Sad NEWS... Phil Hill passes away.

[vvvracer]

Shortly after 10 a.m. PST, America's first World Champion, Phil Hill, passed away in a Monterey County, Calif., hospital as a result of respiratory problems complicated by Parkinson's disease. Hill was 81.

http://cwimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CW&Date=20080828&Category=FREE&ArtNo=808289993&Profile=1508&ref=AR&maxw=630

[joem2728]

Sad news indeed. A true gentleman and a great racer.

[mwrmt]

a great loss for everyone.

[Clarkfan]

RIP, Phil Hill.

[Watson Roadster]

Godspeed,Phil Hill...

[Vandretti]

Phil Hill, America's first Formula One World Championl won the title in 1961 driving a Ferrari Type 156 1.5 liter V6, dubbed "The Sharknose".


Enzo Ferrari ordered the car and all of it's siblings cut up following the 1962 season.


Phil will be missed by many of his fans who participated in his seminars with GP Tours.

[beansport]

this certainly is sad news Phill Hill was nothing less then a true gentlemen,
pure class from tip to tale. He will be missed
at least the silver lining is we get to see pics of that beautiful racecar
1961 Ferrari 156 Sharknose
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h217/beansport/fer156d.jpg

[race1010]

Ditto with our fellow board members...a sad day indeed.

[ferrarif1]

a real sad day, drivers of that era were true gentleman. a great champion.

[Clarkfan]

We should also remember that Phil Hill was also an exceedingly good sports car driver. In addition to his success in Grand Prix events he also won Le Mans and actively participated in the early years of the Can-Am.

Like many of his generation he was good at pretty well everything.

[Clarkfan]

Ferrari pay tribute to Phil Hill.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo paid tribute to 1961 world champion Phil Hill, who died on Thursday, saying he will miss the American's passion and love for the Italian marque.

In a statement issued shortly after news broke of Hill's passing, di Montezemolo said: "I, as well as all employees of Ferrari, am extremely saddened by the news of the passing of Phil Hill, a man and a champion who gave so much to Ferrari and who has always greatly represented the company's values inside and outside the racing track.

"Phil raced and won many competitions both with prototype cars, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring, won three times each, as well as with F1 single seaters.

"With our car, Phil won the Formula One Championship title in 1961 as the first American-born to reach this result.

"Phil and I have always kept in touch throughout the years and I know I will miss his passion and love for Ferrari very much. My deepest sympathies are with his wife Alma and son Derek in this sad moment."

Hill won two of his three Grands Prix in Monza, while driving for Ferrari. He remained throughout his life much loved in Maranello, and was a regular guest of the team at the San Marino and the Italian Grands Prix throughout the years.

[Intrepid]

Sad News - Phil Hill: Phil Hill, a reserved Californian who became a gifted race-car driver and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One international auto-racing championship, died Thursday. He was 81. Hill died at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula of complications from Parkinson's disease, said John Lamm, a close friend who is also editor-at-large of Road & Track magazine. Hill won the Formula One title for Ferrari in 1961. He also was the first American to win the 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans, France, -- a race he would win twice again -- and he won the Sebring 12-hour race three times, among many other victories.(The Italian-born Mario Andretti, whose family immigrated to the United States when he was a teenager, won the Formula One title in 1978.) Hill won his Formula One championship in the season's penultimate race in Monza, Italy, after he had swapped the series lead all year with his Ferrari teammate Wolfgang von Trips of Germany. In the same race, Trips died in a crash that also killed 14 spectators. As a result, Ferrari did not participate in the season's final race at Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Hill was unable to celebrate his championship in his home country. Hill, despite driving with safety gear that paled by today's standards, never suffered a serious injury in his career. He retired from driving in 1967 at 39. Philip Toll Hill was born in Miami on April 20, 1927, and was raised in Santa Monica. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991. Hill is survived by his wife, Alma, son Derek of Culver City, daughter Vanessa Rogers of Phoenix, stepdaughter Jennifer Delaney of Niwot, Colo., and four grandchildren

[Cosworth]

Racers of the present can only dream of possessing the ability, style, bravado, and true grit of the men like Phil Hill and his generation.

Sad day for world motorsport.

Godspeed, Mr.Hill.

RJ

[Clarkfan]

Racers of the present can only dream of possessing the ability, style, bravado, and true grit of the men like Phil Hill and his generation.

Sad day for world motorsport.

Godspeed, Mr.Hill.

RJ

Something tells me they don't dream of such skill. They are far too self centred to consider that there might be something other than what they are involved in.

To my dying day I will remember watching Jim Clark throw a Lotus Cortina around Brands Hatch. I somewhat doubt we will ever see the likes of Massa, Kimi et al doing the same thing on alternate Sundays.

The generation of which we dream is now nearly gone. There are a few still with us (Stewart, Amon, Gurney etc) but once they are gone a truly great chapter in autosport history will be brought to an end.

[RMR2]

One of the greatest drivers from the "Brave Era." Godspeed Phil.

[red 5]

Rest in Peace Phill, I was a bit young when he was racing but all the same it will be a sad loss.

[Au Rouge]

For those of us who are old enough, mortality was a constant
factor in Hill's day. He was one of the few greats to out live it
on the track. A true gentleman to the final race.