Jim Clark, einer der besten Rennfahrer aller Zeiten, verunglückte heute vor 40 Jahren beim Formel 2-EM-Lauf am Hockenheimring tödlich.

Jim Clark wurde am 4. März 1936 im schottischen Kilmany als Sohn einer Farmerfamilie geboren. Diese ländliche Umgebung mit Schafzucht und Ackerbau bestimmte in Jugendjahren das Leben dieses scheuen, sensiblen, im Umgang mit seinen Mitmenschen – auch zu Zeiten grosser Erfolge im Motorsport – zutiefst unsicheren Mannes. Doch er erlangte im Cockpit der Rennwagen Selbstvertrauen, denn er begriff schnell, dass er in diesem Ambiente intuitiv agierte – und die Erfolge verliehen Selbstbestätigung.

Als Clark eines schönen Sonntages mit einem Lotus Elite gegen einen gewissen Colin Chapman, der eben dieses Auto konstruiert hatte und den Lotus-Rennstall leitete, eines der zahlreichen nationalen Rennen bestritt, war der Team-Boss sofort von den außergewöhnlichen fahrerischen Fähigkeiten Clarks beeindruckt. Der Schotte bekam einen Vertrag angeboten, der Rest ist Motorsport-Geschichte.

Clark debütierte in der Formel 1 mit Lotus beim Großen Preis von Holland 1960 und war sofort mit bei der Musik, fiel aber als Fünfter mit einem Getriebeschaden aus. Beim nächsten Lauf im belgischen Spa verunglückten die beiden Engländer Chris Bristow und Clarks Teamkollege Allan Stacey tödlich und Stirling Moss überstand, ebenfalls in einem Lotus, einen Horrorunfall mit Beinbrüchen. Clark begann den brandgefährlichen Ardennenkurs zu hassen. Zwei Jahre später fuhr er ausgerechnet hier seinen ersten Grand-Prix-Erfolg ein. Die WM verlor er in jenem Jahr, wie so viele Rennen zuvor, wegen technischem Defekt beim Finallauf

1963 konnte Clark dann endlich die Erwartungen mit zuverlässigerem Material umsetzen, eroberte sieben mal die Pole Position, gewann sieben von zehn Rennen und wurde überlegen Weltmeister. Zudem belegte er als «Rookie» bei seinem ersten Start bei den 500 Meilen von Indianapolis hinter Parnelli Jones den zweiten Platz. Jimmy besserte 1965 sogar noch nach, führte 190 von 200 Runden bei Indy 500. Vor allem den alles entscheidenden letzten Umlauf. Zudem wurde er in jenem Jahr zum zweiten Mal Formel 1-Weltmeister.

Nach einem harzigen Jahr mit dem klobigen, schweren und unzuverlässigen BRM H16-Motor, die Formel 1 hatte inzwischen auf Dreiliter-Motoren aufgestockt, sicherte sich Colin Chapman exklusiv den Ford Cosworth DFV, der allerdings erst zu Saisonmitte 1967 debütierte. Clark siegte beim Premierenrennen des Lotus 49 im holländischen Zandvoort und dominierte den Rest der Saison. Für die WM reichte es allerdings nicht mehr, da belegte er am Ende nur Rang drei. Doch die Kombination Jim Clark/Lotus 49/Ford Cosworth DFV war klare Favoritin für 1968.

Diesen Anspruch bestätigte Jim Clark beim Saisonauftakt im südafrikanischen Kyalami, der zweifache Weltmeister fuhr seinen 25. Grand-Prix-Erfolg heraus, einen mehr als der grosse Juan Manuel Fango und war nun der siegreichste Pilot der Formel 1-Geschichte. Jackie Stewart brauchte bis zum Jahr 1973 um diesen Rekord zu überbieten. Und da dem Südafrika-GP eine dreimonatige Pause folgte, verteidigte der Lotus-Werksfahrer in der verbleibenden Zeit seinen Titel in der Tasman-Serie, eine in Australien und Neuseeland ausgetragene Meisterschaft mit Formel 1-Autos, aber 2.5-Liter-Motoren.

Nach der Lockerung der Werbeeinschränkung im Motorsport durch die FISA, gelang es Colin Chapman mit Gold Leaf erstmals eine branchenfremden Sponsor zu gewinnen, Clarks Lotus 49T-Cosworth 2.5 wurde in den neuen Farben rot-weiss und gold vorgestellt, und bei der Lady Wigram Trophy in Neuseeland debütierte am 20. Januar 1968 der neue Look. Die Ära des kommerziellen Sponsorings hatte begonnen. Einen Monat später, auf dem Weg zum vierten Tasman-Titel, fuhr Jim Clark einen weiteren Sieg heraus. Keiner ahnte, dass Jimmy an diesem 25. Februar in Sandown Park – nahe Melbourne – den letzten Triumph seines Lebens feierte.

Sein nächster Termin war eigentlich ein Sportwagen-Rennen für Ford in Brands Hatch, doch um dem neuen Sponsoren zu gefallen, zumal der Renner nicht fertig wurde, reiste Clark nach Deutschland. Nach einem Auftritt im Aktuellen Sportstudio ging er am Sonntag beim EM-Lauf in Hockenheim an den Start – ohne jede Siegeschance. Und dann, so wird vermutet, platzte ein Hinterreifen, der Lotus 48 schoss mit weit über 200 km/h links von der Strecke und schleudert breitseits gegen einen Baum. Jim Clark war sofort tot.

Millionen Menschen in aller Welt haben Jim Clark auf seinem von grossen Erfolgen gepflasterten Weg begleitet, der Schock des brutalen Todes dieses stets sympathischen und bescheiden Jungen am 7. April 1968 zog tiefe, weltweite Trauer nach sich. Vierzig Jahre ist es heute her, dass wir Jim Clark verloren haben. Doch in den Herzen der Fans bleibt er unvergessen.

Hoje há 40 anos atrás o mundo soube em choque do acidente fatal de Jim Clark durante uma corrida de Formula 2 no Hockenheimring na Alemanha. Muito tem sido escrito e dito sobre o Escocês, a maioria concorda que ele foi um dos melhores pilotos de competição de todos os tempos, se não o melhor. Colin Chapman, um gênio na construção de carros de corrida e o homem que descobriu e norteou o talento de Jimmy, escreveu as seguintes linhas para o livro de Graham Gauld "Jim Clark: tributo a um grande piloto"

" A primeira vez que ouvi falar de Jim Clark foi através de Jock McBain, que já há 2 ou 3 anos comprava carros Lotus esporte. Ele mencionou esse jovem fazendeiro, já legendário na região da fronteira com a Escócia, que ele achava que era muito, muito bom piloto. Uma das primeiras ocasiões em que encontrei Jimmy foi quando ele veio a Brands Hatch testar um F2 para a equipe Border Reivers. De cara me impressionei com o modo como pilotava, especialmente porque era sua primeira vez num monoposto, e também sua primeira vez naquela pista. Ele era firme, consistente e, basicamente, plenamente competente. Mais ou menos na mesma época, ele pilotou um Lotus Elite para Border Reivers em Le Mans, indo realmente muito bem, e minhas impressões de sua performance só cresceram quando depois competiu com outro Elite, de novo em Brands Hatch, no feriado depois do Natal.

Eu pilotei nessa mesma corrida, e tivemos uma bela disputa juntos. Imediatamente após a corrida eu perguntei a ele se gostaria de se juntar à equipe Lotus. Isso foi num período em que a equipe estava em transição, de um time em que eu era o piloto principal, e assim o tinha todo trabalhando para mim, para um time que eu patrocinaria para outros pilotos correrem.

Essa transição coincidiu com a vinda de Jimmy, que foi então o primeiro a realmente entrar na equipe como piloto principal. Então evoluímos juntos: Lotus estava se iniciando em corridas de Grand Prix, assim como Clark. O fato de ambos estarmos aprendendo juntos tornou nossa associação muito interessante, e muito frutífera.

De minha parte, eu senti desde o início que ele era tão bom, e um cara com quem me identificava tanto, que eu poderia abandonar a pilotagem e centrar-me puramente em produzir carros para que Jimmy os pilotasse. E foi isso o que aconteceu. Nós sempre nos demos muito bem - nós pensávamos iguais, agíamos igual, queríamos sempre fazer um trabalho de primeira linha, e aprendíamos sobre as corridas juntos. Isto é algo que nunca mais se repetirá comigo nas corridas, porque todos os problemas, todos os sucessos, e toda angústia que passamos juntos (e tem um bocado de angústia no automobilismo). No meio disso tudo Jimmy percebia que nós dois estávamos achando nosso lugar e era muito cooperativo, amigável mesmo. Para mim, isso fez com que tudo fosse agradável, fácil e prazeroso.

À medida que progredíamos, ele também desenvolveu um conhecimento técnico soberbo. Quando começou conosco, ele não tinha, claro, a vantagem de uma base formal de engenharia. Mas tinha sim o que eu só posso descrever como um grande intelecto, e pegava o lado técnico da coisa tão rápido que depois de um tempo eu podia interpretar suas expressões quanto ao carro, seu manejo, suas exigências e assim por diante. E claro isto facilitou para mim de desenvolver carros melhores.

Embora, inicialmente, ele não fosse um piloto de desenvolvimento no sentido que damos ao termo, eu acho que consegui melhores resultados com ele do que com um piloto treinado na engenharia. Pois Jimmy não tinha idéias pré-concebidas, ele ficava satisfeito em reportar os fatos, em dizer o que tinha acontecido, e não tentar tirar suas próprias conclusões. Isso Jimmy nunca fez.

Penso que o principal em Jim Clark enquanto piloto é que era tranqüilo, estava sempre no comando da situação e muito raramente pilotou além de 90 por cento de sua capacidade. O resultado era que sempre parecia ser suave e extremamente competente. Tinha tanta habilidade natural que dirigia para si mesmo muito mais do que a maioria dos outros fazia.

Houve ocasiões em que ele pilotou realmente duro e estas eram as raras ocasiões em que mostrou seu puro gênio, por poder ser tão mais rápido que qualquer outro piloto de sua época. Eu me lembro do GP da Alemanha de 1962 no Nürburgring, quando ele se esqueceu de ligar as bombas de combustível na largada e ficou para trás. Isso era o tipo de coisa que despertava um tigre nele, porque ele sentia, certo ou não, que tinha cometido um erro e era com ele resolver o problema. Ele pilotou tão bem naquele dia, que, apesar de chegar apenas em quarto, eu incluiria aquela entre suas melhores performances. Mesma coisa, no GP da Itália de 67 em Monza ele fez algo que até então eu, e creio a maioria das pessoas, achava impossível. Ele teve um pneu furado logo no início, que o deixou uma volta e um quarto atrás de todos, e em Monza ele descontou toda essa diferença - mesmo se você tiver a capacidade de ir mais rápido que os outros pilotos, em Monza invariavelmente você termina puxando alguém no seu vácuo.

Mas Jimmy acabou alcançando os líderes, os deixou, e então descontou toda a volta atrás deles. Foi de um virtuosismo que acho nunca nenhum outro piloto igualou ou será capaz de superar. Aquela foi uma das poucas vezes na carreira de Jimmy em que ele pilotou no seu máximo, cem por cento. Nos dez anos que pilotou para mim, eu consigo lembrar de apenas outras quatro ou cinco ocasiões em que realmente teve de usar todos seus recursos. Porque geralmente ele fazia uma largada muito rápida, saindo à frente de todos, já os desmoralizando. A partir daí seguia um plano próprio que conservava a máquina, conservava as suas próprias energias, e era adequado a vencer a corrida.

Eu nunca o controlei quando ele estava correndo, tudo que fiz foi lhe dar o máximo de informação, e deixá-lo fazer sua corrida. Acredito que o piloto é o único qualificado a tomar decisões, como por exemplo o quão veloz seguir; ele é o único que pode medir sua capacidade, o quanto ele e o carro podem ser forçados, qual a condição da pista, e assim por diante. Eu penso que é absolutamente fútil para qualquer chefe de equipe, que se preze como tal, tentar direcionar um carro durante uma corrida. Seu propósito é dar informação ao piloto; este decide sobre a tática da corrida e pilota de acordo com isso.

Eu não acho que é verdade que ele sempre era mais contente num monoposto, ou que ele tenha jogado para a torcida, jamais. Por exemplo, eu acho que ele gostava de correr com os Cortina só porque ele gostava de corridas - ele tinha muita diversão com aquele carro. Na verdade ele me dizia que algumas das corridas que ele mais gostava do ponto de vista pessoal, era quando pilotava Cortinas, porque o carro era relativamente difícil - não era um carro de corrida muito preciso, era um carro com que se podia brincar um pouco. Ele podia fazer todo tipo de coisas ridículas com o carro, e ele só curtia - não para agradar a platéia, mas a si mesmo. Nem acho que Jimmy notasse o público, certamente nunca competia para seu público como tal. Corria para si mesmo.

Penso que ele gostava também de carros esporte. De fato ele gostava de tentar diferentes formas de corridas - isso foi algo que permeou sua carreira. Este realmente é o motivo porque ele foi a Indianápolis, certamente não foi pelo bafafá que acontece em torno da corrida, mas por ser uma novidade para ele, e queria experimentar. Pelo mesmo motivo, depois tentou uma corrida de stock car americana, meramente pela novidade, ele gostava de encarar uma novidade. Ele conseguia se divertir tanto num carro de corrida quanto num kart. Qualquer coisa que necessitasse coordenação e controle o interessava. Pela mesma razão gostava muito de voar. Eu me lembro pouco antes de seu acidente, ele falava sobre seu futuro e sobre o que ia fazer quando parasse de correr, dizia que finalmente tinha decidido o que fazer e que não iria voltar à atividade fazendeira. Ele ainda gostava disso, mas acho que teria sentido dificuldade em voltar depois de toda a excitação e agitação das corridas, voando e com a vida que levava no esporte. Eu acho que ele queria se estabelecer em alguma área do ramo da aviação. Ele tinha já investido nesse ramo na Austrália, embora não creio que fosse se estabelecer por lá, como alguns imaginaram. Com certeza gostava muito da Austrália e Nova Zelândia, do clima e das pessoas lá, principalmente da Austrália. Não sei se ele teria se mudado para lá, acho que ele teria ficado na Europa mesmo.
É difícil dizer por quanto tempo teria seguido correndo. Nós tínhamos conversado brevemente sobre isso e penso que ele certamente teria presenciado a F1 até o fim de 1970.

Em sua carreira, uma corrida que nunca conquistou, mas adoraria ter vencido, foi o GP de Mônaco. Alguns circuitos ele sabidamente não gostava - Spa acima de tudo. Ele achava muito perigoso, e sempre ficava contente após terminar os GPs lá. Isto pode ser devido ao fato de que no seu segundo GP oficial (Bélgica 1960) presenciou a morte de seu companheiro de equipe Alan Stacey, uma impressão ruim que permaneceu com ele. Por certo a temporada sempre parecia mais tranqüila para ele depois de passada a etapa em Spa.

Nunca gostou muito de Silverstone, não pelo perigo, apenas o achava desinteressante. Mas, assim como Mônaco, gostava muito do Nürburgring - outro de seus favoritos, porque esses dois eram mais desafiadores do que a maioria dos outros.

Uma das coisas sobre Jimmy era a habilidade de adaptar-se, ou de se treinar, para lidar com qualquer situação nova na vida. Isso apareceu em seu crescimento como figura internacional. Quando se tornou campeão pela primeira vez, as falas e aparições públicas que tinha de fazer eram muito estranhas para ele, e teve que dar duro nisso. Mas, como qualquer coisa que encarasse, rapidamente dominou este aspecto de sua carreira. Foi só mais um problema para ele, e em menos de um ano estava resolvido.
Se não tivesse sido um piloto de primeira linha, estou certo teria estado no topo de qual fosse a profissão que tivesse adotado.

Tenho pensado muito sobre Jimmy e sobre pilotos de corrida e tentado analisar o que o fazia ser tão melhor que os outros e acho que tudo se resume ao intelecto muito superior que tinha consigo. Era muito rápido para compreender uma dada situação, e não só quando pilotava. Sua mente tinha o poder de separar o que era não era prioridade em questões importantes, e com certeza isso é marca de alguém que é verdadeiramente grande em qualquer profissão, marca de quem pode separar o trivial do essencial.
Tinha também excepcionais atributos físicos, como a visão e coordenação motora.
Não só os teve, mas tinha a habilidade mental de explorá-los, mais um tremendo autocontrole que deve ter vindo de sua criação familiar e de sua escola. Eu tive maior contato com seus pais somente após seu acidente, e vendo o modo como reagiram à adversidade, entendi de onde vinha esta fantástica obstinação.
Ser fazendeiro deve ter tido sua parte em seu feitio também, pois fazendeiros em geral têm de aceitar a vida e suas involuções num grau maior do que a maioria das pessoas - têm de aceitar a influência que o clima e outras coisas fora de seu controle exercem sobre suas vidas e sua prosperidade. E talvez isso se mostrasse no modo como Jimmy recebia, com certa resignação, certos problemas da vida. Essa capacidade o fez lidar com eles excepcionalmente bem.

Observando outros pilotos de corrida, eu penso que, sem preconceitos - embora eu deva admitir ter um pouquinho - não posso ver nenhum que tenha perto de toda a habilidade geral que Jimmy tinha. Realmente, sua habilidade era tão maior do que ele jamais mostrou. Como eu disse antes, ele muito raramente pilotou na sua capacidade total, e isso faz a sua diferença entre si e os outros ser ainda maior. Por certo maior do que os números da carreira mostram. Não era o que fazia, era como fazia. Fazia com tais reservas de capacidade, que era quase inacreditável alguém ter tais reservas.
Apesar de sua projeção como piloto, eu acho que sua maior influencia, ao menos sobre mim e sobre outros próximos a ele, não era sua habilidade na pilotagem, mas seu sucesso como pessoa. Ele era tão bem ajustado à vida e seus problemas, tinha tamanha integridade que é muito difícil para outros se compararem, se colocarem no mesmo nível. Era honesto, estava sempre em forma - integridade é a melhor palavra para descrever suas qualidades. Esse é a pessoa que sempre recordarei, não apenas o recordista de vitórias. Era um homem que estabeleceu um exemplo aos outros."

Artigo escrito por Colin Chapman

40 years ago to the day the World learned in schock of Jim Clark’s fatal accident during a Formula 2 race at the Hockenheimring in Germany. Much has been written and said about the Scotsman, most agree he was one of the very finest racing drivers ever, if not the best. Colin Chapman, genius race car builder and the man who discovered and nurtured Jimmy’s talent, wrote down the following lines below soon after the tragic events in 1968 for Graham Gauld’s book Jim Clark : Tribute to a Great Driver.

"The first I ever heard of Jim Clark was from Jock McBain, who had been purchasing Lotus sports cars from us for two or three years. He mentioned this young farmer, already legendary up in the Borders, whom he felt was a very, very good driver. One of the first occasions I really met Jimmy was when he came down to Brands Hatch to try out a Formula 2 car, on behalf of Border Reivers, who were thinking of purchasing one. There and then I was most impressed with the way he drove the car, especially as it was his first single-seater drive, and also his first drive at Brands Hatch. He was steady, consistent and, basically, just downright competent. At around about the same time, he drove a Lotus Elite for the Border Reivers at Le Mans, doing very well indeed, and my impression of his performance then was reinforced when he drove at Brands Hatch one Boxing Day in an Elite.

"I drove in that same race, and we had quite a dice together. Immediately afterwards I asked him if he would like to join Team Lotus. This was during the period when Team Lotus was in a stage of transition, from being a racing team in which I was the principal driver, and thus was virtually being run for my benefit, to the point where I was sponsoring a team for other drivers. This transition therefore coincided with Jimmy coming to Lotus and therefore he was the first driver to actually come to the team as its principal driver. So really we came of age together: Lotus was just getting into Grand Prix racing, Jimmy was just getting into Grand Prix racing. The fact therefore that we were both learning together made our association very interesting, and so very fruitful. A young Clark at his first Single Seater Race

"As far as I was concerned, I felt right from the beginning that he was such a good driver, and a man with whom I was so completely at one, that I could retire from driving myself and concentrate purely on producing cars for Jimmy to drive. And this is in fact what I did. We always got on so terribly well -we thought alike and acted alike, we were both keen on doing a thoroughly first-class job, and we found out about racing together. This is something which will never ever be the same again for me in motor racing, because of all the problems, all the successes and the anguish we shared together (and there's a lot of anguish in motor racing). Throughout it all Jimmy realised we were both finding our feet and was very friendly, very co-operative. For me, this made it enjoyable, easy and pleasant.

"As we went along, too, he developed a superb technical knowledge. When he started driving for me, he didn't of course have the benefit of a formal engineering background. But he did have what I can only describe as a very very good intellect, and he picked up the engineering side of motor racing so rapidly that after a while I was able to interpret his expressions regarding the car, its handling and its requirements and so on. And this made it easier for me to develop better motor cars.

Although at first certainly, he wasn't a development driver in the accepted sense I think I got even better results than I might have with a driver trained in the engineering sense. For Jimmy had no real preconceived ideas, he was merely satisfied with reporting the facts, what actually happened, and did not try to draw his own conclusions. And of course, in many ways, this is an ideal driver for an engineer to work with - unfortunately, you do find that some drivers who have some little engineering knowledge will form their own conclusions about what is happening, and, possibly subconsciously, make the facts fit their conclusions. This Jimmy never did.

"I think the thing about Jimmy Clark as a driver was that he was relaxed, he was always in command of the situation and he very very rarely drove beyond nine tenths of his capacity. The result was that he always appeared to be smooth and extremely competent. He had so much natural ability that he was driving within himself far more than most drivers do.

"There were occasions when he drove really hard and of course those were the rare occasions when he showed his sheer genius for being able to drive so much quicker than any other contemporary driver. I remember that 1962 German Grand Prix at Nürburgring, when on the start line he forgot to switch his fuel pumps on, and so was left behind at the start. This was the sort of thing that would raise the tiger in him, because he felt, rightly or wrongly, that he had made a mistake and it was up to him to put it right. He just drove fantastically well that day, so that although he only finished fourth in the motor race I would put this motor race down as one of his best. Similarly, in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 1967 he did something which up to that point I, and I think most people, had felt was impossible. He had a puncture which dropped him a lap and a quarter behind, and at Monza he actually made up a lap on the field - even if you do have a capability of going faster than the other drivers, at Monza you invariably end up towing them round with you. But Jimmy actually caught the leaders, left them, and then made up a whole lap on them. This I think was a virtuoso drive which no other driver has ever equalled or will ever be able to surpass.

"This was just one of the rare drives in Jimmy's career when he drove flat out. I can only think of four or five other while relentlessly hunting down occasions in the whole ten years he drove for me that he really drew on all his resources. Because generally he was capable of making a very quick start, getting out in front of the opposition, and demoralising them. From that moment on he drove to a plan of his own which conserved the machinery, which conserved his own energies, and was adequate to win the race.

"I never controlled him when he was racing, all I did was give him the maximum amount of information, and let him run the motor race. I believe that the driver is the only man qualified to make the decisions, for example how fast to go; he is the only man who can size up his capability, how much he's extending himself, how much he is extending his car, what the condition of the track is, and so on. I think it is absolutely futile for any team manager as such to try to manage a car during a race. His purpose is to give the driver information; the driver decides on the tactics of the race and drives accordingly.

"I do not think it was true that he was always happiest in a single-seater, or that he ever, ever really played to the crowds. I think, for example, that he used to enjoy Cortina racing just because he enjoyed racing - he got a lot of fun from it. In fact he used to tell me that some of the most enjoyable rides, from his own personal point of view, were when he drove Cortinas, because the car was relatively difficult - it wasn't a precise racing car, it was a car that you could play around with, throw about. He could do all sorts of ridiculous things with it, and he just used to enjoy it - not because it pleased the crowd, but because it pleased him. "I don't think Jimmy took any notice of the crowd, he certainly was never racing for his public as it were. He was racing for himself.

"I think he enjoyed sports cars, too. In fact he liked to try any different form of racing - this was a thing which evolved through his career. This really is why he went to Indianapolis, certainly he did not go because he believed all the mumbo jumbo that surrounds the race, it was just that it was a new type of motor racing, so he wanted to try it. For the same reason, he later tried an American stock car race, merely because it was something new, and he enjoyed tackling new things. He would get as much fun out of driving even a kart as he would out of driving a racing car. Anything that needed coordination and control was exciting to him. "For the same reason he really loved flying. In fact I remember just before his accident, he was talking about his future and what he was going to do when he stopped racing, and he said he finally made up his mind that he wouldn't in fact go back to farming. He still loved it, but I think he would have found it difficult to go back to it after the excitement and turmoil of racing, flying and the life he had been leading. I think he wanted to settle down in some branch of the aviation business. He certainly had some business investments in aviation in Australia, although I do not think he could have settled down out there, as some people imagined. He certainly enjoyed Australia and New Zealand very much, he enjoyed the climate and he enjoyed the people (Australia I think probably more than New Zealand). While I don't know if he would have gone out there to live, I don't think so; I think he would have probably come back to Europe. "It is difficult to say of course, how long he might have gone on racing. We had talked about it briefly and I think he would have certainly seen the current Formula out to the end of 1970.

"In his racing one achievement was not fulfilled he had won every major Grand Prix apart from Monaco, and he would dearly have loved to have won at Monaco. He actively disliked a few circuits-Spa most of all. He felt it was a dangerous circuit, and he was always very happy to get the Belgian Grand Prix over. This could have been due to the fact that the second Grand Prix race he ever did was at Spa when his team mate Alan Stacey met with a fatal accident, and I think this sort of thing made a lasting impression on him. Certainly the season always seemed a lot more relaxed once the Spa race was finished.

"He never used to like Silverstone very much. Not because he felt it was a dangerous circuit, he just felt it was an uninteresting circuit. But, as well as Monaco, he did like Nürburgring - this was another of his favourites, because I think these two were more challenging than most of the others.

"One of the things about Jimmy was that he had the ability to adapt himself, or train himself, to cope with almost any situation in life. This showed in his development as an international figure. When he was World Champion for the first time the speeches and public appearances he had to make were very foreign to him and he had to work very hard at them. But, like anything he tackled, he very quickly mastered this aspect of his career. This was just another problem to him, and within a year he had licked it. If he hadn't have been a first rate racing driver, I am sure he would have been at the top of what ever profession he went in for.

"I have been thinking very much about Jimmy and racing drivers and trying to analyse what really made him so much better at his business than others and I think it must boil down to that he just had a very very superior intellect. He was very quick to assess a situation, and not necessarily only whilst driving. His mind had the resolving power to be able to sift extraneous material from important matters, and surely this is a mark of anyone who is truly great in any profession, that they can sort the trivial from the essential.

"He also had such exceptional physical attributes, of eyesight, co-ordination and so on. Not only did he have these physical attributes, but he had the mental ability to go with them, plus a tremendous self control which must have stemmed from his family background, his upbringing, and his school. I have met his parents really closely only since his accident, and seeing the way they reacted to it and bore up under the adversity, I realize that this is where he got this fantastic dourness. Farming must have played a part in his moulding, too, for I think that farmers in general must accept life and its quirks to a much greater degree than most people - they have to accept the influence that weather and other things outside their normal control have upon their own lives, and on their prosperity. And possibly too, this showed in the way that Jimmy had an approach which was always resigned to some of the problems of life and living. This capacity made him able to cope with them so exceptionally well.

"Looking round at other racing drivers, now, I think without undue prejudice - although I must admit to a little - I can't see any that have anywhere near the total ability that Jimmy had. Really, his ability was so much greater than even he revealed. As I have said he rarely drove to his capacity, very rarely indeed, and this makes the gulf between him and other racing drivers even bigger. Certainly it is bigger than is shown purely by the record book. It wasn't what he did, it was the way he did it. He did it with such reserves, that it was almost incredible to believe that it was possible to find such reserves in one man. "I feel that although he was pre-eminent as a racing driver, I do not feel this is the biggest credit to Jim Clark. I think that his most profound influence, certainly on me and all his close associates, was not his ability as a racing driver, but his success as a man. He was so thoroughly adjusted to life and its problems, he had such a thorough integrity of his own that it is very difficult for others to compare themselves in the same street. He was fit, he was honest - `integrity' is the best single word to describe his qualities. This is the man I shall always remember, not simply a man who won a record number of races. He was a man who set an example to others."

Article written by Colin Chapman