Derek John Hill (born March 28, 1975 in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...
) is an American racing driver. He is the son of
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
World Champion
Phil Hill.
Career
Early career
Hill initially raced
karts in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and
Ferrari 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 a professional open-wheel auto racing series from 1986 to 2003. It was one of the first professional spec series for open-wheel racecars in North America. The races were primarily on road and street courses in Nor ...
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 large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
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 United ...
series, organised by former F1 driver
Jonathan Palmer
Jonathan Charles Palmer (born 7 November 1956) is a British businessman and former Formula One racing driver. Before opting for a career in motor racing, Palmer trained as a physician at London's Guys Hospital. He also worked as a junior phys ...
. He finished 19th in that year's championship.
Formula 3000
For
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, 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
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backs ...
-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. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships u ...
, and remained there in
2002 (a part-season with
Durango, replacing
Alexander Müller) and
2003 (with
Super Nova
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a mass ...
). 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 racing driver. He participated in five Formula One Grands Prix in the 2003 season, scoring no championship points, but finishing every race.
Previously, he had won the 2003 Formula 3000 race at Monac ...
, who had been left without a drive due to the withdrawal of the Super Nova-run
Den Blå Avis
Den Blå Avis was a Danish auto racing team, who competed in the FIA Formula 3000 Championship. The team has also competed in the Eurocup Formula Renault series in the 2001–2002 seasons.
History
The Den Blå Avis stable was founded for Jaso ...
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 champion namesakes
Graham
Graham and 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 Daytona 24 Hours 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
Saleen Automotive, Inc., commonly known as Saleen (/səˈliːn/), is an American manufacturer of specialty high-performance sports cars and high-performance automotive parts. Saleen is headquartered in Corona, California, US. On June 26, 2013 Sal ...
. 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
Career statisticsfrom ''driverdb.com''. Retrieved on September 13, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Derek
1975 births
Living people
American racing drivers
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 drivers