Flashback: Denny Hulme and Brian Hart in Monaco

Denny Hulme and Brian Hart hadn’t seen each other for years when they met on the quayside in Monaco in 1986. Hulme, in the cap, as a retired world champion, was making a rare appearance. Hart, a quick driver in his day, had recently become redundant as an F1 engine supplier when Haas-Lola switched from the Hart four-cylinder 415T to the long-awaited Ford-Cosworth turbo V6.

These two racers found plenty to talk about. At Zolder in August 1964, for example, Hulme had won the Limbourg Grand Prix in a works Brabham, with Hart finishing third for Ron Harris Team Lotus. That F2 race in Belgium had been but one stopping point during a typical summer spent happily criss-crossing Europe: Karlskoga one weekend; Enna the next.

They also recalled competing in the 1967 German Grand Prix, but with widely differing results – Hulme winning at the Nürburgring during his championship year with Brabham; Hart finishing three laps behind in the fast but fragile F2 Protos. They talked about how the Nordschleife was a car breaker, Hulme commenting that the Brabham-Repco had been faultless, the only damage occurring when he cracked the aeroscreen while climbing from the cockpit. “But Jack [Brabham] didn’t mind,” grinned Denny. “We’d just finished 1-2!”

Hart had shown great patience over the years when explaining the intricacies of engine design in a language that I might understand. Hulme, I hadn’t met until that weekend. As a race fan, I had always watched from afar, conscious of ‘The Bear’ and his reputation as a monosyllabic man who didn’t tolerate fools gladly. When we were introduced by journalist Eoin Young (my mentor and a Kiwi mate of Denny), this was taken as a sign that I was ‘OK’. It was a perfect opportunity to gather material for a book I was planning to write, Hulme regaling me with tales underpinned by a wry sense of humour. On publication, I sent him a copy as a token of thanks. To my delight I received a chatty handwritten reply in 1989. Postmarked Rotorua, New Zealand, the airletter talked of Denny’s next race in a Mazda MX-5 for “us oldies” at Pukekohe, and asking if I knew what was going on between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost “at the best team, McLaren”.

It was signed: “Many thanks. Regards, Denis Hulme.” As Hart later attested when I showed him the letter: “Typical Denny. No beating about the bush. Tough as old boots – but always a gent.”