Denny Hulme

Interesting facts

His father, Clive Hulme, earned a Victoria Cross as a sniper during the 1941 Battle of Crete; Denny grew up on a tobacco farm in New Zealand and was already driving the family's trucks, sitting on his father's lap, by the age of six. In 1960 he watched fellow New Zealander George Lawton die in his arms after a Formula Junior crash at Roskilde in Denmark, a tragedy that deeply affected the young Hulme. Nicknamed 'the Bear' for his gruff exterior, he was privately sensitive and struggled to express his feelings except behind the wheel; early in his career he raced barefoot, believing it gave him a better feel for the throttle, until European regulations forced standard footwear in 1960. In 1970 he suffered methanol burns to his hands in a fire during Indianapolis 500 practice, forcing him to miss the Dutch Grand Prix; that same year his team boss and friend Bruce McLaren was killed testing a Can-Am car at Goodwood. In 1974 he announced his retirement at the end of the season after his friend Peter Revson died in a testing accident at Kyalami, having tried in vain to save him. He suffered a fatal heart attack at the wheel of a BMW M3 on the Conrod Straight during the 1992 Bathurst 1000, at roughly 140 mph; his sister later said his health had never recovered after his 21-year-old son Martin died at Lake Rotoiti on Christmas Day 1988, saying he had 'died of a broken heart.' Denny Hulme made his Formula 1 debut in 1965 and raced until 1974, 10 seasons in total as a New Zealander driver. He won the World Championship once, in 1967. He scored a total of 248 championship points over his career.