Hill. 28th May.

2 Nights ago BBC4 screened a 1 off documentry on Graham Hill.

This was an insight into the life and mind of this great man. Graham came from simple beginnings and went from a broke mechanic to a world champion. Graham saw born in london and like many at the time was not from a rich family. His first love was motorcycles and this is where he learnt most of his skills. Then Queen and country came calling. National Service called.

After his national service Graham saw an add in the news paper that you could pay to drive a Cooper around brands hatch for a small fee. Graham took enough for 4 laps and he became hooked. This passion rose beyond money. Instead of being paid for fixing car he asked if he could do a few laps in them. Graham described his first F3 race in a Cooper 500l; 'I was told the car revs to 16,000, so I put it up to 16,000 and I was watching the flag man, soon as the flag went, zoom, took my foot off the clutch and went up the road like a rocket.'

Graham joined the F1 scene with Lotus, but not as a driver. He was a storehand. He soon became a driver at lotus and in 1958 he drove his first race. In his word's he was running 3rd and thought 'this racing thing is jolly easy, the my wheel fell off.' In 1960, Hill joined BRM, and won the world championship with them in 1962. Hill was also part of the so-called 'British invasion' of drivers and cars in the Indianapolis 500 during the mid-1960s, triumphing there in 1966 in a Lola-Ford.

To be continued..