Bike, Cars and Haberdashers

Bikes, Cars and Haberdashers

From the age of eleven, Damon had been a day-pupil at Haberdasher's Aske's school. It was and still is a private school, owned by the ancient City of London company of Haberdashers. Situated not far from the end of Elstree Airfield's main runway, it was close enough for Damon to school by day and return home by night. Most of the other pupils were boarders. At £150 a term (1975 prices), Graham was giving his children the best education money could buy. Headmaster Bruce McGowan and his teachers spoke very highly of Damon and indeed, when he left, he took with him passes in eight 'O' levels and three 'A' levels. Damon's goal in life changed direction over the years following his father's death. At one time, he had wanted to emulate his father's early profession as an engineer, but the allure of motor-cycling was beckoning and looked more interesting as the months went by. The one job he said he did not want, and he told almost everyone he met - was that of a motor racing driver. His mother had an alternative vision of Damon's future career. A nice steady job like a solicitor or an accountant would surely suit Damon perfectly? Bette persuaded him to enrol for a Business Studies course at the South Bank Polytechnic, but the thought of nominal ledgers and bank reconciliation bored Damon silly. Although he will probably now be grateful for the commercial grounding as a keen business mind was soon to be essential for every top racing driver.

When the time came - and the time came after just a few months, Damon once again left his place of education with his tutors praise. "I jacked it in after about a term because I was thoroughly bored. In retrospect I'd liked to have gone to college and studied English, but at the time I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, except that I wanted to get stuck into something exciting. I think my mother accepted that there was no way I was going to be forced into a square hole." Secretly, he had made up his mind that he should follow more closely in his father's footsteps than his mother might have preferred. "I never gave any indication that I wanted to be a racing driver, but she knew." Becoming a racing driver in the early eighties was a world removed from the one Graham faced in the fifties. To be in the right place and know the right people would not be sufficient. What any driver needed, more than skill, more than ability, was money. In fact some drivers had more than their fair share of the latter but were notably deficient in the former - and they were still handed a drive on a plate. Not many drivers had money of their own - at least not in the amounts required to propel them to the dizzy heights of Formula One. In this respect, Damon was no different from his contemporaries. What he needed was a sponsor. What a sponsor needed was a driver with a high profile with wins under his belt. Damon had neither. It was the old cart before the horse syndrome. Catch 22. So at the age of nineteen, to pass the time of day while he scoured the country for that proverbial gift-horse, he took up motor cycle racing.

Here was a sport that he had already had a lot of practice for. It's relative cheapness was almost inviting enough on it's own to attract any lover of speed. When a friend in the building trade asked if Damon could lend a hand demolishing houses for conversion to flats, Damon covered the journey from St. Albans to Balham in record time. With his earnings, he was able to buy a second-hand Kawasaki 500cc production model . "Mum loaned me the £200 to pay for the insurance and the job paid for the bike." After converting his two-wheeled chariot for competition, he would be off to the races each weekend. "I used to finish putting the bike together at about nine o'clock in the evening, borrow mum's car, hitch up the trailer and drive up north, arrive at the track about one o'clock in the morning, pitch the tent, get up at seven because of the cold and then try to qualify and race. More often than not I was so knackered I fell off." However Damon managed to cling to his machine long enough to collect a very encouraging third place in the 1979 Brands School of Racing, Star Pupil's Awards. Only so many houses in South London could be gutted by Damon. When the supply of suitable abodes dried up - so did his remuneration. Except for the top table of bike racers, who were only then getting their act together, the sport alone would not provide a living.

Once more short of the folding stuff, Damon took a job as a London despatch rider. Renowned for their straight-line speed - even when going round corners - it might be surprising that Damon still found the need to race. However, he went ahead and organised a personal programme for the 1980 season, covering a limited number of races. Immediately, he felt he had found the secret of everlasting success. Perhaps he had. "I got into the lead in my first race back. I thought, I'm not even going to look behind. I'm just going to go flat out until I see the flag. I won it by half a lap or something and I thought that's easy. I'd better just keep doing that. Then I started winning everything." By the end of the season, Damon had failed to look back so many times that he secured fifth place in the Kawasaki 500 Series Championship. His forward looking ploy was obviously appreciated as he was voted the most promising newcomer. Damon's mum said "Everything that Damon has done in motor cycling has been off his own back. I can only make the sandwiches." Bette did not always feel at ease watching her son race. "I'm very apprehensive whenever I go to watch him. But he is good. He is calm and obviously in complete control of his machine. The bikes are so exciting that I forget all about my nerves and jump up and down and shout and cheer just as I did for Graham. I want for him what I wanted for Graham - to win."

As for his future, Damon said "Maybe one day I would like to have a go at cars, but now I want to go right to the top." His sister, Brigitte, remembers the first time she watched Damon race bikes. "It was absolutely terrifying. He came off his bike right in front of us and we all stood up and screamed. We couldn't believe it when we saw Damon stand up and start stamping his feet because he wanted to get back on his bike again and carry on with the race. He is tremendously competitive. Even as a child he would tear around on his bicycle with his face all screwed up, absolutely determined to beat his friends." Damon had a go at cars sooner than he expected. It was 25 August 1980 to be exact - his first car race, a charity event at Brands Hatch. He was to drive a saloon car for the 'Doghouse Club' of which his mother is President and Founder. "I've only practised in the car once with an instructor, so I've no chance of winning." Said 19 year-old Damon. His mother's influence was starting to guide Damon towards four wheels. He said "She worries about my bike riding, but she wouldn't stop me. In fact it was my mother's suggestion that I take part in the race." Bette had despaired in her hope that Damon would become a solicitor. "I'm not happy about him becoming a racing driver, but I'd be happier than if he were riding a motor bike." Emulation would surely bring comparison and that in turn, untold pressures from the public, the media and from within himself. Would Damon have the mettle to face such a challenge? One of the attractions of bike racing for Damon was that he knew, subconsciously or otherwise that it would not provoke instant comparisons with his father. Damon: "I was so worried about her (Bette's) reaction to my racing that I kept my ambitions a secret until I was eighteen. Not that I think I fooled her. Some friends and I bought an old Ford Consul when we were twelve, which we used to race up the drive, and my bedroom was covered in motor racing posters." Damon had to admit that his ultimate ambition was to become World Champion. But he stood little chance of achieving this goal unless he found a car to drive - and soon!

Bette Hill was advised that sending her son to a motor racing school would be the best course of action. The Winfield-Elf Racing School at Magny Cours in France had an exceptional reputation and listed the four-time World Champion, Alain Prost as one of it's ex-pupils. Damon emerged from his intense training course as the star pupil - he came top of his group, so they kept him on for a second week. Now he would have to put his new-found knowledge to practice. Finding a drive was to prove nothing less than a struggle - lacking anyone, especially a father, to give him a helping hand and a push in the right direction, Damon had to fight for a place - even on the lower rungs of the motor racing ladder. To race in F1, a driver would normally expect to serve an apprenticeship of at least five years in the lower formulas, before the chosen few gain a seat in a grand prix car. More often than not the driver would also need to bring massive sponsorship with him. His future wife, Georgie, later revealed that "The only one who really helped was John Webb, who ran Brands Hatch. He gave Damon his first chance in Formula Ford. That was the only help he had. It's rather hard to find someone to replace your father."

Brigitte Hill told how she could "remember feeling completely daunted by the prospect of Damon racing single-seaters. I didn't want him to fail and become the son of the double World Champion who didn't make it. He was putting his name on the line and I knew what that meant, because I remembered the time when Daddy was racing. Although we were all young, I knew how frustrating it could be for Daddy, especially in the early days when things weren't going right for his team. There is always a sense of expectation and waiting when someone is racing, and because it was Daddy, I always wanted him to win. When he lost a race, we could always sense his frustration and disappointment, and I knew it would be the same for Damon, because it's a very tough profession." Damon's moment came when John Webb arranged for Brands Hatch Racing to finance a five-race trial in the BBC Grandstand Trophy Series. His first foray into the world of 140mph Formula Ford 2-litre cars was scheduled to be 6 November 1983. Before the race, Bette Hill pointed out to waiting reporters, the similarities between father and son. "They are very alike. Damon has that same ambition and determination. He flicked his visor down exactly the way Graham used to. That and other little things reminded me so much of Graham they take my breath away. I don't suppose anyone else noticed the similarities - perhaps it takes a mother's eye! It's a very proud, but sad, day for me. Seeing him here has brought all the memories flashing back. It has reminded me of all the great times I had with Graham."

Damon explained that being Graham Hill's son oiled the works. "The name of father has helped to open a lot of doors. But whether I make it or not depends on me. Inevitably, people are going to compare me with Dad, but once I'm in the car I'll forget all that nonsense. I can't drive the way Dad did, this is me, not him. I will drive my way and at my speed. I was very proud of my father and if I can achieve just a fraction of what he did, then I'll be happy. I'm not conscious of him when I'm driving, but I just hope I can live up to him. I think I am the same kind of driver but I do it with more grit and determination than out-and-natural talent." On race day the similarities were even greater than those that spectators may have spotted - because they did not know that Damon was wearing not only his father's racing suit and helmet, hastily dug out for the day, but also the St.Christopher neck chain that Bette had presented to her husband years ago. Mrs.Hill explained "We hunted round the house to find Graham's old racing suit, because they're too expensive for him to be able to buy new. I must admit that I'm very proud to see him wearing it and I know that Graham would be as well." Asked about the dangers that Damon may have to face in his car, Bette replied "I have never really tried to put him off, despite the dangers because racing gave us so much enjoyment and fun, and I've a tremendous affection for the sport. That is what I hope Damon gets out of it - enjoyment and fun. If he makes it to the top, well that's a bonus." "It would be silly to say that I'm determined to be World Champion" said Damon "Of course it's my ambition. But right now I would be thrilled to get through the qualifying round this weekend." Damon's debut was greeted with interest from the British press. Pre-race interviews with Damon and Bette not only created far more interest for the race than it would normally expect.

This may have spread the word and brought some badly needed sponsorship, but it also focused the attention on his first outing and obviously heaped the pressure on. Damon nearly didn't make it. His qualifying time made him twenty-fifth fastest - on a grid of twenty-four! He was allowed, as reserve driver, to take part in the warm-up lap in case a car dropped out. None did, so as the race started, Damon was in the pits, getting ready to pack up and go home. Miraculously, for Damon, two cars crashed as they sped from the start line and the race was restarted - this time with Damon tagging on the rear of the grid. After a clean re-start, Damon spun to a halt at Paddock Bend on the third lap. He eventually managed to get going again, after a push start from the marshals, having spent some time sitting - apparently calmly, in his car in the middle of the track as others flashed either side of him at over 100mph. Damon said later: "It was frightening, just sitting there unable to do anything with cars racing by a foot from the nose of my machine." His girlfriend, Georgie said "He looked as white as a sheet when he came off the track." Hill thought that he might be out of his league, so next lap he pitted and talked to John Kirkpatrick, his team manager who later explained "They were passing him left, right and centre and he felt he was in the way. I just told him to get back out there." When he climbed from his Argo JM14 car, he was heard to remark in typical Hill fashion "It was one bloody year rolled into a day." Kirkpatrick was confident that time would tell. "It's very early to say if he's going to the top. But he's a super-smooth driver who needs time and miles in the car. That's what we're going to give him in the next few weeks. The promise is there. He just needs experience - he's hardly driven the car more than a few laps. I know everyone will be saying he's not as good as his father, but hell, it's his first race. Fantastic." His mother who had watched nervously as Damon had spun early in the race, said: "I am just glad it is all over. I have never experienced anything like it. It has been one of the longest days of my life. the race was a mess of course, but he took it all in his stride. Quite incredible." Unable to catch the rest of the field, Damon had eventually finished the race in last place - putting it down to inexperience. But Brands Hatch had seen once more, that familiar helmet of dark blue with white stripes (denoting oars against water - the symbol of the London Rowing Club). It had been almost thirty years since Graham Hill had paid a pound for four laps - which started him on his racing career. Would this first race for Damon lead him down the same path?