historicracing

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Denny Hulme was the son of a Victoria Cross winner and in 1967 became New Zealand's only ever World Champion.

Best of all, he was known for being grumpy. An image enhanced by the fact that he looked about 20 years older than he actually was. Journalists, whom he generally hated, called him "The Bear" on account of his grumpiness. He liked that.

19-Dec-22 historicracing.com

During the 1967 season, Ford were busy promoting their new Formula Ford series. And, among the companies providing suitable cars for this championship, were Brabham. Who were also Denny's employers.

Somebody from Ford thought it would be a "really neat" idea if Brabham were to get one of their Grand Prix stars to demonstrate a Formula Ford car in front of the public at Brands Hatch. Jack Brabham owned the company, he didn't want to do it, and he didn't have to, so he didn't. Denny Hulme, as an employee, got the gig instead.

As well as the car, also on display here is an expression of utter disgust.

Friday Chaps Archives

  1. Denny Hulme was the son of a Victoria Cross winner and in 1967 became New Zealand's only ever World Champion.
  2. Bruce McLaren at Riverside back in 1966.
  3. Few car builders have ever arrived with the impact that Cisitalia made in the fun-starved, post-war 1940s.
  4. Archie Frazer-Nash
  5. Innes Ireland taking a unique approach to F1 passenger carrying at Spa in 1961
  6. Pablo Escobar!!! No kidding either. Apparently old 'Narcos' was quite an accomplished driver.
  7. A load of Bollees!
  8. Look out, here comes Woosh-Bonk!
  9. Combinations at Brooklands
  10. 1936 Swiss Grand Prix
  11. Abel Lourenço dos Santos at the Circuito da Gávea in 1935

About

Friday Chaps was started by the late Chris Bowen. Over the past few years we worked with Chris to add and contribute to the Friday Chaps stories.

Chris started in F1 with Brabham in 1984 before moving on to Benetton, McLaren, Ligier, Arrows, Toyota, Red Bull, Honda, Brawn GP and in 2010 to Mercedes AMG Petronas.

Sadly Chris passed away suddenly in 2020. His knowledge and story telling ability were of the highest order and we have decided to continue his theme of Friday Chaps in his memory. We will republish some of his stories and observations and add to them hopefully doing justice to the standards he set!

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