ABOUT BEARS AND MEN

The Denny Hulme Story

"Well, Dieter, in the early days all things were really different." This moment I cannot believe, what I have just heard, because Denis Clive Hulme, world champion 1967 and twice winner of the CanAm (1968 and 1970) never had dealt with a journalist so charmingly before, like on this Saturday night in summer 1989. Dieter Kuerten from ZDF, Germany´s leading television company had invited him for the Aktuelle Sportstudio, the broadcaster`s weekly sports show, as so many Grand Prix drivers before. Knowing very well, what the whole thing was about, because Denny The Bear, as he was called by all the people, had no good relationship to the press over decades and once he had received the Prix Citròn for the most impolite Formula One driver. And now he is half standing sitting in his McLaren M20 sportscar of the year 1972 and talks kindly about his wonderful career from being a mechanic at Brabham becoming a world champion, praises his successors in the McLaren team and looks forward to his following start at the Nuerburgring`s Oldtimer Grand Prix on Sunday. All that he does with charme and passion never to be seen, with love and hope, in spite having suffered from the most tragic fate of his life so far, when his only son Martin, grown up in the paddocks of the world, was killed in swimming accident at the age of only 21. And: Hulme, whose appearance looked very different to his real age, when bein involved in active Grand Prix competition - he always looked older than he was - now looks like a man of 53 years indeed. With the McLaren Chevrolet M20 Hulme scores one victory, a third and a fifth place at the Oldtimer Grand Prix, with that car, nearly had cost his life on the Road Atlanta in 1972. Gordon Coppuck had modified the 1971 M8F, being in fear of Roger Penske`s turbo powered 12 cylinder 1000 horse powers Porsche, that way, that he had given him lateral radiators, (being absolutely new for a sportscar of that time) to use the free space in the nose scone for a giant wing being inspired from Ron Tauranacs Brabham Ford BT34. A very big mistake, as it was shown later, because when the M20 suddenly got upforce in Atlanta, turned over to slide a quarter of a mile on the roll bar, before stopping at least, it became clear, that there had been a failure in the design of the front section. The spoilers added to both wheel covers after the crash proved the correctness of this hypothesis. It was a lucky moment for Hulme, that his time mate Peter Revson (with whom he was also partnered in Formula One during the seasons of 1972 and 1973), replacing Jackie Stewart suffering under an ulcer in 1972, tried to repair an electric problem near the place of the crash to re-enter the race. Revson released Hulme, having lost consciousness, from the wreckage without serious injuries and Denny`s white Bell helmet with the two characteristic black stripes, scratching onto the tarmac, prevented him from getting his head hurt very badly. In spite of that, it took several weeks , to make Denny recovered from the shock as the consequence of the accident. Only in late summer, in the heat of the Zeltweg battle, he was able to attack again, when he gave a good hunt to Emerson Fittipaldi shortly before the finish of the Austrian Grand Prix in spite of a big crack in the rest of the widely set back rear wing.

He was the son of the famous fighter pilot Clive Hulme, having received the Victoria Cross, to become a enterpreneur and politician later. Born on the 18th June, 1936 in Nelson on the Northern island of New Zealand, he later grew up on the tobacco plantation of his grandfather in the South of the country. Coming to Europe by the support of a scholarship of the New Zealand automobile club, he drove his first single seater races there without wearing socks and shoes for getting a better feeling when using the pedals this way. Denny, the bear, was much more sensitive than it seemed to be from his appearance, explaining not only his sometimes rude behaviour to many journalists, often looking for sensations and being out of knowledge at the same time. But also the fact of his early death by a cardiac infarction behind the wheel of a BMW M3 during the 1000 kilometres of Bathurst in Australia, the most demanding touring car race in the world. "He was a really honest, good chap," wrote Austrian Helmut Zwickl, Grand Prix correspondent for 4 decades in his orbituary.

In the old CanAm days they wore medals on the podium like Olympic champions and even in those days they earned millions of dollars, but after the race they enjoyed having steaks and beer with mechanics and fans in the paddock until Monday morning. They were absolutely professionals, but at the same times honest characters having not forgotten, where they had come from. Hulme and his student Jody Scheckter (who drove a turbocharged Porsche of Vasel Polak in the 1973 CanAm championship) were some of them and also the Baby Bear became world champion: 1979 in a Ferrari.

In 1970 Hulme survived a fire accident in Indianapolis, when a filler suddenly opened itself during a practice session to bring fuel out and making the whole car catch fire. But for the marshals outside it was difficult to get notice of this fact, because the fuel used in Indianapolis is produced on an alcohol and not on an oil base, that makes this liquid burn visible from a quantity of 800 litres on, and that only by small, yellow flames. Otherwise it can be seen only by the shimmering air. Denny, who knew what had happened immidiately, went into the brakes very hard, jumped out of the car at a lower speed, to make the firemen notice his problems by jumping around wildly. The injuries he suffered from were limited to those of his hands because wearing a fireproof overall.

"McLaren is the greatest racing team of the world. We compete in Indianapolis, CanAm and Formula One," he said once not without pride. For the company from Colnbrook/Berkshire opposite the London airport of Heathrow he was number one driver and moral institution the same time being involved in all disciplines of the world`s top motor sport, before concentrating on Formula One from 1973 on. Because the last challenge of his career was the development of the McLaren Ford M23, for Niki Lauda "the most beautiful car I have ever seen." With this car, leading Emerson Fittipaldi in 1974 and James Hunt in 1976 to the world title, Hulme reached pole position at it`s debut in Kyalami 1973 (the only one in his career), won in Anderstorp/Sweden the same year and in Buenos Aires/Argentina 1974 before retiring from Grand Prix racing at the end of the season. He left his self-designed, ultra-modern house in Weybridge to go back to New Zealand - when he should return to the old world a decade later, deep, dramatic changes had happened there, and Denny, winner of 8 Grand Prix (each in another country), president of the GPDA in 1973 and 1975, also started in Brno in the former CSSR with a Rover touring car.

One of his great rivals, three times world champion Jackie Stewart from Scotland, described him very early in 1970: He is honest and sincere, with star quality, but no star behaviour. Simply Denny.

In my opinion nothing else must be said. The only thing to be mentioned, is the question of a German reporter concerning Hulme`s salary: "I do not earn any money. I am driving for peanuts."

Klaus Ewald

© Shell Press Office

© 2001 by researchracing

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