. Denny made a slow start there with stuck throttle slides, these soon cleared, so the Bear switched off the DFV's rev limiter, put his head down and just went for it. As most of us don't need reminding, Denny with the bit between his teeth was one hell of a driver.

 

He travelled to the race in John MacDonald's new Rolls Royce with John and Phil Kerr, but on the way home heading to the ferry in Esbjerg, they had serious problems, mainly with a rear wheel bearing, which had failed. Denny managed a get you home fix at a small garage, but by this time they were late, and it was touch & go whether they'd make it, those boats only ran about once a day, if that. With their speed rarely under 100mph, at one point they overtook a Vickers Viscount coming into land at the airport in Odense, and near the end running red lights etc, they made it just as the loading ramp was being raised, smoke pouring from underneath the car. Denmark's roads are heavily policed these days, and they only got away with it back then because it was a public holiday, and they were very lucky. This story at greater length is told in Phil Kerr's wonderful book about McLaren, To Finish First, anyone who loves the sport as it used to be should read this excellent book, I can't praise it too highly.

 

As Phil writes, in a crisis, calm practical, unflappable D Hulme is the man you want by your side, so it was Denny the ace mechanic, as well as Denny the ace driver.

[SilsonBoy]

I have some great memories of Denny and two that come to mind are first the Daily Express International Trophy meeting at Silverstone in 1966 where Denny drove The Sid Taylor Lola T70 to victory in the morning sports car race setting the outright circuit lap record in the process, which incidentally was not bettered when the new 3 litre F1 cars made their British debut in the main race that afternoon which was won by Jack Brabham. I also recall the 1968 International Trophy which Denny won in I think a lovely McLaren M7a despite having one of his goggle lenses smashed by a stone! I was in the pit staight grandstand for both of those races and Somewhere I have a photo of Denny's McLaren with the winners laurel perched on the front. F1 drivers drove in multiple races back then on the same day, very different times.