Mr Porsche – Alan Hamilton Passes: Racer, Entrepreneur and Entrant

Legendary Australian Porsche importer, racer, entrepreneur and car entrant Alan Hamilton died yesterday morning, March 3 at Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne, aged 82.

Born on July 29, 1942, Alan’s health was impacted over the years by the huge accident he had in a Lola T430 Chev F5000 during the 1978 Australian Grand Prix at Sandown.

Born into a family with a deep connection to the automotive world, Hamilton’s father, Norman, was appointed as Australia’s Porsche importer in 1951. After completing his education at Camberwell High School, Alan joined the family firm.

Alan Hamilton-Porsche 911 T/R Hume Weir 1969 – Image Porsche Australia

He soon started competing at club level. Things got more serious when he brought a Porsche 904/6 sportscar home with him after a stint working in the Zuffenhausen factory in 1965.

He made his mark with this machine on the circuits and in the hills, winning the Australian Hillclimb Championship (AHC) with it at Collingrove in 1966. This car was succeeded by a pair of Porsche 906s. These 2-litre cars were never outright threats to Matich and Co but were still front-runners.

Alan Hamilton – Porsche 906 Spyder Longford 1967 – Image T.Watts

‘Hammo’ won the AHC at Collingrove again in 1971 and finally in 1981 – after he could no longer hold a full-competition licence because of his diabetes – in a Porsche Special at Ararat in 1981.

Hamilton first stirred up the touring car ranks with a 911 T/R in 1969. This was succeeded by some other fantastic cars such as the 934 with which he won the Australian Sports car Championship in 1977 (together on points with John Latham’s Carrera RSR) and which Allan Moffat raced to a win in 1980.

Alan Hamilton-Porsche 934-Hume Weir 1977 – Image Mark Bishop

Later, the two car Porsche 944 Turbo and Porsche 935 team thrilled the crowds and were raced with great success by Colin Bond and Alan Jones.

Alan Hamilton, like Alec Mildren, Bob Jane and David McKay was a bloke who put far more into motor racing than he took out.

Throughout the 1970-90s the Porsche business grew exponentially with a small tight-knit dealership group across Australia. Profits were up and so was Alan’s motor racing spend.

In 1971 Hamilton contested the Gold Star in a McLaren M10B Chev F5000, finishing a joint second with Kevin Bartlett.

Most enthusiasts recall his second-place finish at Bathurst in 1977 co-driving Colin Bond’s Falcon GT Hardtop as part of Allan Moffat’s famous Falcon 1-2-form finish victory. He made his Bathurst debut in 1969, co-driving Moffat’s works-GTHO to fourth place.

The famous finish, the Falcon coupes of the Moffat Ford Dealer Team, 1-2 at the Bathurst 1000 1977. Image Auto Action Archives

The terrifying crash in the Causeway-Dunlop Bridge stretch at Sandown Park during the 1978 Australian Grand Prix, while running second behind Graham McRae could have taken his life, instead breaking a leg and other fractures, and resulting in diabetes.

Hamilton wasn’t ready to leave the Australian Drivers Championship alone despite not being able to drive his cars.

He engaged Alf Costanzo as his driver and the pair won multiple Gold Stars in F5000 and Formula Pacific from 1980-84 with Lola T430 Chev, an ex-James Hunt F1 McLaren M26 converted into a spectacularly fast ground-effect F5000 car, and a succession of Tiga Fords.

Hamilton was well known in Melbourne for the sympathetic redevelopment of the historic Bryant & May match factory site in Richmond. Initially used as a base for the Hamilton Porsche business, it was the cause of great financial distress that cost the family the Porsche business, but was ultimately sold for a very substantial sum in the last few years.

Alan Hamilton built a winery business at Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula as he eased up. He remained active, intensely interested in motorsport and was as sharp as a tack in exchanges with the writer in recent years about all manner of topics.

A great driver and businessman and generous to a fault with a large number of drivers whose careers he enhanced, Hamilton was a great friend to motor racing.

The Auto Action team offer our condolences and best wishes to his family and friends.

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.