Before you say anything, I know Denny Hulme seems like he'd be more suited to Blast from the Past. But there's a very good reason he belongs to this category – to the best of my knowledge, Hulme is the only F1 driver to have been promoted to the position having made his motorsport start as a mechanic.

 If that's not a reason to love the man, maybe his career will convince you.

New Zealander Denny Hulme was born to a mystic and water diviner – and owner of a trucking business – in 1936. Interested in cars from a young age, Hulme began working in his father's garage to finance the purchase of an MG TF, which he raced in hillclimbs in the late 1950s. In 1960, Denny's driving talents secured him the mantle of New Zealand Driver to Europe, where he began competing in the Formula Junior series. To help pay his racing costs, Hulme began working for Jack Brabham. It was a connection that would later prove beneficial.

In 1961, Denny Hulme made his Le Mans debut with the Abarth team. Later that year, Ken Tyrell offered the New Zealander a Formula 2 seat, and it was his performances for the Tyrell team that led to a phonecall from his old boss Jack Brabham, offering his own Formula 2 drive. 1965 saw Hulme make his Formula 1 debut, driving for Brabham at Monaco. It was a successful start to his career: he scored his first F1 points at Clermont-Ferrand later that season.

The following year saw Hulme finish fourth in the driver's standings, but it was 1967 that saw Denny take his first win, at Monte Carlo. The 1967 season is widely held to have been a two-horse race, and both those horses were Brabhams. A second win for Hulme came at the Nürburgring, and a highlights clip of that race can be found below. Dan Gurney was leading the race with 42 seconds to spare when his drive shaft broke on lap 13, bumping Hulme up from second into first, a position he managed to hold while Jack Brabham and Chris Amon fought for second place.

Hulme's success at the German Grand Prix, coupled with another win at Monaco and a season of strong points finishes, saw him take the 1967 World Drivers' Championship crown. It would be the only championship victory of his career, which ended with a seven-year stint at McLaren. In the 1968 season Denny was in with a chance of retaining his championship, but a suspension failure at the Mexican Grand Prix – the scene of a down to the wire season finale – put paid to that.

I've included the clip below purely for nostalgia purposes. It's a home movie shot at the scene of Hulme's only career pole – the 1973 South African GP, held at Kyalami. As such, there's not much in terms of commentary or engine noise. What there is, however, is the beautiful whirr of a Super-8 camera, and the sunshine and vaseline-drenched footage so typical of that machine. The cameraman pans between track and surroundings, so there are a few seventies-era giggles to be found amongst the crowd. Kyalami wasn't a massive success for Hulme, but he did finish fifth, and I really wanted to include this clip in the piece. Can you imagine Bernie allowing such violations of FOM's filming rights? If only...

Despite a string of commendable on-track performances throughout his time driving for McLaren, Hulme's final years in Formula 1 were tinged with sadness. In 1970, friend and boss Bruce McLaren died behind the wheel at Goodwood, testing new parts. In 1974, friend and former McLaren teammate Peter Revson died when he lost control of his car while testing at Kyalami. Hulme was greatly affected by the deaths of both men, and following Revson's death announced that he would retire after seeing out the remainder of the season.

Having left Formula 1 racing, Denny Hulme was briefly in charge of the Grand Prix Driver's Association before retiring to New Zealand. Racing still in his blood, he spent some of the 1980s driving for Tom Walkinshaw in the European Touring Cars Championship. Like many drivers of his era, Hulme died behind the wheel of a race car. The New Zealander was competing in his beloved Bathurst 1000 in 1992 when he suffered a fatal heart attack. Kate Walker for Girlracer Magazine 

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