RIP - Phil Hill

[Rob Hilding]

Sad to lose America's First World Driving Champion 

Phil was one of the greats, one of those that drove everything well, and competed like a gentleman.

Godspeed, Phil.

[MotoCreations]

Phil was the first American driver to win a Formula One World Drivers Championship and did so in a Ferrari. He passed away this morning after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease.

Phil's website --> Phil Hill website (you can leave notes here as well)

He will be remembered as a great enthusiast who loved to drive racecars. It will be strange going to vintage racecar events or Ferrari events and not having him around eating lunch with us or telling his great stories from the good old days of racing.  Hopefully he is sitting around somewhere with the other great racers and bench racing as only the best could do.

My fondest memory will be of him giving myself a ride in the Ferrari 375MM (sn#0286AM) that he and Richie Ginther raced in the Carrera Pan Americana. (I was involved in the restoration of this unique racecar) I commented to Phil in regard to his lack of use of the brakes while driving the big hairy white Ferrari. He commented that the drum brakes on the old Ferrari's "were useless. You toss it into the corner sideways to scrub off speed whenever possible. Never use the brakes. That way when you get into big trouble, the brakes are cool and you might get one or two chances to save your life and of them possibly actually working." Given his success in F1, at Le Mans and racing throughout the world and surviving -- he definitely knew what he was talking about.

Phil w/Richie in the 1954 Carrera Pan Americana race:

[Rob Hilding]

Great memories, and nice pic!

I talked to him once at the Monterey Historics, complementing him on a R & T article he wrote......

I'll never forget seeing him on Wide World of Sports broadcast of LeMans and Monaco races ( used to be all the racing on TV was on WWoS) in  the 60's.

[MotoCreations]

If you knew all the stories that I've heard from Phil Hill and Pete Lovely -- it could fill a couple of book volumes.

I know when we were restoring 0286AM and Phil remembered he had taken COLOR (rare at the time) slides pictures of the car in Mexico and at a few of the locations along the way during the Carrera Pan Americana. (Later published by R&T as special posters)  It was like an awakening and it was hours of stories that came flooding back.  Then when we did the R&T photoshoot in eastern Washington and Henry (his old friend/mechanic) brought the old green bomber jack that Phil used to wear -- it was wild listening to these two olds guys jabber away.

One thing about Phil -- he never had a bad word to say about anyone that I ever heard.  He certainly had his adversity at Ferrari, ATS, Ford and Chaparrel while racing in his prime.

I think I will get out the video tonight of him running that Chaparrel winged coupe at the Nurburgring in the rain -- it was unreal what he did driving there.  Almost like Senna at the European Gran prix many years later.

[superjohn]

Phil Hill was truly one of the greats. RIP

[Howie]

RIP

[tommys67]

Oh Damn...