Description
Author: Eoin Young, ISBN: 9781844252084, Hardbound, 380 Pages, Published: 2007
An Affectionate Biography Of Hulme, Whose Career Included Eight Grand Prix Victories And Two Can-am Sports Car Titles.
When Denny Hulme won the 1967 Formula 1 World Championship, he jokingly asked Jim Clark to do 'the fame bit' for him as he so disliked being in the spotlight. Put him behind the wheel of a racing car, however, and the self-effacing New Zealander, affectionately known as 'The Bear', showed ferocious determination.
Denny was born to drive. His father, war hero Clive Hulme VC, ran a trucking business and, as a schoolboy, Denny drove six-ton lorries. His first competition car was an MG TF 1500, and in 1960 he won at Ardmore in a 2-litre Cooper-Climax, the same year he was awarded a New Zealand Drivers to Europe scholarship. In 1963, working as a mechanic for Jack Brabham, he was given a race in the Formula Junior Brabham and this marked the beginning of an illustrious career that would see him win eight Grands Prix, the first at Monaco in 1967, driving a Brabham BT2O-Repco V8.
In 1968 Hulme signed with fellow Kiwi, Bruce McLaren, to race in Fl and CanAm. He won the CanAm sports car title that season and in 1970, when Bruce was killed, he took over as team leader, and won the title again.
In 1976, now retired, Denny returned to New Zealand, but the itch to compete saw him racing regularly at the Australian Bathurst circuit — a well-respected personality on the international touring car circuit.On the 33rd lap of the 1992 Bathurst 1000 km classic, driving a BMW, Denny died of a heart attack at the age of 56. It was a fitting end for a man who passionately loved racing. Eoin Young knew 'The Bear' well and tells his story with insight and affection. This book completes the trilogy on his home country's three finest drivers and follows McLaren Memories and Forza Amon!
