Who was the greatest? Forty years after his death, legend of F1 great Jim Clark lives

[CNR]

http://www.motortrend.com/features/a...ark_formula_1/

Forty years ago, on April 7 1968, Jim Clark was killed when his Formula 2 Lotus crashed off the road at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany.

If Michael Schumacher won that same F1 title seven times, you might logically ask, how does Clark -- with just two -- qualify for first place in the drivers' pantheon?
The question, though interesting, is impossible to answer. Modern F1 racing cars, and the tracks on which they compete, are so much safer now than they were in Clark's day that today's racers can afford to drive flat-out from start to finish. Nevertheless, one race which stands above all others in the Scot's glittering panoply is the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix. On the old-fashioned Spa-Francorchamps road circuit, nine hazardous miles of houses, walls and unfenced ditches, Clark lapped the entire field before lifting off near the end and allowing the second-placed Cooper of Bruce McLaren to re-pass.

[Tazio]

UMMMHH I forget!!! :

[Valve Bounce]

UMMMHH I forget!!! :

Me too!!

[markabilly]

Best racer and a gentleman, something that can never be said about Senna,
Prost or MS.

And how many races did he participate where he clearly or even allegedly chopped another driver to keep that driver from passing?
None.

And how much did he rely on data telementary totell his engineers how he was doing and how to set up the car?
None.

And I still think the most spectcular race was Monza..........

[Valve Bounce]

Bernd Rosemeyer in that Auto Union monster at the "Ring" wasn't too bad.

[markabilly]

i can only speak for what I saw, and anything before 1963 was a bit too early for me, but as to about 1966 and on, I saw them all race, and the best in a time when mistakes were fatal, remains Clark.

Clark had only one real tragic incident in his career, when following Von Trips down the straight into a corner at Monza, the rear wheel of Von trip touched the front wheel of Clark when Trips moved over. Trips car spun and ended up in the grandstands, killing 14 spectators and himself.

Took real courage to drive back then

[futuretiger9]

From 1962 to early 1968, Clark was the undoubted benchmark in Grand Prix racing, the one man who every other driver measured himself again.

I just regret that we never got to see Jimmy race against Stirling Moss or Jackie Stewart in equal machinery.

[markabilly]

We would had seen it more with JYS If Clark lived. And most of his races, he either won or broke (as Lotus was famous for doing so)

But I remain convinced while Stewart did and would have challenged him, Clark was still faster, and would have remained so.

"equal machinery" did not matter that much back then, as one could clearly see drivers challenging in cars of unequal ability. JYS did race him hard on occaision, but the only driver who seemed to be his equal at some tracks was Dan Gurney (who if he had remained with Brabham, without question probably would have been wdc in 1967), esp. at Spa and Germany. Funny how after and during 1968, Gurney never seemed the same in F1 as he did from the time he started his carreer through 1967.

At the time, driver skill in car set up and feedback was also a premium, as that was all there was, except for a hand held stop watch.

Not sure how he would have done in 1990-2008, because there is little need for set up skill, as that is done by engineers, and he was very much a gentlemean, and not likely at all to play bumper cars.
Plus his real skill was spped in high speed corners that requires a very sensitive touch in the absence of wings. Now, the faster the corner, the more downforce, eliminates much of the need to be able to feel the very slight loss of traction to max the speed out of the corner.

And then there was the four wheel drift, where every car was drifting through the corners, that Clark excelled at. Wings and sticky tires have done away with that......

Another race was Indy in 1966, when he had a massive spin coming out of a corner right where he should hae gone into the wall. Common wisdom was that such a spin always resulted in a crash into the wall or a stall out. So he was not scored for that lap correctly at all.

truth was he saved it, and barely lost any time as he caught it just right and went roaring down the straight, never coming close to stopping. If correctly scored, he would have been the winner, as demonstrated by films of the race. And the spin is defnetly worth watching!!!

[futuretiger9]

I too have often wondered how Jimmy would have fared with the advent of wings, slick tyres, and more emphasis on downforce. These technologies all emerged in earnest shortly after his death. His talent was based on delicacy of touch, particularly in cornering.

He may well have adapted, as great drivers do, to changing circumstances and challenges.

There was also a fascinating psychological element to the rivalry between Clark and Stewart. Did JYS feel a little intimidated by Clark's presence, regarding him as a mentor? After Jimmy died, Stewart flourished in his role as the unofficial leader amongst the drivers. On reflection, Stewart was maturing anyway as a driver and as a person, and remember in 1968 he also linked up with Ken Tyrrell in F1 and acquired the Matra, and Ford's support.

[Garry Walker]

And how many races did he participate where he clearly or even allegedly chopped another driver to keep that driver from passing?
None.

Niki Lauda had something interesting to say about that.