On January 2nd, 1959, I was working the morning shift at CKFH in Toronto. The station's news policy was of the "rip and read" type, where we announcers ripped off items endlessly flowing from a Broadcast News paper roll. As a motor racing fan I couldn't help but notice a news flash regarding Britain's first F1 champion, Mike Hawthorn. The handsome young Englishman had been killed in a road accident.

In those days motor racing deaths were not uncommon. Race circuits, lacking runoffs and crash-absorbent fences, were dangerous. Cars were not designed to absorb impacts. Safety belts and helmets existed but were of limited value. Indeed, many drivers thought they'd be safer if thrown out of the car. So it wasn't unusual, though indeed sad, to be announcing another race death. But on the road? Couldn't happen.

I remember that morning because my friend and fellow racer Tom Berent immediately called to ask if it was really true. An immigrant from England, Tom knew Hawthorn from his amateur days in Britain. Many articles have been written about the unhappy event, which happened on on the A3 Guildford bypass, an accident that has been shrouded in mystery ever since.

But this blog is not intended to be maudlin. Instead it is meant to celebrate Hawthorn's life as recorded through the artistry of Paul Chenard. The Official F1 site reads: "to the French, the Englishman who raced with a bow tie became known as 'Le Papillon' (The Butterfly), though some purists despaired at the dilettante driver with a penchant for partying and chasing women." In 1958, Mike Hawthorn, driving a Ferrari, finished one point ahead of Vanwall's Stirling Moss (who had won four races to Mike's single victory, in France) to become the first British World Champion.

Paul Chenard is making this Hawthorn dedication available in original, print, and postcard formats.