The name of Jim Clark will never die
Sir Jackie leads the acclaim as Borders town gets ready to remember their legendary favourite son
HIS achievements stretched credulity, his death provided the motivation for a revolution in driver safety. And, thanks to the efforts of family, friends and fans the world over, his memory will l i ve on forever.
Today a nd t omorrow, t he s mall Berwickshire county town of Duns will hum and roar to the sound of engines and adulation, as thousands flock to the Jim Clark Weekend — a two-day appreciation to mark the 50th anniversary of the Scot’s greatest achievement.
Sir Jackie Stewart will be among the big-name guests gathering to remember how close f ri end ‘Jimmy’ won his second F1 World Championship and the prestigious Indianapolis 500 — not to mention the Formula Two title and the Tasman Series Championship — back in a hectic 1965.
Amid the joy, there will also be sadness that Clark didn’t live to enjoy — or endure, given his famously shy nature — his own legend.
His death in a Formula Two race at Hockenheim, Germany in April, 1968, came as an enormous shock even at a time of regular fatalities in the sport, Stewart admitting: ‘ Nobody thought Jimmy was ever going to die.’
Mostly, though, those who turn up to see the cars of all vintages, including a modern Lotus F1 machine — and listen to old war stories — will be marvelling at how this Borders farm boy, as happy on a combine harvester as in a racing cockpit, could so dominate his sport i n one spectacular season.
‘ That was my f i rst year in Formula One and it was unusual in that period to have two Scots driving in Formula One at the same time,’ Sir Jackie, himself a three-time world champion, told Sportsmail.
‘We were sharing an apartment in London at the time because of all our travels. I was still living in Scotland but we shared the London place. So, yes, I was quite close to Jimmy. It was actually a tough year for him. He almost ran himself into the ground because he was going back and forward from Indianapolis to race over here — practice, qualifying and then the race.
‘That was tough for him physically. I have a photograph of him taken at the time and he looked quite gaunt.
‘ But he did win the World Championship that year, which was terrific. He won Indianapolis, too — so it was an exceptional year under any circumstances.
‘In those days, the amount of money you got paid to drive a Formula One car bore no relation to what they get today. So you raced in other categories of the sport to make a real living.
‘Formula One was the very top of motor racing, as it is today. But that wasn’t reflected in the financial rewards.
‘And Colin Chapman, who Jimmy drove for, was not known for overpaying, if you know what I mean! By going to Indianapolis, Jimmy won a great deal of money.
‘ To do touring- car racing, sports-car racing and everything else, that was part and parcel of our life.
‘Jimmy was very versatile — and certainly the best driver I raced
against, that’s for sure. It was great fun sharing a flat and I learned a lot, too, because we spent a lot of time together.
‘Neither of us was good in the kitchen, so we would go out for breakfast every morning and for dinner every night.
‘ We were usually working on different things every day, so we would go our separate ways and then meet up in the evening. We always made a point to get together. It wasn’t a big apartment but, for us, it was great.
‘He was a very shy man, almost introverted in many ways. He was a Border farmer and he just wasn’t used to that kind of limelight. He adjusted to it very well, though, in a very modest and dignified fashion.’
Even in the current age of bigname drivers being treated like pampered princelings, it’s probably impossible for those who weren’t around to comprehend just how stellar an attraction Clark was.
Impossibly handsome, charming in his shy way and the most perfect driver, capable of steering a cattle truck through a chicane without so much as bumping the kerbs, he appeared — to fans and colleagues, admirers and competitors — to be almost on a different plane, immune to the struggles of ordinary men.
When his Lotus veered off the track and into trees at Hockenheim on that April day 47 years ago, Clark sustained fatal injuries at a time when safety was barely an afterthought. Everyone in motor racing was shocked.
‘Jimmy wasn’t ever off the road, he didn’t ever have accidents — he always drove within his limits,’ explained Stewart, who became the noisi es t and most effective campaigner for improvements to tracks, cars and medical back-up.
‘The car was quite fragile. But, nevertheless, Jimmy was just that type of driver. Nobody thought he was ever going to die.
‘When he died, it was the start of a very bad period. That was the start of my drive for changing safety in motorsport.
‘That year, 1968, we lost four drivers in four consecutive race weekends. Jimmy died on April 7 and Mike Spence — his team-mate in Formula One at the time — died on May 7.
‘Then Ludovico Scarfiotti was killed in June and, in July, Jo Schlesser died in the French Grand Prix. We were all driving there.
‘ The fifth weekend we were competing at, of all places, the Nurburgring, which was the most difficult and dangerous race track in the world.
‘I won the race by a big margin. And, when I finished, the first thing I asked was: “Is everyone OK?”.
‘Because the Nurburgring, if you went off the road, no one could get to you. It was full of hedges, trees and big drop-offs.
‘It was just a relief that everybody had come through it, 187 corners per lap, 14.7 miles around. It was such a relief that nobody died, which is a very bad set of circumstances. We were in a bad situation where all that mattered was nobody dying.
‘So what happened to Jimmy prompted me to do something to change that. It was a long, hard struggle but it was worthwhile.
‘I think Jimmy would have been proud of this weekend. He was so modest and would have been wondering why we were making all the fuss. He was just as happy on a tractor.
‘He was a great ambassador for Scotland. He is still remembered with great love and affection around the world. The name of Jim Clark will never die.’
There are certainly enough people in Duns and the surrounding area working hard to make sure that the name is remembered, with plans for a new Jim Clark Museum well underway.
Doug Niven, a cousin of Clark who went on to win a Touring Car championship of his own in 1978, is heavily involved in all such efforts.
Ten years younger than his hero, and close enough to have moved into Clark’s house while the globetrotting champion was away chasing prizes, Niven keenly remembers the sense of loss when Jim died at the age of just 32.
‘It was a terrible blow for the whole community,’ he said. ‘Everyone remembers where they were when they heard John F Kennedy had been shot — and everyone around here remembers where they were when the news came through about Jim. It was just a blight on the whole community.
‘I was in his house on that Sunday afternoon. I was living there then. It was terrible. You do think about what he might have gone on to do.
‘I suppose he was aware of the dangers. His parents didn’t approve of it, I know that. But he was such a good driver, you never thought anything would happen to Jim.
‘Winning World Championships never changed him. He was the same farmer. He would come home to look at his sheep and take care of the farm.
‘When I got married, I was still staying in Jim’s house. We would see him come home. And you would just as easily see him driving a combine in the field as driving some sports car around a track.
‘He would never understand the hype of this weekend but a legacy has been built up.
‘He had open-top bus parades when he won those world titles, going through the Borders, with everyone supporting him. But he didn’t like it much, because he was so shy. He wasn’t looking for limelight, he just enjoyed racing cars.
‘The crowds would gather in the streets, the open-top bus would come through, with his farm steward, Bob Campbell, on the bus with him.
‘Jim would just wave and soak up the atmosphere. Then it was back to his house for food afterwards and a wee party.’
Clark started his career at the Berwick and District Motor club, driving anything that was available, before teaming up with Ian Scott-Watson, who first used him as ‘possibly the worst navigator in the world’ before realising that the youngster could handle the car much better than he could.
‘The first thing Jim drove would have been a tractor,’ Niven added. ‘Then he teamed up with Ian, who realised he was out of his depth, and handed over the driving to Jim, who was two or three seconds a lap quicker.
‘He was a natural. He could drive anything and nothing fazed him. He was driving Aston Martins, Jaguars, big cars with difficult handling.
‘What he did in 1965 was unique. It’s like winning all four majors in golf — and probably one of the tennis titles, as well.’
JOIN in as Scotland celebrates the 50th anniversary of Jim Clark’s se c o nd Formula One World Championship and Indianapolis 500 victory in his home town of Duns.
Everyone is welcome for a unique weekend supported by Club Lotus, Classic Team Lotus and The Jim Clark Trust featuring classic F1 cars, touring cars and over 50 modern sports cars to celebrate the inspiration of one of the world’s greatest ever motorsport legends.
FREE to the public, 11am to 4pm both days. Saturday, May 16 static display. Sunday May 17, main event and parade of cars.
Jimmy wasn’t ever off the road, he never had accidents — he always drove within his limits