James Hunt. A Biographical Summary (Part 2) by David Parkinson

Part 1 of the James Hunt story left Hunt at the end of the 1973 season, eighth in Lord Hesketh's March 731.

The 1974 season saw a Hesketh produced car for the first time. Designed by Dr Harvey Postlethwaite. James's retainer was increased to £15,000 for 1974. For proprieties sake the old car was used for the Argentine and Brazilian races at the start of the season. A crash and a ninth was the result but the team stayed on to test the new Hesketh and James lapped a full second faster than the Emerson Fittipaldi pole for the grand prix. The first race for the Hesketh was at Brands where James took pole in the dry but in the wet race he lost some bodywork and retired. The first proper grand prix for the Hesketh was at Kylami in South Africa but a broken driveshaft saw him retire whilst in fifth place.

Next was Silverstone for a non-championship race. James got pole which was 1.7 seconds quicker than the second placed Ronnie Peterson in the Lotus. At the start of the race the gear lever knob came off in his hand and James dropped to fifteenth. By lap five he was in fifth place. By the thirteenth lap he was in second. Some seven and a half seconds behind Ronnie Peterson. By lap 20 he was sitting behind Peterson looking for a place to pass. On lap 28 the Hesketh pulled into the inside of Peterson on the approach to Woodcote and the pair went round the corner side by side but James won the race down to Copse. Peterson later retired with a blown engine and the Hesketh roared to victory. It was the only victory of the year. In fourteen starts his best position was third. The year was notable for other things though. He married Suzy Miller and saw the death of Helmut Koinigg at Watkins Glen.

The 1975 season started brightly enough. James was leading the Argentine grand prix but an error caused him to spin and finish second. Sixth in Brazil was followed by an engine blow up in South Africa after starting from pole. He crashed in the Spanish and Monaco grand prix and mechanical failure put him out of the Belgian and Swedish races. The Dutch grand prix at Zandvoort was next with James qualifying third behind the Ferrari’s of Lauda and Regazzoni. The race was wet and all drivers started on wet tyres. Hunt was the first one in to change to slicks and he snatched the lead which he held to the end finishing some 1.06 seconds ahead of Lauda.

The British grand prix at Silverstone was stopped when ten drivers crashed, James among them, after a sudden cloudburst. Heavy rain again cut short the Austrian Grand Prix with a surprising winner in Vittorio Brambilla. His only grand prix victory. The event was notable for the death of another driver. Mark Donahue who died of head injuries after his car flew over a barrier in testing. He finished fifth in Italy and fourth at Watkins Glen which was his last race for Hesketh. He was fourth in the world championship but with Hesketh speaking of pulling out of racing James did not have a drive for 1976.

The first race in 1976 was scheduled for January 25th but it wasn’t until late in November 1975 that James received a call from the manager of Emerson Fittipaldi advising him that Emerson would not be renewing his contract with McLaren. He and his brother Wilson were going to form their own team. James waited for the call from McLaren. It came and within 36 hours the deal was done. James got a £45,000 retainer for driving for McLaren. The only snag was that the contract stipulated that all personnel should always be dressed neatly. This being an edict from Marlboro, the main sponsor. James did not like that and only signed the contract when advised that it wouldn’t apply to him.

His team mate at McLaren was Jochen Mass who James called Herman the German. Not used to being second driver, he was the only driver at Hesketh, he decided he must immediately put Jochen in his place so he snatched pole at the first race of the year in Brazil. A jammed throttle slide caused him to slide off the circuit after running second to Niki Lauda for most of the race. A DNF but he had established himself over Jochen. The next race in South Africa again saw him grab pole but be beaten into second place by Lauda in the superior V12 Ferrari. A non championship race at Brands was next which James won after Lauda suffered a mechanical failure. The press was full of Hunt and Lauda at this time. Lauda had just married his girlfriend Marlene and James marriage to Suzy looked to be over. In fact it had been over for some time and James was relieved that she had found someone else though he was a little apprehensive over the age differential between Suzy and Richard Burton. The circus moved on to Long Beach for the US grand prix west where James qualified in third place. He lasted just three laps before trying to pass Patrick Depailler and having the door shut firmly forcing him into the wall. Instead of getting behind the wall he stopped on the track and for the next few laps he shook his fist at Depailler every time he came round. At the post race press conference he accused the Tyrell driver of flagrant stupidity and advised him that he should learn to drive.

Not mentioned too much was James love of ladies and parties. He was seen around with many girls, even when married to Suzy, but none lasted for long. The parties were regular but James never drank alcohol from the Wednesday prior to a race. He normally made up for it immediately after the race though.
The Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama was the next on the calendar and James again grabbed pole with Lauda in second and Mass in third. He won the race from Lauda after Mass who had been running in second broke down. Unfortunately the victory was quashed as the scrutineers discovered that the car was 5/8s of an inch to wide. The McLaren team were enraged as the same scrutineers had measured the car twice prior to the race and said nothing. There were hints of collusion with Ferrari.

The Belgian Grand Prix saw another win for Lauda and a mechanical problem with the McLaren which stopped it mid race. Monaco was another win for Lauda with James first spinning then blowing his engine to pieces. At Anderstorp, in Sweden, for the next race, the six wheeled Tyrells were first and second with Schekter and Depailler. Lauda was third with James fifth. The French grand prix came next and James won with Lauda breaking down. Twenty four hours later a ruling on the Spanish Grand prix went in James favour and his win was restored.

Next was the British grand prix at Brands. James qualified in second place behind Lauda with Clay Regazzoni behind him. At the start of the race it was said that Regazzoni suffered from brain fade and attacked his Ferrari colleague at Paddock Hill Bend causing the cars to touch and spin. James deranged a wheel and the suspension but was able to take a short cut back to the pits as the red lights came on. The team prepared the spare car but then the organisers announced that the restart would not include Regazzoni, Depailler and James Hunt who had not completed the red flag lap.

The crowd turned into an angry mob at this and the restart was delayed. Teams argued. Officials argued and the crowd were in riot mood. An hour passed and the McLaren team repaired James’s original car. The harassed officials finally agreed that all of the original competitors could make the restart and the whole episode would be sorted out at a later time. The race began and Lauda was in the lead from Hunt with Regazzoni in third place. On the 45th lap James passed Lauda to take the lead which he held until the end of the race.

The German Grand Prix at the 14.19 mile long Nurburging circuit was the next race. Worried about the danger of the circuit Niki Lauda had earlier proposed that they boycott the circuit but was out voted. He was the lap record holder having recorded the first ever sub seven minute lap time in 1975. On this occasion he was second to James. All drivers admitted that a mistake or mechanical failure meant almost certain death. Rain started just prior to the start and all drivers except Mass set off running wets. He’d selected wisely and at the end of the first lap led the race from Hunt and Peterson. At the end of the first lap Hunt dodged into the pits late and Peterson was committed to another seven miles on the wrong tyres. At the end of the second lap James was second to Mass though 45 seconds behind when the red flags went out. Niki Lauda had pitted for slicks and was busily making up positions when his car left the road after suffering a suspected mechanical failure. The car slammed heavily into an earth bank and bounced back on to the track with its fuel tanks ruptured and spilling petrol which ignited immediately. A Hesketh driven by Guy Edwards managed to avoid the stricken car but Brett Lunger’s Surtees ran head on into the flaming wreckage followed by the Hesketh of Harald Ertl. Lauda was seen to be waving his arms around trying to keep the fire away from his head from which his helmet had come askew. These three drivers ran over to help Lauda who was still trapped in the car. They were joined by Arturo Merzario, the Williams driver, but all four struggled in spite of their fireproof overalls, because of the safety harness. Increasingly desperate, Ertl ran off to get a fire extinguisher, still no marshals, whilst Lunger pulled on Lauda’s shoulders and Merzario tried to unfasten the quick release on the harness. In the struggle, Lauda’s helmet fell off and the flames licked around his balaclava. Ertl had found an extinguisher and emptied it to good effect but the conflagration flared up again even worse. After what seemed an eternity, Merzario managed to release the harness and Lauda was free. He was also conscious and with help from Lunger and John Watson, Emerson Fittipaldi and Hans Stuck, who had stopped, he was helped to the side of the track where they removed his charred driving suit and balaclava. James and the other drivers who had been in front of the accident and had not seen it thought the injuries to Niki were not serious when they heard that he was walking. They were mistaken. The restart for the full fourteen laps took place a little later but without Chris Amon. Stunned by the time it had taken for the marshals to get to Lauda’s stricken car he withdrew. The second race was won by James who led from start to finish beating Jody Schekter and Jochen Mass by over half a minute.

The next race was the Austrian Grand Prix at the Osterreichring. Enzo Ferrari withdrew his cars from this event and threatened to boycott the rest of the championship until something was done about McLaren and their cheating at the Spanish and British races. There were also suggestions from Italy that the Austrian Grand Prix should be cancelled out of respect for Niki Lauda, an Austrian, who was fighting for his life. The race was won by John Watson, his maiden win, in a Penske. James had started on the front row with Watson but had run over some debris, after the Tyrell of Jody Schekter had comprehensively destroyed itself, causing damage to the McLaren. He hung in for the points and finally finished a fighting fourth.

The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort was the next challenge. On the 29th of August it was again on James’s birthday. A recovering Niki had spoken to James on the telephone to wish him luck. He joked that it was easier to use the phone now that he was minus an ear. James told him that he would find it difficult to pull the girls now that he was so ugly. Behind the jokes and the posturing, James and many of the other drivers were wondering who would be next. Ronnie Peterson in the March was on pole with James in second. The Shadow of Tom Pryce was in third place whilst John Watson in the Penske was in fourth. After the start it was Peterson, Watson and James. A mistake from Peterson let Watson and James through and when Watson went wide on a following corner James took the lead. Watson was pushing hard and the two cars ran line astern for several laps. At the end of the long straight Watson tried to out-brake the McLaren into Tarzan but James held the line and the two cars went round the corner together. Watson, on the dirty part of the track, lost traction and skittered off into the grass. He rejoined, still second and for the next few laps battled to get back on terms. The next move was a mirror image of the first and again Watson lost ground at Tarzan after an overtaking move. Several more attempts were equally unsuccessful and Watson then dropped back and waited developments. The development was that Watson’s Penske suffered a gearbox failure and the car was parked. The next contender was Clay Regazzoni in the Ferrari who took time out of the McLaren on every lap and finally closed to within 1.2 seconds by the last 2.6 mile lap. James won by 0.8 of a second and as he crossed the finish line he raised both hands in salute only to have the car swerve alarmingly toward the barrier. Proof of the handling problems he’d experienced throughout the race. The celebration that followed was not only for the win and his birthday but for the fact that he had closed to within two points of Niki Lauda in the world championship standings.

Before the next grand Prix, James flew to Canada to compete in the Formula Atlantic series. These cars were ostensibly F2 cars and the series drivers looked forward to proving themselves against several F1 drivers which included Depailler and Alan Jones as well as James. To be fair, the characteristics of these cars were different to the F1 cars and the F1 drivers struggled initially to get to grips with the handling. James finished in an improving third just behind a charging Alan Jones. The runaway winner was a young man called Giles Villeneuve who so impressed James that he spoke to McLaren who eventually signed him up. He then went to the States to compete in the Race of Champions, at the Michigan Raceway, in a Chevrolet Camaro The rest of the field were also in Camaro’s and he was delighted to start from pole after lapping at just under 150mph.He was doing approx. that speed when he crashed into a concrete wall during the race. Fortunately he was not badly injured but the spectre of death was never far away. He admitted that with all the drafting, which he was not used to, he was lost in the race.

The Italian Grand Prix was at Monza and the big surprise was that Niki Lauda, just six weeks after being given the Last Rites, was due to compete. Niki, still frail and obviously not well was greeted with a mixture of amazement and misgivings. Even Ferrari entered a third car, driven by Carlos Reutemann, in case Niki pulled in. There was some suspicion of conspiracy when the McLaren trucks were held up at the Italian Border for no apparent reason. Suspicions deepened when James, after spinning off in the wet qualifying on Friday, had his Saturday times disallowed, as did the Penske of John Watson, for using illegal fuel. (The fuel from both cars was later found to be legal and the blame lay on misinterpretation by the Monza fuel testers). But the damage was done and James started the race from the second to last row. By the eleventh lap he was up to twelfth place but an error when he was dicing with Tom Pryce put him off into a sand trap where he bogged down and couldn’t get out. Niki finished an incredible fourth with his balaclava soaked in blood, when he removed his helmet after the race, from the wounds which had opened. Niki was now five points in front in the World Championship.

Three races to go and the circus moved to Toronto for the Canadian Grand Prix. There bad news awaited James. An FIA Court of Appeal had quashed his British Grand Prix win. The point differential was now seventeen. On the Saturday night before the race James was drowning his sorrows. The championship had seemingly gone. In the Hotel bar was a band with a female singer who caught James eye. Every time the band had a break from singing she and James vanished to his room and when he was in the bar he was drinking heavily. It was after two in the morning when the band went home and James preparations for the race were unlike any previous. James started from pole and led from start to finish despite his hangover. Niki, suffering from a suspension problem, could only manage eighth. Back to eight points difference.

The second to last grand prix was in the United States at Watkins Glen. James secured pole for the eighth time in the season. The front row was shared with Jody Schekter in the Tyrell who snatched an early lead at the start of the race. Lap after lap the gap between him and Schekter remained at three seconds whilst the gap to third place man, Niki Lauda, remained constant at five seconds. James realised that this was not good enough. He had to win to keep his championship alive so he gritted his teeth and drove to catch and pass Schekter The chance came on the 36th lap when Schekter was delayed by a slower runner. James got behind him and ducked out of his slipstream to take the lead. Four laps later at the same corner and with another slower runner, Schekter put the pass on James and regained the lead. But the red mist came down and James not only passed Jody but went on to pull away and establish a new lap record. The last meeting of the year was the Japanese Grand Prix. The first part of the Japanese trip went well. Banned from playing Backgammon, for money, in the hotel dining room he and his friends simply moved up to their rooms and had an open door policy. The hotel was also a stay-over for airline crews so quite a few good looking stewardesses were entertained. Barry Sheene, in Japan on business, had stayed over to watch his mate James race. He said that he enjoyed going out with James because he always looked smart in his company.

Race day dawned and the Mount Fuji circuit was shrouded in mist and fog with the 2.7 mile track covered with standing water. Several cars crashed in the morning warm up. Simply by hydroplaning off the circuit. Because of this many of the drivers wanted the race cancelled or at least postponed. The organisers were loathe to do either with eighty thousand spectators at the track and millions of TV viewers watching round the world. The Lauda accident and the battle for the championship with Hunt had pulled in more interest in the sport then had ever been known previously. The championship battle was to close to call but the odds favoured Niki Lauda. Mario Andretti was on pole in the Lotus with James in second and Niki in third. Only some 0.28 seconds behind. But Lauda led Hunt by three points in the championship. If Lauda beat Hunt in the race it was all over. And Hunt had to finish four points ahead of Lauda to win. Both Niki and James agreed that neither wanted to race in the conditions that prevailed and they agreed that they should try to get the race postponed. This was proposed but was not backed by many of the other drivers including Ronnie Peterson, Alan Jones, Clay Regazzoni, Hans Stuck and Tom Price. The race would start with or without James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

At the start James got the start of his life and blitzed into the lead. He was the only driver who could see anything and he made the most of it completing the first lap well ahead of the pack though slipping and sliding on running water. After two laps, Niki Lauda pulled into the pits and retired. He rejected the Ferrari proposal to issue a statement saying that he had retired through engine trouble. Emerson Fittipaldi, Carlos Pace and Larry Perkins also retired as in their opinion it was to dangerous.

But the race went on. Halfway through the rain stopped and the track started to dry out. Still to wet for slicks but with a dry line coming, most of the drivers began to cool their tyres in the wet patches. JH didn’t bother and continued on in spite of pit boards advising him to cool tyres. With eleven laps to go, JH seemed surprised when Patrick Depailler charged past him. When Mario Andretti also passed him perhaps JH wished he’d conserved his tyres as they had. Two laps later and Depailler was forced to pit for new tyres leaving JH back in second but with tyres that were virtually worn out. The McLaren team put out a sign saying they were ready to change tyres but left it to JH to make the decision whether to pull in or continue. JH was furious. He wanted the team to make the decision based on other cars tyre wear. The team wanted JH to make the decision because it was a very important call with the championship at stake and only JH knew how well he’d conserved his tyres and how good they felt. On the 68th lap the decision was made when the left front tyre disintegrated on the corner before the pit straight. The car trundled down the pit lane shedding bits of bodywork. Tyres changed he flung the car back on to the circuit with just five laps to go. The red mist settled and he overtook the Ferrari of Clay Regazzoni and the Surtees of Alan Jones. In front of him he could see Depailler and Andretti. The chequered flag came out and the race was over. He was unsure what position he had finished in but was convinced that the McLaren team had let him down with the tyres. He pulled into the pits and the only thing on his mind was that he would strangle Teddy Mayer, the McLaren boss, over the tyre incident. It was only then that he was told that he’d finished third and had therefore won the championship.

David Parkinson

To be continued......

Ronnie Peterson (Lotus 72E) leads James Hunt's March 731 at Watkins Glen 1973 (Autosport/Atlas)

Debut pole for the Hesketh 308 at 1974 Brands Race of Champions (F3history.co.uk)

Suzy Millar became Suzy Hunt and subsequently Suzy Burton

Monoposto drivers may sympathise with Austrian GP winner Brambilla who was so delighted with his win he crashed on the slowing down lap. [Asst ed has crashed on the Shelsley return road.] (es.motorful.com)

Hunt in the M23 at Fuji (flickr.com)

Ferraris cause trouble for a McLaren, possibly not for the last time. (farthingcorner.com)

Lauda's dreadful accident at Nurburgring (unknown)

Tom Pryce's Shadow DN8 (ru.f1-facts.com)

John Watson Penske PC4 seen here at Fuji

Be honest - where else will you see a picture of James Hunt cleaning his teeth? (JNBracepix)

Hunt supporting his sponsors while accompanied by a young lady...

...who looks the same as this young lady to whom he gave his autograph. Perhaps he just liked auburn hair and big...smiles.

Winning the World Championship resulted in a famous Texaco advert with Morecambe and Wise, and then an appearance on their show, chauffeuring them in a rather nice Mini Cooper (the real type), if I recall.