Denny Hulme

Denny Hulme
Hulme at the 1965 German Grand Prix
Born
Denis Clive Hulme

(1936-06-18)18 June 1936
Motueka, New Zealand
Died4 October 1992(1992-10-04) (aged 56)
Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Spouse
Greeta Main
(m. 1963)
Children2
ParentClive Hulme (father)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality New Zealander
Active years1965–1974
TeamsBrabham, McLaren
Entries112
Championships1 (1967)
Wins8
Podiums33
Career points248
Pole positions1
Fastest laps9
First entry1965 Monaco Grand Prix
First win1967 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win1974 Argentine Grand Prix
Last entry1974 United States Grand Prix

Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992) was a New Zealand racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1965 to 1974. Nicknamed "the Bear",[a] Hulme won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1967 with Brabham, and won eight Grands Prix across 10 seasons.

Born and raised in the South Island, Hulme was the son of Clive Hulme, who was a World War II sniper. Hulme achieved eight race wins, one pole position, nine fastest laps and 33 podiums in Formula One. He also finished third in the overall standing in 1968 and 1972.[2]

Hulme showed versatility by dominating the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) for Group 7 sports cars. As a member of the McLaren team that won five straight titles between 1967 and 1971, he won the individual Drivers' Championship twice and was runner-up on four other occasions.[2]

Hulme was nicknamed 'The Bear', because of his "gruff nature" and "rugged features"; however, he was also "sensitive (...) unable to express his feelings, except in a racing car".[1] During the early part of his career, Hulme preferred to race bare foot as he believed that it gave him a better feel of the throttle. This changed in 1960 when he started competing in the more highly regulated European championships.[3] Following his Formula One tenure with Brabham, Hulme raced for McLaren in multiple formats—Formula One, Can-Am, and at the Indianapolis 500. Hulme retired from Formula One at the end of the 1974 season but continued to race Australian Touring Cars.

  1. ^ a b Donaldson, Gerald. "Hall of Fame – Denny Hulme". Formula1.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Denny Hulme". Nzhistory.net.nz. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  3. ^ Moggipaldi, Graham (18 June 2011). "Denny Hulme: The Barefoot Boy Remembered › Badger GP". badgergp.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.


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