Post by backmarker on May 19, 2006 0:25:59 GMT 1
the challenge:
Tracks: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; Road Atlanta
Class: Upgrades to class B only
Car: Any Lotus
background:
JIM CLARK was a Scottish Formula One (F1) racing driver considered one of the best drivers in motor sport history. He raced exclusively for Lotus, memorably winning the Formula 1 World Championship and Indianapolis 500 in the same year, 1965. In 1968 he died in a minor race at the Hockenheimring, Germany.
Clark made his debut in the 1960 Dutch Grand Prix. Throughout his career he developed a near-telepathic understanding with Colin Chapman, the iconic founder of Lotus Racing. Chapman's innovative and nimble designs combined with Clark's skills at the wheel made for a nearly unbeatable force. 1962 saw Clark battling Graham Hill for the World Championship in Chapman's brilliant Lotus 25, but in the final race an oil leak caused him to drop out just as victory seemed a formality.
His first Drivers' World Championship came driving the Lotus 25 in 1963, winning seven out of the ten races and Lotus its first Constructors' World Championship. In 1964 Clark came within just a few laps of retaining his crown, but just as in 1962, an oil leak from the engine robbed him of the title, this time conceding to John Surtees. He made amends and won the Championship again in 1965 and also the Indianapolis 500 in the Lotus 38. He had to miss the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix in order to compete at Indianapolis, but made history by driving the first mid-engined car to win at the fabled "Brickyard," as well as becoming the only driver to date to win both that race and the F1 title in the same year.
On April 7 1968, however, Jim Clark's life and driving career was brought to a premature and tragic end when, during a Formula 2 race, his Lotus 48 veered off the Hockenheimring, Germany and crashed into trees. The cause of the crash was never definitively identified, but investigators concluded it was most likely due to a deflating rear tyre. The 1968 F1 Drivers' Championship was subsequently won by his Lotus team-mate Graham Hill.
The end
