VALE Alan Hamilton
Alan Hamilton, the accomplished amateur racer who was also the face of Porsche’s presence in Australia for decades – on track and off – has passed away. ‘Mr. Porsche’ died on 3 March, aged 82.
Alan Hamilton had yet to enter his teens when he was introduced to Porsche by his father, Norman. In 1951, after encountering a 356 while in Europe on a business trip, Norman Hamilton met with Ferry Porsche and negotiated local distribution rights for the marque, making Australia only the second overseas market for Porsche at the time. Alan joined the business in 1962, establishing a service department in Melbourne, then moving into sales.
Afte taking over the business from his father in 1972, Alan saw its relocation to trendy Chapel Street in 1974. Booming sales in the 1980s resulted in a further relocation, this time to the former Bryant & May matchworks in Richmond. The expenditure involved in refurbishing this premises, compounded by the 1990 ‘recession we had to have’, saw Alan reluctantly cede control of the business to Porsche HQ in Germany, which led to the formation of Porsche Cars Australia in 1992.
Between them, Norman and Alan Hamilton oversaw Porsche’s presence in Australia for 41 years.
As a racer, it’s no surprise that Alan campaigned a number of Porsches, but the Stuttgart marque wasn’t his only choice for motorsport, nor was it his first. In 1960, Hamilton started hillclimbing in a 1954 Volkswagen Beetle, but soon progressed to a Porsche 904/6. He won the 1966 Australian Hillclimb Championship in that car (a first for Porsche in any form of Australian motorsport), then campaigned a 906 in both hillclimb and circuit competition. He would be national hillclimb champion again in 1971, 1981 and 1989.
In the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), Alan is best remembered for the Porsche 911 T/R in which he came agonisingly close to taking the title in 1969. In the first year that the ATCC was contested over a series, rather than a single race, Alan was up against the likes of Norm Beechey, Ian Geoghegan and Bob Jane in bigger and much more powerful V8 cars. The 911 was more reliable than the opposition, though, finishing in all five rounds and placing no worse than third. Despite ending the championship with more points than Geoghegan, ATCC rules that required drivers to drop their worst round meant Alan finished second – by one point.
Even before the 911 was legislated out of the ATCC in 1972, Alan had turned his talents to Formula 5000. Healthy sales of Porsche road cars had enabled him to fund a Chev-powered McLaren M10B, in which he finished equal second in the Gold Star in 1971.
Alan was no stranger to Bathurst at this time, either. After making his debut in 1969 as co-driver for Allan Moffat in an XW Falcon GT-HO and finishing fourth, Alan returned to Mount Panorama in 1976, alongside Bob Skelton in a Torana, achieving a seventh-place finish. A year later, Alan was part of the famous 1-2 Ford formation finish, partnering Colin Bond in the #2 XC Falcon behind the Moffat/Ickx #1 car.
Alan’s active motorsport career came to an end following a serious accident in the 1978 Australian Grand Prix at Sandown. In the closing stages of the race, he crashed his Lola T430, resulting in multiple fractures and complications that would impact his health later in life. While he still competed occasionally in hillclimbs and other events after the crash, Alan turned his attention to supporting drivers. This included providing Porsches for the likes of Bond, Moffat and Alan Jones, while placing Alf Costanzo in a succession of open wheelers for F5000 and Formula Pacific competition.
More recently, Alan established a winery on the Mornington Peninsula, but remained keenly interested in motorsport, occasionally reuniting with former sparring partners and fellow Porsche pilots, like Jim McKeown.
Alan is survived by wife Lorna, children Garnet, Travis and Fleur, and three grandchildren. JUST CARS extends its sympathies to Alan’s family and friends.
While the funeral for Alan Hamilton will be a private affair, a memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at The Timber Yard (351 Plummer Street, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207) on Wednesday, 16 April - 1:30PM for 2:00PM start.
Those intending to attend should RSVP HERE
For those unable to attend, the service will be live streamed. Click HERE for details.
