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Jim Clark
born in Kilmaddy, Fife, he was the only son in a family of four daughters and his early racing exploits were initially met by family disapproval. In 1959 he signed a Formula 2 contract with Colin Chapman's Lotus team. In Formula 2 Clark enjoyed immediate success and signed on with Lotus for Formula 1 as well. His first F1 race for Lotus was at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1960, where he raced in place of John Surtees who was still racing motorcycles at the time. His race was pretty uneventful as he worked his way up to fifth place before he had to retire with a seized gearbox. The next race was at Spa in Belgium. This was the most dangerous course in Grand Prix racing, a 9 mile monster and in 1960 it took the lives of two drivers including Clark's teammate Alan Stacey
 Yet in spite of this Clark would manage to finish fifth in his second Grand Prix. In 1961, new Formula One regulations came into force, reducing the capacity of engines form 2.5 to 1.5 litres. Unlike other manufacturers, apart from Ferrari, the Lotus 21 was ready. Jim battled hard through throughout the seasons, but it was Ferraris which took the championship honours. 1962 had to be better but the year began with so much promise Lotus was struggled to find some reliability. The Lotus 25 was a beautiful race car if only it could finish a race that counted. The answer came in Belgium at the track that Clark liked the least. Storming to victory Clark would win this race four times running, but after a season long battle, he lost the championship to Graham Hill when his car broke down while leading the final race. During a break in action Lotus took the Grand Prix car to Indianapolis and tested it on the famous speedway while the track was closed. He soon had the car lapping at 140 mph.
The Lotus combination became the one to beat in motor racing. In 1963 Clark dominated the World Championship winning an amazing 7 out of 10 races, achieving 7 poles in the process. The next year was an up and down year with the championship being fought between Graham Hill, Surtees and Clark. The final and deciding race in Mexico saw Hill out due to a controversial collision with Surtees teammate Bandini. Clark was leading the race until the last lap when his engine seized and the title fell to Surtees and Ferrari. The championship in 1965 was again a duel between Clark, Hill and Surtees, but a fourth driver rose to the challenge the leading trio. His name was Jackie Stewart and the fellow Scot served notice that he would be a force to reckon with in the future. This year it was Clark's turn at the top rung and he included a win at Indianapolis for good measure. On 7 April 1968, during the sixth lap of Formula Two race at Hockenheim in Germany, his Lotus-Cosworth went out of control while coming out of a curve at high speed. The car shot across the track and broadside into the trees. He was killed instantly. After an earlier crash, from which he had escaped uninjured, he said to journalists, "Don’t say it was bad luck. I don’t believe in it. I must have done something wrong. I’ll see it doesn’t happen again" His death stunned the motor racing world. For many he was the ideal sportsman, a talented driver who was polite and modest off the track. His legend lives on as one of the very best and places him amongst the giants like Fangio and Senna.
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