{"id":16777,"date":"2015-07-06T15:33:09","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T19:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=16777"},"modified":"2015-07-06T15:33:09","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T19:33:09","slug":"payne-qauto-david-hobbs-does-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/payne-qauto-david-hobbs-does-detroit","title":{"rendered":"Payne Q&Auto: David Hobbs does Detroit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"20150617_132045\"<\/p>\n

In 1984 David Hobbs assaulted Detroit\u2019s street course in a Corvette Trans Am car, then climbed out and did color commentary for the Detroit Grand Prix. Just another day in the life of one of motor racing\u2019s legendary talents and most recognizable TV personalities.<\/p>\n

Today, the 76-year old Hobbs is a staple of NBC Sport\u2019s Formula One coverage with his British wit, brutally honest commentary (\u201cWhat a bone-headed move, you dork,\u201d he quipped after one driver\u2019s spin) and \u201cHobbs-sims\u201d (\u201cyou need rather large appendages to make that pass\u201d). His 31-year racing career (1959-1990) spanned the sport from Trans Am to Formula One to NASCAR to LeMans. Before the modern era of sports specialization, Hobbs came from a generation of racers who \u2014 like the ol\u2019 three-letter college athlete \u2014 excelled in multiple disciplines.<\/p>\n

I first saw him up close\u00a0at Road Atlanta in 1979<\/a>\u00a0in his ferocious,\u00a0650-horsepower BMW 320 turbo<\/a>\u00a0where he put on a memorable show against the IMSA Series\u2019 dominant Porsche 935s. Outside the car, the bloodhound-faced Hobbs was instantly recognizable with lamb-chop sideburns and a slow English drawl. He was inaugurated into the Troy-based Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009 and returned this June to emcee the final Hall induction ceremony before it\u2019s uprooted to Daytona.<\/p>\n

I sat down with the now-Milwaukee resident to talk RenCen, mom, and liquid-suspensions.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0What was it like racing in Detroit in \u201884?<\/p>\n

Hobbs:\u00a0I really liked the circuit. Some of the corners were a bit sharp \u2014 they were right angles that would normally be a traffic light. It was a bit bumpy . . . and of course the old Corvette took a lot of stopping and starting. Particularly stopping. I dropped back because we had brake issues.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Would you like to see Formula One here again?<\/p>\n

Hobbs:\u00a0I was sorry to see that race go quiet honestly because I thought it was a very good venue. I was walking around there today . . . and I thought they could still have a race. It could be one of those hot buttons Detroit is looking for at the moment.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Special memories of race week?<\/p>\n

Hobbs:\u00a0We used to stay in the RenCen and of course got lost in there every night after a few drinks at the bar. You\u2019d go around and around in circles and unless you took particular notice of numbers you never knew quite where you were.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0You still race?<\/p>\n

Hobbs:\u00a0I raced for a long time: 1959-1990. I did Indy, Daytona, LeMans 20 times, Trans-Am, Formula 5000, but somehow I never got hurt. My great friend (ed. note: and fellow racing legend<\/i>) Brian Redman always says: \u201cThat\u2019s because you weren\u2019t going fast enough, lad.\u201d I was very fortunate because those were probably the most dangerous years of racing. I didn\u2019t have a fire-proof suit until I had been racing at least 6 or 7 years. My mother used to put in Borax to give it some fire retardant. I\u2019m not superstitious but I believe in the law of averages. I\u2019ve been busy with TV the last 25 years. The last time I drove a race car was at Goodwood in 2010.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Who\u2019s the greatest driver you ever saw?<\/p>\n

Hobbs:\u00a0Joe Siffert, Brian Redman, Ronnie Peterson, Mario Andretti, Stirling Moss. Jimmy Clark was my hero. Among the current generation? Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0I was saddened to see the great Barber School close shop at Laguna Seca Raceway. Is it harder for young drivers to get a start these days?<\/p>\n

Hobbs:\u00a0It\u2019s so difficult. Because the money requirement is absolutely extraordinary. I started racing my Mum\u2019s Morris Oxford. I drove it to races and drove home again. It had road tires, it didn\u2019t have racing tires. My grandson is trying desperately hard now. Formula 1600 is costing him $90,000 for the year. If he wants (a co-drive) at Sebring (endurance race<\/i>) it costs something like $50 grand. It\u2019s gone completely haywire. Say he wins the championship this year and moves up \u2014 then wants to do Indy Lights. That\u2019s $1 million.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Is Formula One in trouble?<\/p>\n

Hobbs:\u00a0It\u2019s not going away, but at the moment it\u2019s being mishandled a bit. There is a lot of unsustainability about it, but F1 is still top of the tree worldwide.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Your favorite race? Worst?<\/p>\n

Hobbs:\u00a0LeMans in 1983. I had a terrific duel with Klaus Ludwig. We both had Porsche 962s. We\u2019re averaging 150 mph lap speeds, doing 225 down the straight, passing and repassing. Worst race I had was in \u201869 \u2013 I think \u2014 Watson liquid-suspension special at Brainard road course with offset suspension for ovals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1984 David Hobbs assaulted Detroit\u2019s street course in a Corvette Trans Am car, then climbed out and did color commentary for the Detroit Grand Prix. Just another day in the life of one of motor racing\u2019s legendary talents and most recognizable TV personalities. Today, the 76-year old Hobbs is a staple of NBC Sport\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16777"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16777"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16778,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16777\/revisions\/16778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}