When I was a teenager in the early 1970s, I was a firm and faithful follower of motor sport, although (probably more so than today) I had many other interests besides. What I don’t remember is much of a fuss being made in 1972 about Graham Hill achieving the “Triple Crown of Motorsport”.
According the The Sun (in June 2018), the Triple Crown is “one of the most sought after in racing”, and it is claimed “by winning the three most prestigious races in the world… the Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 hour and the Indianapolis 500”.
Not being one to argue with Jim Sheridan (who wrote the piece), I thought I should double-check on Wikipedia, which agrees with The Sun and notes that it is an “unofficial motorsport achievement”, and that the only driver to have achieved the feat is Graham Hill, who won Monaco (for the first time) in 1963, the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 and Le Mans in 1972.
So I went back and checked Autosport magazine, which had eight full pages devoted to the race, as well as a full page tribute to Jo Bonnier, an editorial and various news items in its Pit and Paddock section. There was no mention of the fact that Graham Hill had gained the distinction of adding the Le Mans trophy to those he already had from Indianapolis and Monaco, nor did it speculate as to how long it would take another driver to record the same achievement.
Then I went to Motor Sport magazine, and was pleased to note that at least the Le Mans report in 1972 was penned by Denis Jenkinson, as I recalled that in 1971, ‘Jenks’ did not even attend the Vingt-Quatre Heures, preferring instead to head to Hockenheim for a non-championship Formula One race that was being held on the same weekend.
I have to admit Jenkinson’s report left me somewhat open-mouthed, as I was reminded not merely of the dangers of the sport in those days, but of the way in which they were viewed. This, remember, was the type of prose I was reading as an impressionable, fifteen-year-old budding motor-racing enthusiast. Hopefully, I am not infringing any copyright laws by pasting it in below:
On the next page, DSJ went on to describe the start, but before he did, he noted changes that had been put in place for the 1972 race:
If you have nothing better to do, then I wholeheartedly recommend that you go to the Motor Sport archive, here, where you can read the whole report for yourself. Trust me, it is worth it.
And if you don’t have the time, you will just have to accept my word for it that there is no mention at all of the Triple Crown, or how worthy the achievement of Graham Hill by winning it. Nor even, it has to be said, the hint of a suggestion that team orders in the dominant Matra team allowed “Hill’s car” to win the race ahead of its sister cars. Far more to the point was that the French drivers, Pescarolo and Cevert were put into the blue cars to bring them to the chequered flag in the first two places, 19 and 9 laps ahead of the third-placed car.
If Fernando Alonso equals Hill’s achievement by winning the Indianapolis 500 later this year, I will be very pleased for him, for he is unquestionably a great driver, whose record does not adequately reflect his talents (although he is not unique in that – there are many such drivers). What I will be sad about is the media frenzy that will no doubt be unleashed with all the extreme hyperbole of which today’s writers are capable.
I found it fascinating, researching this piece, getting lost in the articles that were written in 1972 (even the letters pages, which included one from an indignant Ian Titchmarsh!). I am well aware of course that we no longer live in the 1970’s, and that times have changed, but nevertheless I think the writers of today would do well to take a step back and look things from a different perspective from time to time.
I wonder if anyone will still be reading this in 46 years’ time? And if they do, I wonder if anyone will think it as relevant and entertaining as DSJ was in 1972?
According the The Sun (in June 2018), the Triple Crown is “one of the most sought after in racing”, and it is claimed “by winning the three most prestigious races in the world… the Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 hour and the Indianapolis 500”.
Not being one to argue with Jim Sheridan (who wrote the piece), I thought I should double-check on Wikipedia, which agrees with The Sun and notes that it is an “unofficial motorsport achievement”, and that the only driver to have achieved the feat is Graham Hill, who won Monaco (for the first time) in 1963, the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 and Le Mans in 1972.
Then I went to Motor Sport magazine, and was pleased to note that at least the Le Mans report in 1972 was penned by Denis Jenkinson, as I recalled that in 1971, ‘Jenks’ did not even attend the Vingt-Quatre Heures, preferring instead to head to Hockenheim for a non-championship Formula One race that was being held on the same weekend.
I have to admit Jenkinson’s report left me somewhat open-mouthed, as I was reminded not merely of the dangers of the sport in those days, but of the way in which they were viewed. This, remember, was the type of prose I was reading as an impressionable, fifteen-year-old budding motor-racing enthusiast. Hopefully, I am not infringing any copyright laws by pasting it in below:
On the next page, DSJ went on to describe the start, but before he did, he noted changes that had been put in place for the 1972 race:
If you have nothing better to do, then I wholeheartedly recommend that you go to the Motor Sport archive, here, where you can read the whole report for yourself. Trust me, it is worth it.
And if you don’t have the time, you will just have to accept my word for it that there is no mention at all of the Triple Crown, or how worthy the achievement of Graham Hill by winning it. Nor even, it has to be said, the hint of a suggestion that team orders in the dominant Matra team allowed “Hill’s car” to win the race ahead of its sister cars. Far more to the point was that the French drivers, Pescarolo and Cevert were put into the blue cars to bring them to the chequered flag in the first two places, 19 and 9 laps ahead of the third-placed car.
If Fernando Alonso equals Hill’s achievement by winning the Indianapolis 500 later this year, I will be very pleased for him, for he is unquestionably a great driver, whose record does not adequately reflect his talents (although he is not unique in that – there are many such drivers). What I will be sad about is the media frenzy that will no doubt be unleashed with all the extreme hyperbole of which today’s writers are capable.
I found it fascinating, researching this piece, getting lost in the articles that were written in 1972 (even the letters pages, which included one from an indignant Ian Titchmarsh!). I am well aware of course that we no longer live in the 1970’s, and that times have changed, but nevertheless I think the writers of today would do well to take a step back and look things from a different perspective from time to time.
I wonder if anyone will still be reading this in 46 years’ time? And if they do, I wonder if anyone will think it as relevant and entertaining as DSJ was in 1972?
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