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Jim Clark.jpg
Jim Clark
Born (1936-Template:MONTHNUMBER-04)4 1936
Kilmany, Fife, Scotland, UK
Died Template:Death date and age
Hockenheimring, Baden-WΓΌrttemberg, West Germany
Formula One career
Nationality 25px UK British
Years 1960 - 1968


James "Jim" (or "Jimmy") Clark, Jr OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965.

Clark was a versatile driver who competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapolis 500, which he won in 1965. He was particularly associated with the Lotus marque.

He was killed in a Formula Two motor racing accident in Hockenheim, Germany in 1968. At the time of his death, he had won more Grand Prix races (25) and achieved more Grand Prix pole positions (33) than any other driver. The Times placed Clark at the top of a list of the greatest Formula One drivers in 2009.[1]

Early years[]

James Clark Jr was born into a farming family at Kilmany House Farm, Fife, the youngest child of five, and the only boy. In 1942 the family moved to Edington Mains Farm, near Duns, Berwickshire, in the Borders. He was educated at primary schools, first in Kilmany and then in Chirnside, and then following three years of preparatory schooling at Clifton Hall School near Edinburgh he was sent to Loretto School in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh.

Although his parents were opposed to the idea, Clark started his racing in local road rally and hill climb events driving his own Sunbeam-Talbot, and proved a fearsome competitor right from the start. On 16 June 1956, in his very first event, he was behind the wheel of a DKW sonderklasse at Crimond, Scotland. By 1958, Clark was driving for the local Border Reivers team, racing Jaguar D-types and Porsches in national events, and winning 18 races.

Then on Boxing Day 1958, Clark raced against the man who would launch him to superstardom. Driving a Lotus Elite, he finished second to Colin Chapman in a 10-lap GT race at Brands Hatch.[2] In 1959 he drove a Lotus Elite, finishing tenth at Le Mans partnered with John Whitmore, and the ex-Bruce Halford Lister Jaguar, winning the Bo'ness Hill Climb.[3] Chapman was sufficiently impressed to give Clark a ride in one of his Formula Junior cars.

"In March 1960, the first race for the
newly introduced Formula Junior
took place at Goodwood. The winner
was J. Clark (Lotus Ford), from
J. Surtees (Cooper B.M.C) with
T. Taylor (Lotus Ford) third." [4]

Clark had made an earlier FJ appearance in a one-off race at Brands Hatch on Boxing Day, 1959, driving a Gemini-B.M.C. for Graham Warner of the Chequered Flag garage, Chiswick.[5]

Clark and Lotus[]

File:ClarkJim-Lotus19620805.jpg

Jim Clark in German GP 1962

Jim Clark made his F1 Grand Prix debut, part-way through the season, at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 6 June 1960. "Lotus had lost Surtees, as he had gone to the Isle of Man to do some serious motorcycle racing, so they had Ireland, Stacey and Clark, the last-named being an acceptable substitute." [6] He retired on lap 49 with final drive failure.

Early in his career in the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix, his second ever Formula One race, at the extremely fast and dangerous Spa-Francorchamps circuit, he got a taste of reality when there were two fatal accidents at that race (Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey). Clark was later quoted as saying in a 1964 interview: "I was driving scared stiff pretty much all through the race", even though he finished 5th and scored his first points finish. The next year, Jim Clark was involved in one of the worst accidents in the history of Formula 1 racing. In the 1961 Italian Grand Prix on 10 September at Monza, Wolfgang von Trips in his Ferrari collided with Jim Clark's Lotus. Trips' car became airborne and crashed into a side barrier, fatally throwing von Trips out of the car and killing fifteen spectators.[7]

His first Drivers' World Championship came driving the Lotus 25 in 1963, winning seven out of the ten races and Lotus its first Constructors' World Championship. That year he also competed in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, and he finished in second position behind Parnelli Jones and won Rookie of the Year honours. In 1964 Clark came within just a few laps of retaining his World Championship crown, but just as in 1962, an oil leak from the engine robbed him of the title, this time conceding to John Surtees. Tyre failure damaging the Lotus' suspension put paid to that year's attempt at the Indianapolis 500.[8] He made amends and won the Championship again in 1965 and also the Indianapolis 500 in the Lotus 38.

File:Jim Clark004.jpg

Jim Clark in the Lotus pit at the German GP 1964

He had to miss the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix in order to compete at Indianapolis, but made history by driving the first mid-engined car to win at the fabled "Brickyard," as well as becoming the only driver to date to win both that race and the F1 title in the same year.

At the same time, Clark was competing in the Australasia based Tasman series, run for older F1 cars, and was series champion in 1965, 1967 and 1968 driving for Lotus. He won fourteen races in all, a record for the series.

The FIA decreed from 1966, new 3-litre engine regulations would come into force. Lotus were less competitive. Starting with a 2-litre Coventry Climax engine in the Lotus 33, Clark did not score points until the British Grand Prix and a third place at the following Dutch Grand Prix. From the Italian Grand Prix onwards Lotus used the heavy and complex BRM H16 engine in the Lotus 43 car, with which Clark won the United States Grand Prix. He also picked up another second place at the Indianapolis 500, this time behind Graham Hill.

During 1967 Lotus and Clark used three completely different cars and engines. The Lotus 43 performed poorly at the opening South African Grand Prix, so Clark used an old Lotus 33 at the following Monaco Grand Prix, retiring with suspension failure. Lotus then began its fruitful association with Ford-Cosworth. Their first car, the Lotus 49 featuring the most successful F1 engine in history, the Ford-Cosworth DFV, won its first race at the Dutch Grand Prix, driven by Clark. He won with it again at the British, United States and Mexican Grands Prix; and, in January 1968, at the South African Grand Prix.

Remarkable performances[]

File:ClarkJim1965mitMechaniker.jpg

Jim Clark at the NΓΌrburgring 1965

Jim Clark won the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in extremely wet, foggy and rainy conditions. After starting eighth on the grid Clark passed all of the cars in front of him, including early leader Graham Hill. About 17 laps into the race, with the rain coming down harder than ever, Clark had not only lapped the entire field except for Bruce McLaren, but he was almost five minutes ahead of McLaren and his Cooper. This would be the first of seven victories for Clark and Team Lotus that year.

In the 1967 Italian Grand Prix at Monza after starting from pole, Clark was leading in his Lotus 49 (chassis R2), when a tyre punctured. He lost an entire lap while having the wheel changed in the pits. Rejoining sixteenth, Clark ripped back through the field, progressively lowering the lap record and eventually equalling his pole time of 1m 28.5s, to regain the lost lap and the lead. He was narrowly ahead of Brabham and Surtees starting the last lap, but his car had not been filled with enough fuel for such a performance: it faltered, and finally coasted across the finish line in third place.

In his Indianapolis 500 win, Clark led for 190 of the 200 laps, with an unprecedented average speed of over 150 mph (250 km/h), to become the first non-American in almost half a century to win the famous race.[9] [10]

In 1963 and 1965, Jim Clark equaled Alberto Ascari's record for Highest percentage of possible championship points in a season (100%). Leading 71.47% of the laps in 1963, Jim Clark holds the record for highest percentage of laps in the lead in a season. He also holds the record for most Grand Slams, taking pole, fastest lap, race win and leading every lap of the race in 8 races (1962 British Grand Prix, 1963 Dutch Grand Prix, 1963 French Grand Prix, 1963 Mexican Grand Prix, 1964 British Grand Prix, 1965 South African Grand Prix, 1965 French Grand Prix, 1965 German Grand Prix).

The fatal crash[]

On 7 April 1968, Clark died in a racing accident at the Hockenheimring, in Germany. He was originally slated to drive in the BOAC 1000 km sportscar race at Brands Hatch, but instead chose to drive in the Deutschland TrophΓ€e, a Formula Two race, for Lotus at the Hockenheimring, primarily due to contractual obligations with Firestone. Although the race has sometimes been characterized as a "minor race meeting" the entry list was impressive with top-running Matras for the French drivers Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo, Tecnos for Carlo Facetti and Clay Regazzoni, Team Brabhams for Derek Bell and Piers Courage, a Ferrari for Chris Amon and McLarens for Graeme Lawrence and Robin Widdows. Team Lotus drivers Graham Hill and Clark were in Gold Leaf Team Lotuses and a young Max Mosley was also in the race, moving up from the Clubman series. The event was run in two heats.[11] On the fifth lap of the first heat, Clark's Lotus 48 veered off the track and crashed into the trees. He suffered a broken neck and skull fracture, and died before reaching the hospital. The cause of the crash was never definitively identified, but investigators concluded it was most likely due to a deflating rear tyre. Clark's death affected the racing community terribly, with fellow Formula One drivers and close friends Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Dan Gurney, John Surtees, Chris Amon and Jack Brabham all being personally affected by the tragedy. People came from all over the world to Clark's funeral. Colin Chapman was devastated and publicly stated that he had lost his best friend. The 1968 F1 Drivers' Championship was subsequently won by his Lotus teammate Graham Hill, who pulled the heartbroken team together and held off Jackie Stewart for the crown, which he later dedicated to Clark.

File:Jim Clark Hockenheimring tribute.jpg

Jim Clark memorial at Hockenheimring.

There was initial speculation as to whether the accident was caused by a driver error or a deflating rear tyre, and the Lotus was investigated thoroughly by aircraft crash investigators for three weeks. Many drivers including Surtees and Brabham were convinced that the crash was caused by a deflating rear tyre and were adamant that it was not a driver error- simply because they believed Clark was not capable of making such a mistake. According to Andrew Marriott of the classic journal Motor Sport who was covering the race as a young reporter "Deaths in the sport were a regular occurrence in those days, but surely someone of Clark's sublime talent and skill? People reckoned that the rear tyre had deflated, and there is another theory that the mechanical metering unit on the Cosworth FVA engine had seized and caused Clark to crash." [11]

There is a large memorial to Clark at Hockenheim today, but because the track has been reduced in length and the old course reforested, the actual location of the crash is in a heavily wooded area, but it is easily accessible.

Legacy[]

Clark67

1967 USGP at Watkins Glen, NY

Clark achieved 33 pole positions and won 25 races from his 72 Grands Prix starts in championship races. He is remembered for his ability to drive and win in all types of cars and series, including a Lotus-Cortina, with which he won the 1964 British Touring Car Championship; IndyCar; NASCAR, driving a Ford Galaxie for the Holman Moody team; Rallying, where he took part in the 1966 RAC Rally of Great Britain in a Lotus Cortina; and sports cars. He competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1959, 1960 and 1961, finishing second in class in 1959 driving a Lotus Elite, and finishing third overall in 1960, driving an Aston Martin DBR1. He also competed in American NASCAR stock cars, driving a 7 litre Holman Moody Ford on the banked speedway at Rockingham, North Carolina on 29 October 1967.[12] During his time in Formula One, he only had four major accidents from 1960-1968 which is perhaps the fewest ever of his generation of drivers.

He was also able to master difficult Lotus sportscar prototypes such as the Lotus 30 and 40. Clark had an uncanny ability to adapt to whichever car he was driving. Whilst other drivers would struggle to find a good car setup, Clark would usually set competitive lap times with whatever setup was provided and ask for the car to be left as it was.

Sir Jackie Stewart on what made Clark such a good driver:

He was so smooth, he was so clean, he drove with such finesse. He never bullied a racing car, he sort of caressed it into doing the things he wanted it to do. [13]

He apparently had difficulty understanding why other drivers were not as quick as himself. After Clark's death, his father told Dan Gurney that he was the only driver Clark ever feared.[14] When Clark died, fellow driver Chris Amon was quoted as saying, "If it could happen to him, what chance do the rest of us have? I think we all felt that. It seemed like we'd lost our leader."[15][16]

File:Clark grave.jpg

Jim Clark's grave in Chirnside, listing him as farmer before racing driver as he had wished.

File:Jim Clark Memorial 974.jpg

Jim Clark memorial sculpture in Kilmany

Jim Clark is buried in the village of Chirnside in Berwickshire. A memorial stone can be found at the Hockenheimring circuit, moved from the site of his crash to a location closer to the current track and a life size statue of him in racing overalls stands by the bridge over a small stream in the village of his birth, Kilmany in Fife. A small museum, which is known as The Jim Clark Room,[17] can be found in Duns.

He was an inaugural inductee into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Formula One results[]

Complete World Championship Formula One results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 WDC Pts.

[18]

1960 Team Lotus Lotus 18 Climax I4 ARG
MON
500
NED
Ret
BEL
5
FRA
5
GBR
16
POR
3
ITA
USA
16
10th 8
1961 Team Lotus Lotus 21 Climax I4 MON
10
NED
3
BEL
12
FRA
3
GBR
Ret
GER
4
ITA
Ret
USA
7
7th 11
1962 Team Lotus Lotus 25 Climax V8 NED
9
MON
Ret
BEL
1
FRA
Ret
GBR
1
GER
4
ITA
Ret
USA
1
RSA
Ret
2nd 30
1963 Team Lotus Lotus 25 Climax V8 MON
8
BEL
1
NED
1
FRA
1
GBR
1
GER
2
ITA
1
USA
3
MEX
1
RSA
1
1st 54 (73)
1964 Team Lotus Lotus 25 Climax V8 MON
4
NED
1
BEL
1
FRA
Ret
GBR
1
ITA
Ret
3rd 32
Lotus 33 Climax V8 GER
Ret
AUT
Ret
USA
7
MEX
5
1965 Team Lotus Lotus 33 Climax V8 RSA
1
MON
BEL
1
GBR
1
NED
1
GER
1
ITA
10
USA
Ret
MEX
Ret
1st 54
Lotus 25 Climax V8 FRA
1
1966 Team Lotus Lotus 33 Climax V8 MON
Ret
BEL
Ret
FRA
DNS
GBR
4
NED
3
GER
Ret
6th 16
Lotus 43 BRM H16 ITA
Ret
USA
1
MEX
Ret
1967 Team Lotus Lotus 43 BRM H16 RSA
Ret
3rd 41
Lotus 33 Climax V8 MON
Ret
Lotus 49 Ford V8 NED
1
BEL
6
FRA
Ret
GBR
1
GER
Ret
CAN
Ret
ITA
3
USA
1
MEX
1
1968 Team Lotus Lotus 49 Ford V8 RSA
1
ESP
MON
BEL
NED
FRA
GBR
GER
ITA
CAN
USA
MEX
11th 9

Non-Championship results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1961 Team Lotus Lotus 21 Climax I4 LOM
6
GLV PAU
1
BRX VIE AIN
9
SYR
6
NAP LON SIL
2
SOL
7
KAN
Ret
DAN
7
MOD
4
FLG
4
OUL
Ret
LEW VAL RAN
1
NAT
1
RSA
1
1962 Team Lotus Lotus 25 Climax V8 CAP
2
BRX LOM
1
LAV GLV PAU
Ret
AIN
1
INT
2
NAP MAL
Ret
CLP RMS
Ret
SOL
Ret
KAN
MED DAN
OUL
1
MEX
1
RAN
1
NAT
2
1963 Team Lotus Lotus 25 Climax V8 LOM
2
GLV PAU
1
IMO
1
SYR
WD
AIN
3
INT
1
ROM
SOL
NC
KAN
1
MED
AUT
Ret
OUL
1
RAN
16
1964 Team Lotus Lotus 25 Climax V8 DMT
Ret
NWT
1
SYR
AIN
Ret
INT
Ret
SOL
1
MED
2
RAN
1965 Team Lotus Lotus 33 Climax V8 ROC
Ret
SYR
1
SMT
1
INT MED
2
RAN
1966 Team Lotus Lotus 33 Climax V8 RSA
SYR
INT
OUL
3
1967 Team Lotus Lotus 43 BRM H16 ROC
SPR INT
SYR
OUL ESP
1

Indy 500 results[]

Year[19] Car
number
Start Qual.
speed
Speed
rank
Finish Laps
completed
Laps
led
Race
status
Chassis
1963 92 5 149.750 7 2 200 28 Running Lotus-Ford 29/3
1964 6 1 158.828 1 24 47 14 Suspension Lotus-Ford 34/3
1965 82 2 160.729 2 1 200 190 Running Lotus-Ford 38/1
1966 19 2 164.114 2 2 200 66 Running Lotus-Ford 38/4
1967 31 16 163.213 23 31 35 0 Piston Lotus-Ford 38/7
Totals 682 298
Starts 5
Poles 1
Front Row 3
Wins 1
Top 5 3
Top 10 3
Retired 2
  • Clark's starting positions from 1964, 1965, and 1966 represent the best 3-race starting streak of 1960s.
  • Clark's 1965 win was the first win for a rear-engined car at the Indianapolis 500. No front-engined car has won the race since.

Awards[]

References[]

Notes
  1. ↑ Times Online, 27 March 2009: The 50 greatest Formula One drivers: Nos 10-1
  2. ↑ Motor Sport, February 1959, Page 111.
  3. ↑ Motor Sport, April 1960, Page 257.
  4. ↑ Goodwood Motor Circuit programme, June 7, 1965. See also: Motor Sport, April 1960, Page 231.
  5. ↑ Jim Clark, Jim Clark at the wheel, Pan Books Ltd., 1965, Pages 47-48, 175.
  6. ↑ D.S.J., Motor Sport, July 1960, Page 568.
  7. ↑ The Motorsport Memorial Team, info@motorsportmemorial.org. "Motorsport Memorial". Motorsport Memorial. http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=612. Retrieved 2012-07-20. 
  8. ↑ Indy
  9. ↑ "The laps of a god". Scotland On Sunday. 27 February 2005. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-12954003.html. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
  10. ↑ "RACING HISTORY: The Great Races: 1965 Indianapolis 500". Theautochannel.com. http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2001/05/21/021379.html. Retrieved 2010-02-26. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Andrew Marriott, "Return to Hockenheim: The memorial that matters", Motor Sport, July 2010
  12. ↑ See First Superspeedway.Com web site.
  13. ↑ [1]
  14. ↑ Tremayne, David and Hughes, Mark. The Concise Encyclopedia of Formula One. St. Paul, Minnesota: Parragon 2001, p. 61. ISBN 0-7525-6557-5.
  15. ↑ "Jim Clark". Grandprix.com. http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-clajim.html. Retrieved 2010-02-26. 
  16. ↑ "History of Formula 1 - Grand Prix Hall of Fame - Jimmy Clark - Images". Ddavid.com. http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/clark.htm. Retrieved 2012-07-20. 
  17. ↑ "The Jim Clark Room". Duns.bordernet.co.uk. http://www.duns.bordernet.co.uk/local/clark.html. Retrieved 2010-02-26. 
  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named droppedpoints
  19. ↑ "Jim Clark Indy 500 Race Stats". Indy500.com. 2012-01-05. http://www.indy500.com/stats/drivers.php?drivername=Jim%20Clark. Retrieved 2012-07-20. 
Bibliography

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  • Clark, Jim. Jim Clark At The Wheel. London: Arthur Barker, 1964.
  • Darley, Peter. Jim Clark: Life At Team Lotus. Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: Coterie Press Ltd., 2007, ISBN 978-1-902351-28-5.
  • Dymock, Eric. Jim Clark: Racing Legend. London: J.H. Haynes & Co. Ltd., 1997. ISBN 0-85429-982-3.
  • Gavin, Bill. The Jim Clark Story. London: Leslie Frewin Publishers Ltd., 1967.
  • Gauld, Graham. Jim Clark, Portrait Of A Great Driver. London: Hamlyn, 1968. ISBN 0-668-01842-9.
  • Gauld, Graham. Jim Clark, The Legend Lives On. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Inc., 1994, ISBN 1-85260-144-2.
  • Gauld, Graham. Jim Clark Remembered. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Inc., 1984, ISBN 0-85059-730-7.
  • Nye, Doug. Autocourse Driver Profile: Jim Clark. Richmond, Surrey, UK: Hazleton, 1991, ISBN 0-905138-77-5.
  • Nye, Doug. Jim Clark And His Most Successful Lotus. London: J.H. Haynes & Co. Ltd., 2004. ISBN 1-84425-029-6.
  • Spurring, Quentin and Peter Windsor. Jim Clark: A Photographic Portrait. Yeovil, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84425-501-6.
  • Tulloch, Andrew. Jim Clark: Grand Prix Legend. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008, ISBN 978-0-297-85440-1.

External links[]


Preceded by:
Graham Hill
BRDC International Trophy
Winner

1963
Succeeded by:
Jack Brabham
Preceded by:
Jim McElreath
Indianapolis 500
Rookie of the Year

1963
Succeeded by:
Johnny White
Preceded by:
Graham Hill
Formula One World Champion
1963
Succeeded by:
John Surtees
Preceded by:
Jack Sears
British Touring Car
Champion

1964
Succeeded by:
Roy Pierpoint
Preceded by:
A. J. Foyt
Indianapolis 500
Winner

1965
Succeeded by:
Graham Hill
Preceded by:
John Surtees
Formula One World Champion
1965
Succeeded by:
Jack Brabham
Preceded by:
Bruce McLaren
Tasman Series
Champion

1965
Succeeded by:
Jackie Stewart
Preceded by:
Jackie Stewart
Tasman Series
Champion

1967-1968
Succeeded by:
Chris Amon
Awards
Preceded by:
Graham Hill
Hawthorn Memorial Trophy
1963
Succeeded by:
John Surtees
Preceded by:
John Surtees
Hawthorn Memorial Trophy
1965
Succeeded by:
Jack Brabham
Records
Preceded by:
Mike Hawthorn
29 years, 192 days
(1958 season)
Youngest Formula One
World Drivers' Champion

27 years, 188 days
(1963 season)
Succeeded by:
Emerson Fittipaldi
25 years, 273 days
(1972 season)
Preceded by:
Juan Manuel Fangio
24 wins

(1950 - 1958)
Most Grand Prix wins
25 wins
,
25th at the 1968 South African GP
Succeeded by:
Jackie Stewart
27 wins
,
26th at the 1973 Dutch GP

Template:Formula One World Drivers' Champions

Template:BTCC champions

Template:Tasman Series Champions Template:Normdaten

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