Jim
Clark
Some (myself
included) may argue that Jim Clark was the greatest driver of all
time. James Clark, junior, was born on March 4, 1936, and brought
up with his four sisters on the family farm in Berwickshire
Scotland. He went to a private school in Edinburgh, where he also
played cricket and was quite good at hockey. Jim got his driver's
license on his 17th birthday, by which time he had left school and
was working full time on the farm. For personal transport he bought
a Sunbeam Talbot and in 1956 began using it to compete in local
rallies and driving skill tests. He soon graduated to winning club
races in a variety of sports cars entered for him by wealthy
enthusiast friends. In 1958 Clark was given a Lotus Elite coupe to
race at Brands Hatch, where he immediately impressed the winner in
an identical car, Lotus founder Colin Chapman. Invited by Chapman
to race a Lotus Formula Junior, Clark immediately excelled and was
promoted to Team Lotus for the latter part of the 1960 Formula One
season. Over the next four seasons the Clark-driven Lotus was
mostly only ever beaten when the mechanical side of the equation
failed to deliver. Clark only lost the 1962 championship because of
an oil leak in the last race. In 1963 everything held together and
he stormed to victory in seven of the championship races and easily
won his first driving title. In 1964 he was again deprived of the
championship in the last race by an oil leak. In 1965 he won six of
the 10 races and his second World Championship.
The public warmed to the shy champion who shunned the limelight,
which now extended to America where he became a star after winning
the 1965 Indianapolis 500. He hated press conferences and was
visibly uncomfortable making public appearances. Though admired and
well-liked by his peers, none of them knew him well. Graham Hill
and Jackie Stewart, both self-confident extroverts, found Clark to
be just the opposite. In the car he was the epitome of calm and
controlled aggression. Out of it he constantly chewed his
fingernails and was surprisingly indecisive, and had trouble
choosing which restaurant to eat in.
Jim Clark seldom
ever made a mistake and had very few accidents - which made his
sudden death all the more difficult to comprehend.
On April 7,
1968, his Lotus had a tyre failure in a F2 race at Hockenheim in
Germany and he was killed. The racing world was in shock and many
felt the heart had gone out of the sport.
World
Championships 2
Grand Prix Entries 72
Grand Prix Wins 25
Pole Positions 33
Nationality Scottish
Remember to
record the number inside the cache as it will be needed to
determine the coordinates of the final in the
series:
GC31PQ4 Grand
Prix Legends - Finish Line
