Remembering the great Jim Clark, who died 40 years ago today

Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of Jim Clark, the greatest racing driver Scotland has produced, and arguably the greatest racing driver of all time. Clark was responsible for one of the most memorable performances in the history of Formula 1, in the 1967 Italian GP. After being forced into the pits to change a punctured tyre, Clark drove the wheels off his Lotus to move swiftly through the entire field, from 16th to first. He then ran out of petrol on the last lap, and cruised across the finish line to finish third. The anticlimactic result did not matter - anyone who witnessed Clark’s drive still talks about it to this day.

As well as winning two F1 titles, in 1963 and 1965, Clark also competed in the States. He won the Indy 500 in 1965, a feat which few F1 drivers can claim. Clark was the first Indy winner to drive a rear-engined car, designed by Lotus team owner Colin Chapman. Both men are pictured in the photo below: Clark’s the one with the giant wreath, Chapman is to his left wearing sunglasses.

Clark was killed in a Formula Two race at Hockenheim on 7 April 1968, when his Lotus Ford Cosworth left the track and collided with a tree. He was 32. Grid Crasher is far too young to have seen him race in person, but we can all enjoy footage of him behind the wheel:

Links to more online tributes:

[BBC]

[Independent]

[Scotsman]

[Autosport]