Jim Clark....

IMHO in my top 3 of all time.

 

Unfortunately I was too young to see him race live but he imho was one of the last true gentleman racers.

 

+1

I couldn't have put it any better Myself!

 

One of my favourite events in the year. I'll be there!

 

^^^ I'm looking for a 'SPONSOR'!!!!!

 

Check out the extensive collection of JC memorabilia - including original suits, trophies, large model cars, signed items and more at:

You can see these at http://www.collectorstudio.com/index.cfm/ID/34/SearchResults?criteria=clark

He was one of the greats.


Morry

 

One of the best. I cried when I heard he had died, one of very few times I ever did that for a racer.

As Chris Amon said, "If it could happen to him, what chance do the rest of us have?"

 

+1

Someone posted his F1 stats a while back - Absolutely *staggering* - IIRC, he was on pole in something like 70% of his starts. He either won or broke down. And he always looked "sublime" when driving. You just knew he was very, very, special. [Even as a young kid of a fan I saw it!]

Unfortunately, in todays commercially driven world I doubt he'd "make it" - He was pretty shy and quiet and hardly a "media darling" or "sponsors dream"......

Happy birthday dude, RIP.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Jim was my first GP hero. I still remember getting the news of his passing.

 

I was 4 months old when he died so dont have any memories, but my Mom & Dad met him several times at Watkins Glenn, and got his autograph which is in pride of place in my garage Art wall.

Clark was alwyas the gentleman and was finding it diffucult to cope with the increasing stardom of racing... but no doubt that he like Jackie Stewart would have coped none the less. He and Colin Champman were true friends and perhaps Clark would race cars that were not great becuase he had faith in Lotus - slightly miss placed perhaps. He is one of the uber greats of all time.

 

I liked the part where Emerson said Colin came to him and said he did not want to get too close with him because of the loss of Jimmy.

 

Clark was the preeminent driver in a transitional period in Grand Prix racing. By the time of his passing the seeds of modern F1 had been sown. The combination of (relatively) big sponsorship and advanced technology were just being seen.
His passing led to a rethink of safety (particularly by Jackie Stewart) that changed F1 forever.
In these respects his passing coincided, and in some ways influenced, sea changes in the sport.
In my opinion his talent made him iconic, his passing made him transformational.