James Hunt at the Born 1947-08-29 29 August 1947 , , England, UK Died 15 June 1993 1993-06-15 aged 45 , Greater London, England, UK World Championship career British Active years — Teams , , Entries 93 92 starts 1 10 Podiums 23 Career points 179 14 8 First entry First win Last win Last entry Beginning his racing career in , Hunt progressed into , where he attracted the attention of the team and soon came under their wing. Hunt entered Formula One in , driving a entered by the Hesketh Racing team. He went on to win for Hesketh, driving their own car, in both World Championship and non-Championship races, before joining the team at the end of. In his first year with McLaren, Hunt won the 1976 World Drivers' Championship, and he remained with the team for a further two years, although with less success, before moving to the team in early. Following a string of races in which he failed to finish, Hunt retired from driving halfway through the 1979 season. After retiring from motor racing, he established a career commenting on Grands Prix for the. Hunt died from a heart attack aged 45. James Hunt was born in , , the second child of Wallis Glynn Gunthorpe Hunt 1922—2001 , a stockbroker, and Susan Sue Noel Wentworth née Davis Hunt. He had an elder sister, Sally, three younger brothers, Peter, Timothy and , and one younger sister, Georgina. Hunt's family lived in a flat in , moved to when he was 11 and then to a larger home in Belmont. He attended Westerleigh Preparatory School, Sussex. Hunt first learned to drive on a tractor on a farm in , Wales while on a family holiday, with instruction from the farm's owner, but he found changing gears frustrating because he lacked the required strength. Hunt also took up skiing in 1965 in Scotland and made plans for further ski trips. Before his 18th birthday, he went to the home of Chris Ridge, his tennis doubles partner. Ridge's brother Simon, who raced Minis, was preparing his car for a race at Silverstone that weekend. The Ridges took Hunt to see the race, which began his obsession with motor racing. Mini racing Hunt's racing career started off in a racing. The first race he entered was at Snetterton but he was prevented from competing by race scrutineers as the Mini was deemed to have many irregularites, which left Hunt and his team mate, Justin Fry, upset. Hunt later brought the necessary funding from working as a trainee manager of a telephone company to enter three events, It was at this point that Fry took the decision to part company with the team due to the irregularities and modifications that were happening to the cars they were using. Formula Ford He graduated to in 1968. He drove a Russell-Alexis Mk 14 car which was bought through a scheme. In his first race at Snetterton, Hunt had lost 15 hp from an incorrect engine ignition setting but managed to finish 5th. Hunt took his first win at and also set the lap record on the short circuit. Formula Three Hunt driving a in the Guards Trophy race at , 1969 Hunt later raced in in 1969 with a budget provided by Gowrings of Reading which bought a Meryln Mk11A. Gowrings intended to run the car in the final two races of 1968. Hunt won several races and achieved regular high placed finishes, which led to the British Guild of Motoring Writers awarding him a Grovewood Award as one of the three drivers to have promising careers. Hunt was involved in a controversial incident with during a battle for second position in the Daily Express Trophy race at on 3 October 1970. Having banged wheels earlier in a very closely fought race, Morgan attempted to pass Hunt on the outside of South Tower Corner on the final lap, but instead the cars collided and crashed out of the race. Hunt's car came to rest in the middle of the track, minus two wheels. Hunt got out, ran over to Morgan and furiously pushed him to the ground, which earned him severe official disapproval. Both men were summoned by the and after hearing evidence from other drivers, Hunt was cleared by a tribunal and Morgan was given a 12-month suspension of his racing licence, but was subsequently allowed to progress to in 1971. Hunt later met with John Hogan and racing driver to obtain sponsorship from. Hunt's career continued in the works team for 1972. His first race at saw him finish 3rd, but he was told by race officials he had been excluded from the results, as his engine was deemed to be outside the regulations. The car, however, passed scrutineering tests at the next two races at. In these races, Hunt finished 4th and 5th respectively. He collided with two cars at but finished 3rd at Mallory Park after a long duel with. The cars did not appear at , but Hunt still attended the race as a spectator. In May 1972 it was announced by the team that he had been dropped from the STP-March Formula 3 team and replaced by. When Hunt attempted to contact March, he was unable to get any response from his employers. Hunt decided to consult Chris Marshall, his former team manager, who explained that a spare car was available. This followed a period characterised by a series of mechanical failures. Hunt decided, against the express instructions of March director , to race at in a March from a different team. This had been vacated by driver , after Hunt's own March had first broken down and then been hit by another competitor in a practice lap. The team was initially not taken seriously by rivals, who saw the Hesketh team as party goers enjoying the glamour of Formula One. However, the Hesketh March proved much
