50 years since Jim Clark died...

[ELVA164]

My pick for best driver ever, in any discipline.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/formula1/jim-clark-death-anniversary-50-years-tribute-crash-hockenheim-bahrain-grand-prix-a8292816.html

If the Lotus cars he drove weren't such fragile garbage, he would have won FIVE F1 championships and three Indy 500s. His ability to drive a car gently and quickly is the main reason he finishes as many races as he did.

He had a number of remarkable performances, but two of my favorites were his efforts at Spa in 1963 and Monza in 1967.

At Spa in the rain, Clark was untouchable. He lapped the entire field except Bruce McLaren in second place, and this was when the track was 8.7 miles long!

At Monza, he had to pit from the lead due to a puncture. He came out a lap down, passed the entire field, pulled away, and only lost due to a faulty fuel pump. He coasted across the line in third place.

There are so many anecdotal reasons his natural ability has never been matched, but my favorite thing about him was his sportsmanship and personality. Despite regularly trouncing his opponents, he was extremely well-liked. He always drove safely, never put opponents at risk, and treated everyone with respect.

Pretty cool guy.

[Mediumrarechicken]

Haha you say gentle and have a pic with an f1 car flying. Really though he was smooth and easy on cars, he had to because he was racing a British car. Flip a coin between Dan gurney and Jim as the best driver ever. Put Jim on the track with King C u n t Hamilton and Hamilton will be seen walking off the track crying.

[ELVA164]

Haha you say gentle and have a pic with an f1 car flying. Really though he was smooth and easy on cars, he had to because he was racing a British car. Flip a coin between Dan gurney and Jim as the best driver ever. Put Jim on the track with King C u n t Hamilton and Hamilton will be seen walking off the track crying.

I said gentle, not slow! :D

He had a remarkable ability for keeping those garbage Lotuses together compared to anyone else driving at the time, but even so he failed to finish 22 of his 72 starts due to mechanical failures!

One great story: His mechanics from the period recalled a British GP at Silverstone in the mid-60s. Every time he came by the pits, the car would shut off and coast by, then start back up again. After Jim won the race, they asked him about it. He said, "it was losing oil pressure around there, so I just knocked it off through that turn and started it back up on the following straight!"

Come on, that's ridiculous. He still won.

[Mediumrarechicken]

I said gentle, not slow! :D

He had a remarkable ability for keeping those garbage Lotuses together compared to anyone else driving at the time, but even so he failed to finish 22 of his 72 starts due to mechanical failures!

One great story: His mechanics from the period recalled a British GP at Silverstone in the mid-60s. Every time he came by the pits, the car would shut off and coast by, then start back up again. After Jim won the race, they asked him about it. He said, "it was losing oil pressure around there, so I just knocked it off through that turn and started it back up on the following straight!"

Come on, that's ridiculous. He still won.

That's crazy. Wasnt he just a farm boy and didn't really race or practice during the off season and went back to working on the farm between races? He had a natural gift, could you imagine if he had a reliable car and trained like guys do nowadays? It would actually end up boring to watch because we'd end up just watching 2nd place and back racing. I watch older f1, lemans, and even the good ole boys that just turn left from 1990 and back on YouTube because the cars, drivers and how much more relaxed the atmosphere was. Look at James hunt, dude was buzzed because he was drinking and smoked a j before a race. Totally different time, guys now are just machines that happen to have blood pumping through their bodies

[ELVA164]

That's crazy. Wasnt he just a farm boy and didn't really race or practice during the off season and went back to working on the farm between races?

Yes, he's described as a farmer before Formula 1 World Champion on his headstone.

He had a natural gift, could you imagine if he had a reliable car and trained like guys do nowadays? It would actually end up boring to watch because we'd end up just watching 2nd place and back racing.

It was that way anyway. Everyone at the time admitted he was on a completely different level. When he first went to Indy (which he would have won 3 consecutive times if not for mechanical issues, again), the Woods brothers quickly learned they had to pull him in every 3 laps for input about the car during practice. If they waited any longer, he would have already adjusted to the problem and continue going just as fast.

He was the only one who could even drive the catastrophic Lotus 30 and 40.