Visited Hockenheim, the Jim Clark room in Duns and his grave in Chirnside last year. The Jim Clark room is getting bigger and better soon. RIP Jim, IMO the best motorsport has ever seen Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Clark + Chapman=Magic Heard a story from a Lotus mechanic how during a race Clark, noticing oil starvation in a long fast sweeper, switched off the ignition and coasted the corner every lap. Clever ol' farm boy! The day of the fatal F2 race, Lotus had sent a young, inexperienced mechanic to accompany the racecar. Clark expressed to friends that he didn't have confidence in the mechanic's skills and was quite nervous about racing an ill-prepared car. He raced despite the trepidation. RIP JC onboard Jim Clark 1963 - YouTube
The fact that he was running in 8th place in an F2 race certainly suggests that something was wrong with the car, whether or not it was related to the crash.
I very rarely cried when a driver was killed, because that was an obvious risk and it happened all too often in those days. But I have to admit that I shed a few tears when I heard the news, just because it seemed so impossible. As Chris Amon was so famously reported to have said, "If it could happen to him, what chance do the rest of us have?" I had already penciled Clark in as the certain World Champion for 1968, and the fact that his teammate Graham Hill actually won the title that year indicates the likelihood of that happening.
Thanks for that link. I know Fred Gamble, of Goodyear.....I'd put great weight on his words and opinion. Long retired from the Racing Division, he can tell some tales. He was there.... Up there in years, by now, last I heard he was in Hawaii?? Have had no recent contact but thanks again for that link with his writing!! He has published in Cavallino as well....
One of my hero's. Edit-Read the article. That's a whole new light. I honestly thought it was tire failure all this time. It made sense at the time but in retrospect, maybe not. I hope its not more speculation.
Will be attending this great event over the next weekend - Start Ticketvorverkauf Bosch Hockenheim Historic - Das Jim Clark Revival 2015 | Bosch Hockenheim Historic
What I remember most is how he made it look SO, SO easy. He was so fluid and it never looked like he was pushing the car. Indeed, the car seemed to be an extension of his persona. And what made his so endearing to many fans was that, outside the track, he was Jim Clark unassuming Scottish sheep farmer. He was as good as there has ever been!
+1 to all. One of my earliest motorsport memories was Jimmy, Bottom Bend, Brands, in a Lotus Cortina. On two wheels. Every lap. He was, even to a little kid, visibly quicker than anyone else. I think it was JYS that said (something like) "he never bullied a car." I recall him "bullying" that Cortina pretty well..... RIP Jimmy. *Awesome!* Enjoy. Remember, "pix or it didn't happen"..... Ian
I was just a young kid then, but somehow I thought he'd be one who would survive that period of F1. The fact that he didn't, along with 'Nam, MLK's death a few days earlier, and with Bobby Kennedy to follow shortly, kind of crystalized the late 60's for me. A hard time to have any heroes. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Undoubtedlly one of the very best - if not the best. statistically his record at first glance does not look so great, but the real story is in the details. if you look at the stats on his win percentage - I beleive he still is better than Schumacher, Senna and Fangio. 25 Gp victories out of about 100 total races. I never saw him drive as he died the spring before Watkins Glen 68. However My dad was a huge Jim Clark fan, I have Clarks Autograph in my collection. My dad has a great story of following Jim Clark up the hill at the old Glen, after the race in 65, when Roger Penske came up and said - "Jim, Jim, - i just tried to stay the hell out of your way! are you going to Riverside next month ( Sports car race ) Clark said "I dont know yet" then Penske just said "well, I hope i did not get in your way" .... can you image that being said by a driver today? the follow up to that story is that once in the little track office at the top of the hill, my parents go pushed into the building with the press - and witnessed the payout of $20K in cash ( 1965 dollars) ... and saw Clark, Chapman and Sally Stokes get into a Ford in the parking lot - with a Huge bulge in Clarks overalls pocket where the cash was rolled up!!!
The man could drive. The tragedy is that too many don't know who he is today. Jim Clark did raced on both sides of the Atlantic, which made him a hero to a lot of us as kids. Image Unavailable, Please Login
