Duncan Hamilton (racing driver)

Duncan Hamilton

Born	30 April 1920(1920-04-30)
Died	13 May 1994(1994-05-13) (aged 74)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1951 - 1953
Teams	Talbot-Lago, HWM
Races	5
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1951 British Grand Prix
Last race	1953 British Grand Prix

Duncan Hamilton (April 30, 1920 in Cork, County Cork, Ireland - May 13, 1994 in Sherborne, Dorset, England) was a British amateur racing driver. Born in County Cork, Ireland, he was educated at Brighton College. He flew Lysanders with the Fleet Air Arm in World War II and ran a garage.

Formula One career

He participated in five World Championship Grands Prix and 18 non-Championship Formula One races.^[1] His best results in the non-Championship events were fourth place in the 1948 Zandvoort Grand Prix with a Maserati 6CM, third in the 1951 Richmond Trophy (ERA B-Type), second in the 1951 BRDC International Trophy (Talbot-Lago T26C), third in the 1952 Richmond Trophy (Talbot-Lago T26C) and fourth in the 1952 Internationales ADAC Eifelrennen (HWM-Alta).^[1]

Le Mans 24 Hours

He also took part in numerous sports car races and contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans nine times, most famously in partnership with Tony Rolt. The pair finished fourth at their first attempt in the 1950 race and sixth in 1951, both times in a special-bodied Nash-Healey coupe. Their Jaguar C-Type did not finish in 1952, but they returned with a C-Type to win in 1953, despite Hamilton colliding with a bird at 130 mph, which broke his nose.^[2] They were second with a Jaguar D-Type in 1954 but failed to finish in 1955. For 1956 Hamilton partnered Alfonso de Portago in a Ferrari but again did not finish. In 1957 he reverted to a Jaguar D-Type: partnered by the American driver Masten Gregory he came sixth. His last Le Mans appearance was in 1958, when the D-Type he shared with Ivor Bueb failed to finish.

1953 24 Hours of Le Mans

At the 1953 event Hamilton and Rolt had been disqualified for practising in a car with the same number as another on the circuit at the same time.

Hamilton was a larger-than-life character,^[3] and his account of what followed has passed into motor racing legend: by the time Jaguar team manager Lofty England persuaded the organisers to let them race, both drivers were drunk in a local bar; when the race was under way the team tried to sober Hamilton up by giving him coffee during the pit stops but he refused it, saying it made his arms twitch; instead he was given brandy. Lofty England refuted the story: "Of course I would never have let them race under the influence. I had enough trouble when they were sober!"^[4] Tony Rolt likewise maintained that it was fiction.^[5]

Privateer races

Hamilton also won the 1956 Rheims 12-hour race for Jaguar with a D-Type co-driven by Ivor Bueb. Despite the win, the factory dropped him from their 1956 Le Mans roster for speeding up and passing team-mate Paul Frère's car at Rheims when Lofty England had ordered the entire team to slow down,^[6] hence his switch to a Ferrari that year. In 1957 Jaguar did not enter Le Mans - cars and equipment had been destroyed by a fire at the factory - and Hamilton used his privately-owned D-Type.

Retirement

After he retired from racing in 1958 he concentrated on his garage business. He co-wrote an autobiography called Touch Wood!. Duncan Hamilton died in Sherborne, Dorset.^[7] His son Adrian Hamilton, a classic car dealer, runs his father's garage today. Duncan's grandson Archie Hamilton is also a racing driver.

Complete World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	WDC	Points
1951	Duncan Hamilton	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot-Lago S6	SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR 12	GER Ret	ITA	ESP		NC	0
1952	HW Motors	HWM 52	HWM S4	SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR Ret	GER	NED 7	ITA		NC	0
1953	HW Motors	HWM 53	HWM S4	ARG	500	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR Ret	GER	SUI	ITA	NC	0

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Formula One Archives. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
2. ^ BBC Top Gear article "Not even a broken nose could stop Hamilton from winning the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hours" April 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.
3. ^ Forward by Earl Howe to "Touch Wood!" Retrieved on 2008-08-03.
4. ^ Daily Telegraph obituary of Tony Rolt, February 2 2008. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.
5. ^ Obituary of Tony Rolt by Alan Henry, February 9 2008. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.
6. ^ Mike Hawthorn tribute site, "Rheims 1956" extract from Paul Skilleter's book "Jaguar Sports Cars". Retrieved on 2008-08-03.
7. ^ "The World Championship drivers - Where are they now?". http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Duncan_Hamilton. Retrieved 2007-08-13. 

Bibliography

• Duncan Hamilton and Lionel Scott (ed. Doug Nye): Touch Wood! Duncan Hamilton & Co. 1992 ISBN 0-95-169450-2.
• Paul Skilleter: Jaguar Sports Cars GT Foulis & Co. 1976 ISBN 0-85-429166-0

Sporting positions
Preceded by Hermann Lang Fritz Riess	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1953 with: Tony Rolt	Succeeded by José Froilán González Maurice Trintignant

Persondata
Name	Hamilton, Duncan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1920-04-30
Place of birth
Date of death	1994-05-13
Place of death