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Remembering Jim Clark

3rd June 2019
Posted by Radio Club

Jim Clark was a British Racing Driver who is regarded as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time. Clark was born in 1936 in Scotland and grew up with a love of cars and decided he wanted to drive any type of car at very high speeds.

Clark joined F1 in 1960 with Lotus and he remained with the marque throughout the remainder of his motorsport career until 1968. Clark was involved in one of the most spectacular crashes in F1 history when he collided with Wolfgang Von Trips in the 1961 Itaian GP. Clark escaped the crash with no serious injury.

In 1963, Clark won his first F1 World Championship with Lotus with Colin Chapman’s revolutionary 25. He won 7 out of 10 races that season including the 1963 Belgian GP at SPA which he won by nearly 5 minutes.

Clark won the 1965 Indy 500 by over two minutes against seasoned veterans on his third attempt. Clark also won the British Saloon Car Championship in 1965 in a Ford Lotus Cortina and his second F1 Title the same year in the Lotus 32. Clark also won the Tasman Series that year as well.

Jim struggled in 1966 and 1967 however he looked set to conquer again in 1968 after winning in South Africa with Lotus and the Cosworth DFV.

However, Clark died in Hockenheim in 1968 in a F2 Race after he crashed into the trees.

Motorsport had lost a true Legend. 25 Races Wins and 32 podiums from 73 races made Jim Clarke one of the greatest F1 Drivers for the era.

This post was written by a Radio Club member. To learn more about the Radio Club, click here.