I would like to refer readers to Ultimatecarpage.com for a tribute to the great American racer, Mr. Phil Hill, who died yesterday.

PHIL HILL

According to the "Daily Telegraph" he died on Thursday, 28th, August.

He had the occasional outing in Bugattis and will perhaps be best remembered for his stirring drive at Laguna Seca in a type 54. He described it as the hairiest race car he ever drove.

My strongest personal memory of him was when I saw him being helped out of the last front-engined Grand Prix Ferrari at Silverstone after a fruitless race trying to chase rear-engined Coopers etc. He looked shattered.

Also at Silverstone I saw a sweat-drenched Trintignant being physically dragged out of a Grand Prix Aston after a similar futile chase.

I don't think there are too many drivers left now who raced front-engined Grand Prix cars in period.

Sir I thank you for this correction, and I apologise unreservedly for any offence my failure to verify the facts may have caused.

While his exploits and triumphs as racing driver and car restorer are well known, I loved him for his writing : I still think that his report on driving the Ferrari 288 GTO is one of the finest pieces of motoring journalism ever. He had a knack of explaining a car's handling in a such a way that I could understand. His generation is now almost extinct, and nearly all my heroes are no more. Emptiness.

Johan Buchner

I was lucky enough to had raced with Mr. Hill and Sir Stirling Moss at a Nassau Historic years ago. It was a hosted historic event, I was driving a D type Jag, Moss in an Aston , and Hill is a 289 Cobra.

We were doing a false start for a Film crew on the Island, and I was between Moss and Hill. The film director said, son, let Hill and Moss beat you, we need that footage. Ok, I let them the first shot and then the director said, take 2, and go for it with that Jaguar, kid. My eyes all were green lights

The flag dropped, and I ran as fast as I could, spinting to the Jag not even looking to the right of me at Hill, or to the left at Moss. I jumped into the Jaguar hit the button, spun out onto the track and before I even looked up, Phil Hill was 100 meters down the track, throwing gravel on me. Christ, how did he do that I said .

There is good, better and best, but Phil was the best. A kind and patient man, sharing his life through car stories the entire Speed Week. What a life he had, and a true legend.