Derek John Hill (born March 28, 1975) is an American racing driver. He is the son of

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

World Champion

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and won three Grands Prix across eight seas ...

Career

Early career

Hill initially raced

karts Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size moto ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

sports cars (his father won his F1 title with the team). Winning three of three races in the championship runoffs in Italy at the Mugello circuit in the Ferrari 355, Hill attracted the attention of the Alfa Romeo Factory DTM team and was invited to test the DTM car at Mugello in November 1995.

Barber Dodge Pro Series

Hill competed in the US-based

Barber Dodge Pro Series The Barber Dodge Pro Series was an American open-wheel auto racing series promoted by the Skip Barber Racing School from 1986 to 2003. It was one of the first professional spec series for open-wheel racecars in North America. The races were prima ...

in 1996, finishing third overall, taking Rookie-of-the-Year honors. In 1997, he took the championship title, winning four races in the process.

Professional Sports Car / IMSA

Also in 1997, Hill raced the Factory BMW M3 for the Prototype Technology Group in GTS3 Class. He won the GTS3 class at the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours as well as scoring two other wins with teammate, Javier Quiros.

Formula Toyota Atlantic

Hill moved up to Formula Toyota Atlantic for 1998, finishing 13th in the championship.

Formula Palmer Audi

Hill moved into

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an racing in 1999 by taking part in the second season of the

Formula Palmer Audi Formula Palmer Audi, officially abbreviated to FPA, and sometimes informally abbreviated to Palmer Audi, was a one-make class of open wheel Formula racing founded in 1998 by former Formula One driver, Jonathan Palmer. It was based in the Unite ...

series, organised by former F1 driver

Jonathan Palmer Jonathan Charles Palmer (born 7 November 1956) is a British former racing driver, motorsport executive, and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Before opting for a career in motor racing, Palmer trained as a physician at Lon ...

. He finished 19th in that year's championship.

Formula 3000

For

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, Hill competed in six races of the Italian Formula 3000 series, failing to score any points. The following year, he moved up to the more prestigious FIA-backed series with the

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

team with teammate,

Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (; born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver who currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Cadillac Hertz Team Jota in the Hypercar category. He is one of the most successful dr ...

, and remained there in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

(a part-season with

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, replacing Alexander Müller) and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

(with Super Nova). In three years, he scored a total of four points and was dropped midway through 2003 in favour of

Nicolas Kiesa Nicolas Kiesa (born 3 March 1978) is a Danish former racing driver of Italian descent. He participated in five Formula One Grands Prix in the 2003 season, scoring no championship points. Previously, he had won the 2003 Formula 3000 race at Monaco ...

, who had been left without a drive due to the withdrawal of the Super Nova-run

Den Blå Avis Den Blå Avis Racing Team was a Danish auto racing team owned by the buying and selling platform: Den Blå Avis, whom competed in the FIA Formula 3000 Championship. The team has also competed in the Eurocup Formula Renault series in the 2001–2 ...

outfit. Nonetheless, Hill was often the most prominent American driver competing in Europe at this time. During this period he also entered into a management contract with Anthony Haas and Brigitte Hill – daughter and sister of

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

champion namesakes

Graham Graham or Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

and Damon respectively – to act as his managers. He is currently involved in historic racing and working as a racing instructor after moving back to the United States to help look after his elderly father, who died in August 2008.

Other career highlights

In 1996, Hill competed in the

1996 24 Hours of Daytona The 1996 Rolex 24 at Daytona was a 24-hour endurance sports car race held on February 3–4, 1996 at the Daytona International Speedway road course. The race served as the opening round of the 1996 IMSA GT Championship. Victory overall and i ...

in a Bugatti EB110 Competizione in the GT1 category, setting fastest lap in the Daytona Test Days. Leading the class in the seventh hour, the car experienced mechanical failure. This was the last time a Bugatti raced professionally in the United States. In 2002, Hill raced in the Grand Am, Fontana Four-Hour California Grand Prix, in the

Saleen S7 The Saleen S7 is an American hand-built, high-performance sports car designed and built by American automobile manufacturer Saleen Automotive Inc. Developed jointly by Steve Saleen for the initial concept, direction and engine, Hidden Creek Indu ...

. He won the category and finished fourth overall.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete Italian Formula 3000 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete International Formula 3000 results

References

Footnotes

Books

* * *

Websites

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Derek 1975 births Living people Atlantic Championship drivers Auto GP drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Formula Palmer Audi drivers American Le Mans Series drivers Sportspeople from Santa Monica, California Racing drivers from California Barber Pro Series drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Super Nova Racing drivers DAMS drivers Durango (racing team) drivers