vintage-race
[Top] [All Lists]

RE: Honesty....Clark

To: LMR356@aol.com, John.Desantis@inficon.com, vintage-race@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: Honesty....Clark
From: "Oker, William" <OkerWR@navair.navy.mil>
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 13:14:38 -0800
Oh John, that did hurt! See if you can find a copy of "Jim Clark at the
Wheel". Great little book that tells how he learned to drive on farm
equipment and some old English saloon car...a Riley maybe, not sure? He was
to small to reach the peddles, so he would crawl under the dash, push the
clutch in, put it in gear, drop the clutch and then jump up onto the seat to
see where he was going!

Bill Oker


                -----Original Message-----
                From:   LMR356@aol.com [mailto:LMR356@aol.com]
                Sent:   Tuesday, February 27, 2001 11:47 AM
                To:     John.Desantis@inficon.com;
vintage-race@autox.team.net
                Subject:        Re: Honesty....Clark

                In a message dated 2/27/01 1:22:15 PM Eastern Standard Time,

                John.Desantis@inficon.com writes:


                > For the Historically impaired please - who was Jim Clark
and what did he
                > race?
                > 
                > 
                > 
                > 

                Scotsman Jim Clark....1936-1968......was perhaps the most
respected and 
                talented driver of the 1960s Formula One group.  With Colin
Chapman and 
                Lotus...Clark  later posted 25 GP victories...a 1963 and
1965 World 
                Championship and  in  the US..he won at Watkins Glen in
1962, 1966,  and 
                1967....and won the 1965 Indy 500.   Started his racing
career in a 356 
                Porsche, Lotus Elite, D-Jag...raced at LeMans,  and at
Sebring (1964)...but 
                his Formula Jr. debut in a Gemini for Graham
Warner....signaled the beginning 
                of his formula achievements.  With Lotus he won in the 18s,
21, 25, 33,  38, 
                43, 48, 49s. ( might have missed a few Loti along the way). 

                In April, 1968, driving  a Lotus 48 at Hockenheim at a
European F2 race  in 
                the wet 
                ( a non points event) ...Clark suddenly had a control
problem early on 
                ...possibly a tire was going down....and lost his
steering...slid off the 
                course...hit several  trees and the Lotus broke in
half....fatally injuring 
                Clark.  His death was stunning news to the whole motorsports
community 
                ...Clark died before he was into his racing prime.

                That's a little of what I remember..maybe some of you can
chime in.   I know 
                that if David Whiteside was here....he'd have done a better
job off the top 
                of his head than I.

                Lee Raskin
                Brooklandville, MD
                Arnolt-B and 356ers

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>