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- FACT0R McFly
Today spare a thought for the late Scotsman Jim Clark, whom died today in 1968.
Clark learned to drive as a child on a tractor on his father's farm in Scotland and showed extraordinary talent in racing cars as a youth. After winning 12 sportscar races with a Lister Jaguar in 1959, he was to have joined the Aston Martin Grand Prix team for 1960, but the project was delayed. Colin Chapman snapped up the introspective, unassuming 24 year old after receiving a sound thrashing by him in identical racing Lotus Elans. The long partnership between the brilliant engineer and the genius driver set new standards that often demoralised the opposition. Twice the undisputed World Champion, he drove 28 fastest laps and 33 pole positions up to the 1968 season-opener at Kyalami - his last Formula 1 appearance. His unexplained fatal accident, in a relatively unimportant Formula 2 race at Hockenheim shook the motor racing world. He never drove a bad Formula 1 car, but his reputation as one of the all time greats is secure.
"I think his most profound influence, certainly on me and his close associates, was not his ability as a driver but his success as a man. He was so thoroughly adjusted to life and its problems, and had such personal integrity it is very difficult for others to compare themselves in the same street. He was a man who set example for others." Colin Chapman
Keep on racing up there Jimmy 👍
Clark learned to drive as a child on a tractor on his father's farm in Scotland and showed extraordinary talent in racing cars as a youth. After winning 12 sportscar races with a Lister Jaguar in 1959, he was to have joined the Aston Martin Grand Prix team for 1960, but the project was delayed. Colin Chapman snapped up the introspective, unassuming 24 year old after receiving a sound thrashing by him in identical racing Lotus Elans. The long partnership between the brilliant engineer and the genius driver set new standards that often demoralised the opposition. Twice the undisputed World Champion, he drove 28 fastest laps and 33 pole positions up to the 1968 season-opener at Kyalami - his last Formula 1 appearance. His unexplained fatal accident, in a relatively unimportant Formula 2 race at Hockenheim shook the motor racing world. He never drove a bad Formula 1 car, but his reputation as one of the all time greats is secure.
"I think his most profound influence, certainly on me and his close associates, was not his ability as a driver but his success as a man. He was so thoroughly adjusted to life and its problems, and had such personal integrity it is very difficult for others to compare themselves in the same street. He was a man who set example for others." Colin Chapman
Keep on racing up there Jimmy 👍
