Jim Clark: The Quiet Champion.

Fitz · Post by **Fitz** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:47 am

Hi All,

I just spotted that there is a portrait of Jim Clark on BBC 4 tonight at 19:00 (that's 7pm

) in case anyone is interested.

Off for a nice drive in the sunshine now.

veryporky · Post by **veryporky** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:16 am

Great documentary. Still argueably the greatest racing driver of all time IMO. Why - because nobody else won by such a consisently large margin time after time. And this was achieved with a style that was gentle on the car beyond belief.

Schumie .... his greatness was diminished by his ramming efforts.

356boy · Post by **356boy** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:18 am

Wow , good program, never really paid much interest into what he achieved, amazing driver

shoestring7 · Post by **shoestring7** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 2:59 pm

It was a great programme, lots of contemporary footage, as well as interviews with Dan Gurney, wee Jackie, Big John Surtees etc. Attitides have changed enormously; there was footage of Monza in '62(?) in which Clark was involved in von Trip's fatal accident. His body was lying by the side of the track. The race continued.

I watched it with SS7 jnr, who is named 'James' after my childhood hero. He couldn't believe F1 cars used the old 'Ring, of which he is already a (virtual) expert.

SS7

Disco · Post by **Disco** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:48 pm

shoestring7 wrote:.

I watched it with SS7 jnr, who is named 'James' after my childhood hero.

SS7

who ? -- Bond ?

Disco · Post by **Disco** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:49 pm

shoestring7 wrote:.

I watched it with SS7 jnr, who is named 'James' after my childhood hero.

SS7

who ? -- Bond ?

miles5 · Post by **miles5** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:09 pm

Downloaded from iplayer - will keep me entertained on (train) journey home tonight.

shoestring7 · Post by **shoestring7** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:58 pm

Disco wrote:
shoestring7 wrote:.

I watched it with SS7 jnr, who is named 'James' after my childhood hero.

SS7
who ? -- Bond ?

No, James the Red Engine.

SS7

chris68 · Post by **chris68** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:28 pm

Thanks Fitz,

I really enjoyed watching this. What a talent, what an era, what tragedy. Modern F1 seems over-hyped and sterile by comparison.

Cheers, Chris.

abash914 · Post by **abash914** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:38 pm

Jim Clark was my boyhood hero too, funnily enough I too called my eldest son James and he's known all the time as Jim, which I'm really pleased with! A great loss, for me Jim Clark was the best yet. He was such a gent, as well as being the greatest driver - look at his input on that Oulton Park lap, for example and was a wonderful racer - in a huge variety of machinery.
I'm afraid to admit that when Big Dan cracked up towards the end, I just lost it - twas almost as if 40 years of suppressed something spilled over. Bugger. Such a waste of a good man. Only the good......
AA

Fitz · Post by **Fitz** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:38 pm

He certainly seemed to be a well loved and much missed gentleman. To see them almost in tears talking about his death after 40 years was quite moving.

I think it might be part of a series as I saw one the week before about Jackie Stewart so I'd keep an eye on the listings.

abash914 · Post by **abash914** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:39 pm

Graham Hill this weekend
AA

Mike Smith · Post by **Mike Smith** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:57 pm

UUL442 - 1957 356 Coupe

Shame we were not aopproached about the 356 part of his life it was pretty significant

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Brief History

Ian Scott Watson (one of the many race drivers that have emanated from `The Borders`) launched Jim Clark’s racing career.

Ian was a founder member of the Border Motor Racing Club and entered his Porsche for Jim Clark to drive at the inaugural meeting of the club, held at Charterhall in Oct. 1957 (this was one week after Ian had bought the car)

Jim raced the Porsche 3 times that day, the final race being a handicap event.

It was a wet race and Jim drove the car to first place and although he had won sprints before, he classed this as his first race win.

Following this success, the car became part of the Border Reivers Race Team and both Ian and Jim continued to share and campaign it for the remainder of 1957, through 1958 and into 1960 while still using it as everyday transport.
This amounted to a total of 35 Races, Sprints and Hill-climbs in 26 months.

Jim Clarks own toll was 12 first places – 6 second places & 2 thirds. He only had to retire once in the 28 times that he raced the Porsche - (Standard Seats, No Roll Cage and No Seat Belts)

During 1958, Jim eventually purchased the car from Ian and it was not until Dec 1960 and with 80,000 miles on the clock, that, in his own words, “he parted with an old friend”.

He was obviously impressed with his old friend, for he bought another Porsche 356 from the UK Importers AFN.

Probably Jim`s finest race in this car, was at Spa (a circuit he hated) - It was his 1st race outside the UK and, again in the wet, he finished 5th.

However it should be noted that, the car is basically a bog standard 1600cc pushrod Porsche, producing around 75 hp and that this race was on the old, incredibly fast, 9 mile circuit. He was the first Porsche home, ahead of all the 4- Cam engined cars.

The car was saved from a scrapyard approx. 25 years ago by Porsche enthusiast Nick Mayman (deceased) and was finally restored, in year 2000, by myself and Tom Pead

The proposed tribute to Jim Clark, at that years Goodwood Revival, set the date for completion of the restoration, however a 9 month restoration period is a remarkable achievement for one of these cars, particularly in the very advance state of deterioration that this one was in.

This 9 month restoration was only achieved through `The Will` of Sportwagen 356 of Southend plus the skill and dedication of Lionel who carried out all the metal work and the friendship and camaraderie, present amongst 356 owners who raided their precious stocks of original parts.

One final interesting point is that, the first owner of the car was the bandleader Billy Cotton, who was also a great motor racing enthusiast.

fetuhoe · Post by **fetuhoe** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:13 pm

April 7th 1968 - Early afternoon outside in garage working on my Velocette Venom listening to the radio when the news came from Hockenheim - Real Bummer of a day

veryporky · Post by **veryporky** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:49 pm

Mike, pleased to have a brief chat with you at Goodwood the other year. Dyno was present too. It was an honour to be honest to look round the great man's porsche. You even told me about the witnessing from the arguement he had with a tree, drove into the damned thing twice at a split junction on the way up to Scotland according to the books. It was great to relate the stuff of legend to a real lump of Germany's finest. Thanks for that.

Tales of Jim are legion but one of my favourites relates to his drives in the Reivers D type. Apparently he was the first man in the UK to lap a closed UK circuit in a sports racer at over 100mph average. Charterhall or some Scottish circuit. Thing is from what I understand this was only his 3rd meet in full blown racing car. Like the third time he stepped into it he broke all records.

Clarkes ability was something spiritual. More so than any other driver IMO. Why

because he was faster yet gentler with the car than mere science and engineering principle should ever deem possible