“Phil Hill was such an amazing guy, not just as a driver and as an ambassador, but a driver who has won in multiple disciplines,” said Rahal.
Bobby Rahal, Indy 500 winner, driver, team owner and President of the Road Racing Drivers Club, was honored by the RRDC with the 2019 Phil Hill Award. The 2018 award recipient, David Hobbs, made the presentation at the annual RRDC members’ dinner on January 23 prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The Phil Hill Award is presented annually to the person who the RRDC feels has rendered outstanding service to road racing. The recipient may be a driver, entrant or outstanding member of a sanctioning body. It is named in honor of America’s first Formula 1 World Champion (in 196) and is not only a tribute to his accomplishments on the race track, it also recognizes his contributions as a great ambassador for the sport. Hill passed away in 2008.
Robert “Bobby” Woodward Rahal was born in Medina, Ohio, in 1953, and started in SCCA’s Formula Atlantic Series and then European Formula Two. In an 18-year career spanning F1, Can-Am, Le Mans/IMSA, and CART, Rahal won three CART championships, including the 1986 Indy 500 win, and wins at the 1981 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1987 12 Hours of Sebring.
In open-wheel racing, Rahal started 264 races for five teams and scored 18 poles and 24 wins. He collected back-to-back CART championships in 1986 and ’87 and won his third in 1992. When Buddy Rice won the 2004 Indy 500, Rahal became only one of a handful of individuals to win the Indy 500 as both a driver and a team owner.
After retiring from driving in 1998, he joined Jaguar’s F1 effort and later became the interim boss of CART. Along with David Letterman and businessman Michael Lanigan, he is a principal in Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. It has worked with some of the top young talent in open-wheel racing, including Graham Rahal, Takuma Sato, Buddy Rice, Danica Patrick. He also brought Honda into North American open-wheel racing in the early ’90s, that has produced for Honda 16 driver crowns and more than 237 victories including 12 Indy 500 wins.
His team won the 2010 GT team and manufacturers titles in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) with BMW and swept the top two spots in the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring, earning the 2011 ALMS GT drivers’ championships for Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller. In 2012, the team earned back-to-back Sebring wins and was second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship. In 2013 BMW Team RLL earned two wins, seven podium finishes and four poles en route to second place in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championships.
In 2014, the team joined the United Sports Car Series (USCC), later renamed the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has totaled 17 wins, 23 poles and 68 podiums and second place in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017. In 2018, the team brought BMW its first victory with the all-new M8 GTE and followed up with back-to-back wins, six podiums and three poles over the two-car program. In 2018, the team also entered the world’s first production-based electric vehicle race series – the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY – with a two-car effort. (VIR Upset – BMW M8 Finally Tallies First Win as Corvette Leads GTLM Driver’s Championship)
Rahal was the driving force behind the new HMP Legends of Motorsports historic racing series that was purchased by an outside group late in 2011. Along with his leadership of Team RLL Racing, he operates Bobby Rahal Automotive Group, a string of car dealerships in Pennsylvania, is President of the RRDC, former Chairman of the International Motor Racing Research Center Governing Council at Watkins Glen and is active in the community through the Bobby Rahal Foundation. He is past Chairman of the USA Bobsled & Skeleton Foundation.
The award means everything to me,” said Rahal. “Phil Hill was such an amazing guy, not just as a driver and as an ambassador, but a driver who has won in multiple disciplines. He was a very educated guy who had a lot to say and had a lot to do with things in the automotive world. This award named after him has got to be one of my favorite trophies.”
Past RRDC Phil Hill Award Winners
- 1993 John Bishop
- 1994 Juan Manuel Fangio II
- 1995 Leo Mehl
- 1996 Charlie Slater
- 1997 Danny Sullivan
- 1998 Rob Dyson
- 1999 Bob Fergus
- 2000 Elliott Forbes Robinson
- 2001 Bill France
- 2002 Jim Downing
- 2003 Derek Bell
- 2004 Brian Redman
- 2005 Jim France
- 2006 Roger Werner
- 2007 Skip Barber
- 2008 Roger Penske
- 2009 Bob Bondurant
- 2010 Nick Craw
- 2011 Rick Mears
- 2012 George Follmer
- 2013 Peter Brock
- 2014 Hurley Haywood
- 2015 Vic Elford
- 2016 Scott Pruett
- 2017 Chip Ganassi
- 2018 David Hobbs
RRDC
The Road Racing Drivers Club was formed in 1952 to give champion drivers a say in their sport, particularly in the areas of safety, and has evolved to serve the future of road racing by mentoring new drivers on both amateur and professional levels. The Club’s membership includes leading industry professionals, race officials and motorsports journalists, in addition to prominent racing names.
Bobby Rahal wins RRDC’s 2019 Phil Hill Award
“Phil Hill was such an amazing guy, not just as a driver and as an ambassador, but a driver who has won in multiple disciplines,” said Rahal.
Bobby Rahal, Indy 500 winner, driver, team owner and President of the Road Racing Drivers Club, was honored by the RRDC with the 2019 Phil Hill Award. The 2018 award recipient, David Hobbs, made the presentation at the annual RRDC members’ dinner on January 23 prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The Phil Hill Award is presented annually to the person who the RRDC feels has rendered outstanding service to road racing. The recipient may be a driver, entrant or outstanding member of a sanctioning body. It is named in honor of America’s first Formula 1 World Champion (in 196) and is not only a tribute to his accomplishments on the race track, it also recognizes his contributions as a great ambassador for the sport. Hill passed away in 2008.
Robert “Bobby” Woodward Rahal was born in Medina, Ohio, in 1953, and started in SCCA’s Formula Atlantic Series and then European Formula Two. In an 18-year career spanning F1, Can-Am, Le Mans/IMSA, and CART, Rahal won three CART championships, including the 1986 Indy 500 win, and wins at the 1981 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1987 12 Hours of Sebring.
In open-wheel racing, Rahal started 264 races for five teams and scored 18 poles and 24 wins. He collected back-to-back CART championships in 1986 and ’87 and won his third in 1992. When Buddy Rice won the 2004 Indy 500, Rahal became only one of a handful of individuals to win the Indy 500 as both a driver and a team owner.
After retiring from driving in 1998, he joined Jaguar’s F1 effort and later became the interim boss of CART. Along with David Letterman and businessman Michael Lanigan, he is a principal in Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. It has worked with some of the top young talent in open-wheel racing, including Graham Rahal, Takuma Sato, Buddy Rice, Danica Patrick. He also brought Honda into North American open-wheel racing in the early ’90s, that has produced for Honda 16 driver crowns and more than 237 victories including 12 Indy 500 wins.
His team won the 2010 GT team and manufacturers titles in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) with BMW and swept the top two spots in the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring, earning the 2011 ALMS GT drivers’ championships for Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller. In 2012, the team earned back-to-back Sebring wins and was second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship. In 2013 BMW Team RLL earned two wins, seven podium finishes and four poles en route to second place in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championships.
In 2014, the team joined the United Sports Car Series (USCC), later renamed the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has totaled 17 wins, 23 poles and 68 podiums and second place in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017. In 2018, the team brought BMW its first victory with the all-new M8 GTE and followed up with back-to-back wins, six podiums and three poles over the two-car program. In 2018, the team also entered the world’s first production-based electric vehicle race series – the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY – with a two-car effort. (VIR Upset – BMW M8 Finally Tallies First Win as Corvette Leads GTLM Driver’s Championship)
Rahal was the driving force behind the new HMP Legends of Motorsports historic racing series that was purchased by an outside group late in 2011. Along with his leadership of Team RLL Racing, he operates Bobby Rahal Automotive Group, a string of car dealerships in Pennsylvania, is President of the RRDC, former Chairman of the International Motor Racing Research Center Governing Council at Watkins Glen and is active in the community through the Bobby Rahal Foundation. He is past Chairman of the USA Bobsled & Skeleton Foundation.
The award means everything to me,” said Rahal. “Phil Hill was such an amazing guy, not just as a driver and as an ambassador, but a driver who has won in multiple disciplines. He was a very educated guy who had a lot to say and had a lot to do with things in the automotive world. This award named after him has got to be one of my favorite trophies.”
Past RRDC Phil Hill Award Winners
RRDC
The Road Racing Drivers Club was formed in 1952 to give champion drivers a say in their sport, particularly in the areas of safety, and has evolved to serve the future of road racing by mentoring new drivers on both amateur and professional levels. The Club’s membership includes leading industry professionals, race officials and motorsports journalists, in addition to prominent racing names.