Nationality British Championships 0 Spouse Margaret Hobbs Entries 6 Role Racing driver | Teams BRM, Honda, McLaren Name David Hobbs Wins 0 | |
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Born David Wishart Hobbs
June 9, 1939 (age 84)
Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England ( 1939-06-09 ) Movies Cars 2, The Holding, Stroker Ace, Another Year Similar People Steve Matchett, Carlo Facetti, Leo Kinnunen, Silvio Moser, Bob Anderson Profiles | ||
Active years 1967–1968, 1971, 1974 Children Gregory Hobbs, Guy Hobbs | ||
Motorsports legend david hobbs discusses career and safety technology
David Wishart Hobbs (born 9 June 1939 in Royal Leamington Spa, England) is a British former racing driver. Originally employed as a commentator for the Speed Channel, he currently works as a commentator for NBC and NBC Sports Network. 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.
Contents
- Motorsports legend david hobbs discusses career and safety technology
- David hobbs motorsport legend
- Driving career
- Television commentator
- Other appearances
- Complete Formula One World Championship results
- NASCAR
- References
Hobbs currently lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 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.
He is the grandfather of current racing driver Andrew Hobbs.
David hobbs motorsport legend
Driving career
Hobbs was born just months before the outbreak of World War II, and has a vast, 30-year history of international driving experience at all levels of motor sports, including 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.
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 (Elkhart Lake), Edmonton and Lime Rock. 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 and drove a race in the 1979 International Race of Champions.
Television commentator
Hobbs provides commentary for Formula One and GP2 races (alongside Leigh Diffey and former Benetton mechanic Steve Matchett), 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.
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.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
‡ indicates an entry with an F2 car.
NASCAR
(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)