Phil Hill, a reserved Californian who became a gifted race-car driver and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One international auto-racing championship, died Thursday. He was 81.

Hill died at Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula in Central California of complications from Parkinson's disease, according to John Lamm, a close friend who is also editor-at-large of Road & Track magazine.

"It's a sad day," said Carroll Shelby, a close friend of Hill's who became a celebrated builder of sports cars after retiring from racing. "Phil was an excellent race-car driver with a unique feel for the car, and his real expertise was in long-distance racing."

Hill won the Formula One title for Ferrari in 1961. He also was the first American to win the 24-hour endurance sports-car race at Le Mans, France -- a race he won two additional times -- and he won the Sebring 12-hour race three times, among many other victories.

"Phil set the standard" for other American drivers who competed overseas, such as Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti, said the late Shav Glick, longtime Los Angeles Times motor sports writer, in 2006.

Hill "also was a great representative of the sport," Glick said, adding that he was "quiet and not given to self-promotion. A very gracious man."

Shelby, who won Le Mans in 1959, recalled Hill as a man with multiple talents.

"Phil tuned pianos. He could take anything apart and put it back together, and he loved opera," Shelby said.

Hill won his Formula One championship at the season's penultimate race in Monza, Italy, after he had swapped the series lead all year with Ferrari teammate Wolfgang von Trips of Germany.

In the same race, Trips died in a crash that also killed 14 spectators. As a result, Ferrari did not participate in the season's final race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Hill was unable to celebrate his championship in his home nation.

Hill, despite driving with safety gear in his race car that paled by today's standards, never suffered a serious injury. He retired from driving in 1967 at 39.

"I had an amazing amount of luck to race for 22 years and not a drop of blood or a broken bone," Hill once said. Then he quipped: "Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough."

After retiring, Hill focused on his lifelong love of classic automobiles, as well as his collection of player pianos and other antique musical instruments.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991.

Hill is survived by his wife, Alma, son Derek of Culver City, Calif., daughter Vanessa Rogers of Phoenix, stepdaughter Jennifer Delaney of Niwot, Colo., and four grandchildren.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.