David Hobbs (racing driver)

David Wishart Hobbs[1] (born 9 June 1939)[2] is a British former racing driver. He worked as a commentator from the mid 1970s for CBS until 1996, Speed from 1996 to 2012 and NBC from 2013 to 2017. In 1969 Hobbs was included in the FIA list of graded drivers, a group of 27 drivers who by their achievements were rated the best in the world.[3]

David Hobbs
BornDavid Wishart Hobbs
(1939-06-09) 9 June 1939
Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityBritish
Active years1967–1968, 1971, 1974
TeamsBRM, Honda, McLaren
Entries7
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1967 British Grand Prix
Last entry1974 Italian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1962–72, 1979, 1981–85, 1987–89
TeamsTeam Lotus Engineering
Lola Cars Ltd
Standard Triumph
Maranello Concessionaires
John Wyer Automotive
Roger Penske/Kirk F. White
Equipe Matra-Simca
Grand Touring Cars/Ford France
EMKA Racing
John Fitzpatrick Racing
Joest Racing
Richard Lloyd Racing
Best finish3rd (1969, 1984)
Class wins1 (1982)
NASCAR Cup Series career
2 races run over 1 year
First race1976 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Hobbs lives in Vero Beach, Florida. with his wife, Margaret, with whom he has two sons, Gregory and Guy. In 1986, Hobbs opened a car dealership, David Hobbs Honda, in Glendale, Wisconsin, which continues to exist today, and for which he personally voices advertisements. His youngest son, Guy, worked for Speed as a pit reporter on their sports car coverage. Hobbs was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009.[4]

He is the grandfather of current racing driver Andrew Hobbs.

Driving career

Hobbs was born, in Royal Leamington Spa, England, just months before the outbreak of World War II. His career as an international racing driver spanned 30 years at all levels including in sports cars, touring cars, Indy cars, IMSA, Can-Am and Formula One. He has participated in the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona. He made twenty starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, finishing in 8th place at the first attempt in 1962, following with a pole position and a best finish of third (in 1969 and 1984) to his credit.

Hobbs was due to make his F1 Grand Prix debut for Tim Parnell Racing at the 1965 French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand, but a serious road accident put him in hospital for three weeks.[5]

In 1971 Hobbs won the L&M 5000 Continental Championship driving for Carl Hogan out of St. Louis, Missouri, in a McLaren M10B-Chevrolet. He won five of the eight rounds that year at Laguna Seca, Seattle, Road America, Edmonton and Lime Rock.[6] Twelve years later, he would claim the 1983 Trans-Am Series championship as well. He also made two NASCAR Winston Cup starts in 1976, including leading two laps at the 1976 Daytona 500[7] and drove a race in the 1979 International Race of Champions.

Television commentator

Hobbs provided commentary for Formula One and GP2 races (alongside Leigh Diffey and former Benetton mechanic Steve Matchett) until 2013, the SCCA Valvoline runoffs, and parts of the 24 Hours of Daytona. He has also worked for CBS on its Daytona 500 coverage, working as both a colour commentator and a feature/pit reporter from 1979 until 1996, and then moved to Speed in 1996 working as a colour commentator and then moved to NBCSN in 2013.[8] He also worked for ESPN, serving as an analyst for their Formula 1 coverage from 1988 until 1992.

Other appearances

Hobbs appeared in the 1983 comedy film Stroker Ace, playing a TV race announcer. He also appeared in the Cars 2 movie, which premiered in June 2011, as announcer "David Hobbscap", a 1963 Jaguar from Hobbs' real life hometown in England.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 WDC Pts
1967 Bernard White Racing BRM P261 BRM P60 2.1 V8 RSA MON NED BEL FRA GBR
8		 CAN
9		 ITA USA MEX NC 0
Lola Cars Lola T100 BMW M10 2.0 L4 GER
101
1968 Honda Racing F1 Honda RA301 Honda RA301E 3.0 V12 RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER ITA
Ret		 CAN USA MEX NC 0
1971 Penske-White Racing McLaren M19A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA
10		 NC 0
1974 Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M23 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT
7		 ITA
9		 CAN USA NC 0
Source:[9]
Notes

Non-Championship Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1964 Merlyn Racing Merlyn Mk7 (F2) Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 DMT NWT SYR AIN
Ret		 INT SOL MED RAN
1966 Reg Parnell Racing Lotus 33 BRM P60 2.0 V8 RSA SYR
3		 INT OUL
1968 Bernard White Racing BRM P261 BRM P101 3.0 V12 ROC
9		 INT
6		 OUL
6
1970 Team Surtees Surtees TS5 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC INT
Ret		 OUL
1971 Hogan Racing McLaren M10B (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ARG ROC QUE
DNQ		 SPR INT RIN OUL VIC
1973 Hogan Racing Lola T330 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC
Ret		 INT
Ret
1974 Hogan Racing Lola T332 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 PRE ROC INT
DNS
Source:[9]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1962 Team Lotus Engineering Frank Gardner Lotus Elite Mk14-Climax GT
1.3		 286 8th 1st
1963 Lola Cars Ltd. Richard Attwood Lola Mk6 GT-Ford P
+3.0		 151 DNF DNF
1964 Standard Triumph Rob Slotemaker Triumph Spitfire P
+3.0		 272 21st 3rd
1965 Standard Triumph Ltd. Rob Slotemaker Triumph Spitfire GT
1.3		 71 DNF DNF
1966 Maranello Concessionaires Mike Salmon Ferrari Dino 206S P
2.0		 14 DNF DNF
1967 Lola Cars Ltd.
Team Surtees		 John Surtees Lola T70 Mk.III-Aston Martin P
+5.0		 3 DNF DNF
1968 J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. Paul Hawkins Ford GT40 Mk. I S
5.0		 107 DNF DNF
1969 J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. Mike Hailwood Ford GT40 Mk. I S
5.0		 368 3rd 2nd
1970 J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. Mike Hailwood Porsche 917K S
5.0		 49 DNF DNF
1971 Roger Penske
Kirk F. White		 Mark Donohue Ferrari 512M/P S
5.0		 DNF DNF
1972 Equipe Matra-Simca Shell Jean-Pierre Jabouille Matra-Simca MS660C S
3.0		 278 DNF DNF
1979 Grand Touring Cars Ltd.
Ford Concessionaires France		 Vern Schuppan
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud		 Mirage M10-Ford Cosworth S
+2.0		 121 NC NC
1981 EMKA Productions Limited Eddie Jordan
Steve O'Rourke		 BMW M1 Gr.5 Gr.5 236 DNF DNF
1982 John Fitzpatrick Racing John Fitzpatrick Porsche 935/78 Moby Dick IMSA
GTX		 329 4th 1st
1983 John Fitzpatrick Racing John Fitzpatrick
Dieter Quester		 Porsche 956 C 135 DNF DNF
1984 Skoal Bandit Porsche Team Philippe Streiff
Sarel van der Merwe		 Porsche 956B C1 351 3rd 3rd
1985 John Fitzpatrick Racing Jo Gartner
Guy Edwards		 Porsche 956B C1 366 4th 4th
1987 Joest Racing Sarel van der Merwe
Chip Robinson		 Porsche 962C C1 4 DNF DNF
1988 Blaupunkt Joest Racing Didier Theys
Franz Konrad		 Porsche 962C C1 380 5th 5th
1989 Richard Lloyd Racing Steven Andskär
Damon Hill		 Porsche 962C GTi C1 228 DNF DNF
Source:[10]

Indy 500 results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series
NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 NWCC Pts Ref
1976 DeWitt Racing 73 Chevy RSD DAY
34		 CAR RCH BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL NA 0 [11]
Donlavey Racing 9 Ford MCH
17		 BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1976 DeWitt Racing Chevrolet 16 34

Complete Bathurst 1000 results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1981 JPS Team BMW Allan Grice BMW 635 CSi 6 Cylinder & Rotary 113 7th 2nd
1982 JPS Team BMW Jim Richards BMW 635 CSi A 157 5th 5th

References
  1. FIA Year Book of Automobile Sport 1975. Patrick Stephens Ltd. white p. 37. ISBN 0-85059-195-3.
  2. H. H. Pitt and M. N. Wicks, The Pitt Family of Payneham (Adelaide, 1977)
  3. F.I.A. Year Book of Automobile Sport, P.S.L. Publications Limited., London, 1969.
  4. David Hobbs at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Trenton Evening Times, 7 September 1971, Page 37.
  7. David Hobbs 1976 Winston Cup Results – Racing-Reference.info
  8. Hobbs, David (September 2012). "In Racing, Broadcasting: Timing is Everything". Road & Track. 64 (1): 94.
  9. "David Hobbs – Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  10. "All Results of David Hobbs". RacingSportCars. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  11. "David Hobbs − 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
John Cannon		 US Formula A/F5000
Champion
1971		 Succeeded by
Graham McRae
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