Biography & Statements Jim Clark

Biography

James (Jim) Clark
*4. March 1936 – †7. April 1968

The two-time Formula 1 champion Jim Clark was killed in an accident at the Hockenheimring on 7 April 1968 in the first Formula 2 heat of the Martini Gold Cup.

Racing driver Jim Clark and Lotus team manager Colin Chapman were the most fascinating and successful combination there has been in the history of motor racing. Colin Chapman was the whiz/genius at the drawing board and Jim Clark was the virtuoso at the steering wheel. They complemented each other in quite a unique way. What Colin Chapman developed as an engineer, Jim Clark converted into speed. Over the years a real friendship developed, making their partnership all the more intense. Together they conquered the world of motor racing.

About Jim Clark

James “Jim” Clark was born on 4 March 1936 in Kilmany, Fife in Scotland. He came into contact with motor racing at the age of 18, against the wishes of his parents. He took part in regional rallies, competitions and sprint races before competing in his first circuit race in 1956 in a DKW 3/6 belonging to his friend Ian Scott Watson.

In 1958, the Border Reivers Team provided Jim Clark with his first proper racing car, a Jaguar D Type. National races in Mallory Park and Silverstone as well as his first international race in Spa (Belgium) were on the agenda. Jim Clark and Colin Chapman met for the first time in November 1959 at a Lotus test day at Brands Hatch. Clark was given the opportunity to test a Lotus Formula 1 car. Jim Clark wasn’t in the spotlight of international motor racing overnight. He competed in 54 events and 123 competitions before taking his permanent seat in a Formula 1 Lotus in 1960. The Clark/Chapman success story started in 1960. Clark was so successful at driving a Lotus 18 Formula Junior for the Lotus team that Colin Chapman paved the way for him to start in Formula 1 that same year.

First time in front of German spectators

On 5 June 1960 at the world championship race in Zandvoort in Holland, Jim Clark’s Formula 1 career began with failure. It was a good month later, at the end of July, when he took to the starting grid in Germany for the first time in front of over 200,000 spectators. He had already won the Formula Junior race at the Solitude racetrack near Stuttgart quite comfortably. Now, he was at the start of the Formula 1 race with well-known drivers like the world champion Jack Brabham, Phil Hill, Jo Bonnier and Graf Berghe von Trips. But after the first laps, none of these successful drivers were leading the field. It was the unknown Jim Clark who was out in front driving record laps, one after another. He retired during the course of the race due to a technical problem, but Stuttgart experienced the start of a new era. From now on, he was one of the regular drivers in Formula 1. But the fine line between success and tragedy was something that Jim Clark was to experience in Monza. He collided with Graf Berghe von Trips at the start of the race. Von Trips, the first German on track to win the world championship title, was killed.

In pursuit of the world championship title

During 1962, Jim Clark became a serious contender for the world championship title. Chapman used a Lotus 25 for the first time – a car with the monocoque chassis that, with Clark at the wheel, was superior to the competition. Clark won his first Formula 1 Grand Prix at Spa (Belgium). Two more wins followed. Despite this, he lost the title in 1962 in the last race to Graham Hill in the Ferrari. In 1963, Clark and Chapman reaped the rewards of their efforts. “Lie back and win” was now the motto and Jim Clark won seven out of ten races in his Lotus 25 and became an outstanding world champion. In 1964, concentration at the Lotus team waned and they relied too heavily on the extraordinary ability of Jim Clark. Reliability suffered as a result and Clark lost the title in the last race to John Surtees in the Ferrari. In 1965, the Lotus team managed to better their successful season of 1963. Waiving the Monaco GP was rewarded with a victory at the Indianapolis 500. For the first time since 1916, it was a European turning into “victory lane”. Three races before the end, on the 1st August at the Nürburgring, the “flying Scotsman” secured himself his second world championship title in the Lotus 33. Victories at the Formula 1 world championships in England and France, as well as his legendary successes in the Lotus Cortina, rounded off the season.

Missed world championship title

1966 was an interim year when Jim Clark – in his Lotus 43 with BRM H16 cylinder motor – was not really competitive. Despite this, he won the US Grand Prix in Watkins Glen. In 1967, the global company Ford entered Formula 1 with Lotus. Jim Clark gave the Lotus 49/Ford Cosworth V8 combination its maiden victory in Zandvoort. Clark and his new team colleague Graham Hill clearly dominated throughout the remaining season. Clark won a further three races; however, his fight to win the world championship title came unstuck due to Brabham’s reliability driven by Dennis Hulme.

The most successful driver of all time

On 1 January 1968, Clark made the perfect start to the season with his 25th Grand Prix win in South Africa. This made him the most successful driver of all time; he had clocked up one more victory than Fangio. At the same time, this victory meant the end of an era. It was to be the last GP victory by a Lotus in the traditional colours of green and yellow. Critics voiced that Clark’s superiority was so overwhelming that even the most interesting races were becoming a monotonous spectacle. I think continuity in success has nothing to do with monotony; it is the result of great, really superb effort.

In February, Clark won the Tasman Series in Australia/New Zealand and the Lotus team presented itself there for the first time as the Gold Leaf Lotus Team in its red/white/gold colours. At the end of March, the team went to Spain for an international Formula 1 race. The first race of the Europe Trophy for Formula 1 drivers followed on 6/7 April at the Hockenheimring. Despite problems in training with his Lotus 48, Jim Clark took up an invitation to appear on ZDF’s “Aktuelle Sportstudio” programme on the Saturday. His TV appearance together with Kurt Ahrens will not be forgotten.

The next day, on 7 April 1968, the first race for the Europa Trophy got underway at the Hockenheimring. In the fifth round, time suddenly stands still. The track marshals wave white flags as a warning to the drivers, and the sirens of the ambulance are turned on. On the stands, scared faces. In the wood next to the long straight lies a racing car, in pieces and torn to shreds. The drivers finish the race; it isn’t normal to stop a race because of an accident.

Then the flags at the Hockenheimring are lowered to half mast. Over the loudspeaker, the announcer asks the spectators to rise from their seats. “The Formula 2 race has been overshadowed by a tragic event,” bellows the speaker over the Motodrom. “Jim Clark, the two-time world champion and 25-time Grand Prix winner, has died.” For two minutes, complete silence falls over the Hockenheimring. The rest is history.

Author: Jürg Mallepell

Statements

“Dear Jimmy, Today would have been your 80th birthday and I fondly remember you as a hard fighter and one of my toughest competitors in all kinds of racing. I wish we had been blessed with more time to race against each other but I will never forget you. I send my best wishes to the Bosch Hockenheim Historic – The Jim Clark Revival, for a successful event being held in memory of you and the motorsport of our era.”

– Sir Stirling Moss, for Jim Clark’s 80th birthday

“Congratulations to all involved in putting together The Jim Clark Revival element together and into the Bosch Hockenheim Historic event. Jim was one of my best friends; we shared an apartment in London, we travelled together and we certainly raced together. He was the best racing driver that I ever raced against and was my hero. Celebrating his Birthday and keeping his name in the limelight will be well recognised and respected by a great many people; not just at Hockenheim during the event, but by what you are doing all around the world. I wish everyone an enjoyable weekend and I am sure there will be huge respect paid to the memory of Jim.”

– Sir Jackie Stewart, for Jim Clark’s 80th birthday

“Jim Clark is and continues to be my idol. His fatal accident was bad news for us at the time and something we found hard to come to terms with. The Bosch Hockenheim Historic is a commemoration of an exceptional driver – Jim Clark. I wish we could be celebrating his birthday today together.”

– Jochen Mass, zu Jim Clarks 80. Geburtstag