Jim Clark bio

[hobomike]

http://www.rawkusracing.com/

Heres a nice write up of jim clarkes career if any body is interested...

[mybrainhurts]

Very good...

He nearly ran me down in his works RAC Lotus Cortina...

[Rawkus Racing]

Ive just put part six up if anyone want to take a look. Indy and early 63

[neutral 3]

He was the Best, no question what so ever. And what a trajic, needless loss his death was, it just shouldnt have happened.

Any one have a photo of J.C. in MK1 Cortina, hurtling down the bobsleigh run ? Amazeing photo......I Think it was for the Launch of the Cortina, just awesome. !!
Or of him cornering in a Lotus Cortina with one fron wheel in the air !

[Slade Alive]

I read somewhere years ago, Lotus used the 105E as their first road test bed for the Twin Cam. Clark drove it home for the weekend from Hethel to his Borders home. He had a thing for timing himself on this regular trip. Arriving back at Hethel after one such trip home, he announced it was the fastest he'd ever done it. The first Lotus Anglia it would appear?

This topic got me to Google in the hope some info my corroborate this story. No luck I'm afraid, but my search did turn this up. Now I'm all ears, more so.

http://www.anglia-models.co.uk/saloon-photo47.htm

Thanks for the topic. Nice Clark read too thanks.

[tubbystu]

Slade Alive said:

I read somewhere years ago......

I recall the same. Might it have been in Motor Sport ? Bill Boddy piece perhaps ?

[RedexR]

Jimmy was the master of the Mk1



and by request





not something you seen on a bobsled track often

[Slade Alive]

tubbystu said:

I recall the same. Might it have been in Motor Sport ? Bill Boddy piece perhaps ?

I don't seem to think it was. I honestly cam't remember, and it's a long time since I read Motor Sport.

I have a thought somewhere distant in the back of my head, it was something to do with Anglias rather than Jim or Lotus where I read it. Maybe in an Anglia feature as I've very little literature on Anglias in my petrol head library.

[neutral 3]

REDEX, thats the photos !! He was my boyhood hero.... Many many fantastic drivers over the years, inc Seaman, Fanjio, Nuvalari, Hawthorn, P.Courage,Cevert, Birrel,Peterson, G.Hill, P.Hill and the Great Frank Garner, etc etc, but i think that Jim Clark was ahead of them all.

That Lotus Cortina shot has to be one of the best of him.

Look at the cool expression on Jims face....JTW must have been almost at the Very limit in that shot, many drivers would probably be wondering "Where has my steering feed back gone....."What do i do now......

Such a trajic waste........

[Rawkus Racing]

The anglia twin cam trip is in his 1964 book 'jim Clark at the wheel' it's a great read I got my copy for about three quid at an auto jumble, it was theinspiration for the bio. He racalls blasting past a guy in a jag and giving him the fright of his life. I left it out of the blog though because it would have felt abit shoehorned in for some thing not so critical to his carreer. Nothing gets past you lot though

[Chunkychucky]

mybrainhurts said:

He nearly ran me down in his works RAC Lotus Cortina...

You must have been in the way

[Slade Alive]

Rawkus Racing said:

The anglia twin cam trip is in his 1964 book 'jim Clark at the wheel' it's a great read I got my copy for about three quid at an auto jumble, it was theinspiration for the bio. He racalls blasting past a guy in a jag and giving him the fright of his life. I left it out of the blog though because it would have felt abit shoehorned in for some thing not so critical to his carreer. Nothing gets past you lot though

So it is, at the bottom of page 89. Not quite as I remember it though, but it does suggest the Anglia was indeed the first road car the T-C found itself in.

[b] Clark: Back in the winter of 1961 I had been in London seeing Colin at the factory and I found myself without a car. At this Colin had turned round and said: 'How about taking this Anglia back to Scotland with you?' I'm no motoring snob, but the idea of driving up to Scotland in an Anglia didn't sound too good. But Colin was insistent, and so off I went. This, however, was no ordinary Anglia. This car really had poke and I started to enjoy myself with it. I remember catching up with a Jaguar and giving him the fright of his life by passing him at well over 100 mph.

Obviously Colin had been doing something radical in the engine compartment, and at the first opportunity I lifted the bonnet to see not the familiar Ford engine, but the flat tops of two camshaft covers stamped with the name Lotus. This was my first meeting with the very hush-hush experimental twin-cam Lotus cylinder head for the Ford engine. As time went on I heard that Colin was considering using this engine in a Lotus 23 and the idea of about 100 bhp in the back of a lightweight like the 23 became inriguing. [/b]

Thanks for making me look. I should read Jim's bio. I've had it years - stupid me. If the OP hasn't already done so, as a gift, might I suggest you read BRM by Raymond Mays and Peter Roberts.

[Rawkus Racing]

Slade Alive said:

Thanks for making me look. I should read Jim's bio. I've had it years - stupid me. If the OP hasn't already done so, as a gift, might I suggest you read BRM by Raymond Mays and Peter Roberts.

I'll keep an eye out for it, im sure it will come in handy when i do graham Hill. Cheers for the suggestion