Jim Clark

[Michael Clark]

It it 45 years since the greatest driver of his period was killed.

Don't believe what you read in some places that it was a minor Formula 2 event - Clark was there for a start! And so was Chris Amon. As Chris said at the time - and has repeated - 'If it could happen to him, what chance did the rest of us have?'



Which NZ resident can tell me who the other Kiwi in the race was on that sad day at Hockenheim?

[Oldfart]

Howden?

[Michael Clark]

No O-f, Howden was doing F3 that year...

[Oldfart]

No Graeme Lawrence!
18 laps in heat 1 and 4 in heat 2 retiring with overheating (in a McLaren)

[Michael Clark]

Quite right!

Chris was actually the next car behind Jimmy and has some very strong comments on the actual reason for the accident - which differ from the official report.

[Rod Grimwood]

NZ 1967

[Rod Grimwood]

January/February 1968 NZ

[Rod Grimwood]

7th of April 1968

[Grant Sprague]

Yep I remember that NZ morn well , Dad new i was a big fan of his , i recieved a steel or Di cast model of the lotus to scale [still got] & colour a print of jimmy at Indianapolis,Any way Ernie had been listening to the early sports new [on a wireless lol ] Then came into my bedroon to say Jimmy got killed , it sadened me as a boy of about 13 yrs old like many others.
As years went by Roly [Levis] told me of some fond times a bout Jimmy as he be friended Roly,s wife purly platonic , 'Hey did not know Geame had raced there very interesting . Thanks for this .................. Grant

[CUSTAXIE50]

Quite right!

Chris was actually the next car behind Jimmy and has some very strong comments on the actual reason for the accident - which differ from the official report.

Hi Michael,what did chris say about jim and the way he was killed.

[Michael Clark]

I'll see if I can cut and paste an article I wrote for Pitpass 5 yrs ago...

[Michael Clark]

This is an abbreviated version that was part of a column I did for NZ Classic Car on the 40th anniversary of Clark's death:

Chris Amon (who was a short distance behind the Lotus of Clark in the Scotsman’s final race)– “Jimmy’s death affected me more than any driver I competed against, other than Bruce (McLaren). It was huge - not only am I certain that it wasn’t driver error, I’m virtually convinced that it wasn’t the ‘explosive decompression of a tyre’ – which was determined as the cause at the time. Firestone took it on the chin after the enquiry but I’m not convinced – I’m not sure if anyone considered in the circumstances that existed at the time, i.e. the level of grip required to negotiate the corner in the conditions that any sort of failure of the right rear tyre is unlikely to have caused a loss of control. That corner could have been negotiated at much higher speeds than the cars were capable of at that point on the circuit. I’d still like to see the truth come out – it won’t bring him back but because of his place in history, we owe it to him. You can’t have an ‘explosive decompression’ of something with no air in it. If it was a slow puncture, doesn’t that mean the tyre was low on pressure? So how does it explode? I was the next car behind him – if he was slowing, why wasn’t I catching him? Did anyone check whether the tyre colour changed? Rubber will change colour when a tyre is run at low pressure – even in the wet. In any event, a flat tyre on that curve would not have made a blind bit of difference, as there was a huge margin of error – and the right rear was not the tyre under load on that curve…but a right rear suspension failure would have caused it. A friend of mine is a highly competent tyre engineer who has considerable expertise in vehicle dynamics, having been employed for a period on chassis and suspension development and, at the time of the accident, was employed as a race tyre development engineer. Having done tens of thousands of miles of both tyre and suspension testing, I like to believe I have a basic understanding also of vehicle dynamics. He told me that when he examined Jimmy’s tyres, along with the wreckage, at Farnborough, that he observed large braking flat spots on the left front and right rear tyres, in both cases covering the full width of the tread, very light scuff marks on the right front and slightly more pronounced ones on the left rear. I believe it would be reasonable to assume that this would indicate very heavy braking just prior to impact. These marks simply do not support the view that the right rear tyre was either flat or very under inflated at the time of the heavy braking, but they do support the very real possibility that the left rear suspension had failed and that the left rear was being supported by only the rear anti-roll bar. People suggested bolts in rims to stop tyres pulling off the bead but from memory the tyres at the time were still 4-ply construction and these bolts did not happen until construction went to 2 ply in the early seventies. In all the years that have passed since the accident, I have always had a problem believing that a failure of the right rear tyre was the cause. I was running identical tyres that day, lapping at a very similar speed, and I can say with almost 100% confidence that had I suffered a failure of the right rear tyre at the very same spot, I do not believe it would have resulted in an accident – there was just not sufficient cornering load on the car for an inside tyre failure to have been a major problem at that point. I don’t normally get involved in these sorts of matters however I feel strongly that it would be nice if the circumstances surrounding the demise of a person who was, is and always will be such a hugely important part of the sport and it’s history, had a reasonable chance of being factual.

[CUSTAXIE50]

This is an abbreviated version that was part of a column I did for NZ Classic Car on the 40th anniversary of Clark's death:

Chris Amon (who was a short distance behind the Lotus of Clark in the Scotsman’s final race)– “Jimmy’s death affected me more than any driver I competed against, other than Bruce (McLaren). It was huge - not only am I certain that it wasn’t driver error, I’m virtually convinced that it wasn’t the ‘explosive decompression of a tyre’ – which was determined as the cause at the time. Firestone took it on the chin after the enquiry but I’m not convinced – I’m not sure if anyone considered in the circumstances that existed at the time, i.e. the level of grip required to negotiate the corner in the conditions that any sort of failure of the right rear tyre is unlikely to have caused a loss of control. That corner could have been negotiated at much higher speeds than the cars were capable of at that point on the circuit. I’d still like to see the truth come out – it won’t bring him back but because of his place in history, we owe it to him. You can’t have an ‘explosive decompression’ of something with no air in it. If it was a slow puncture, doesn’t that mean the tyre was low on pressure? So how does it explode? I was the next car behind him – if he was slowing, why wasn’t I catching him? Did anyone check whether the tyre colour changed? Rubber will change colour when a tyre is run at low pressure – even in the wet. In any event, a flat tyre on that curve would not have made a blind bit of difference, as there was a huge margin of error – and the right rear was not the tyre under load on that curve…but a right rear suspension failure would have caused it. A friend of mine is a highly competent tyre engineer who has considerable expertise in vehicle dynamics, having been employed for a period on chassis and suspension development and, at the time of the accident, was employed as a race tyre development engineer. Having done tens of thousands of miles of both tyre and suspension testing, I like to believe I have a basic understanding also of vehicle dynamics. He told me that when he examined Jimmy’s tyres, along with the wreckage, at Farnborough, that he observed large braking flat spots on the left front and right rear tyres, in both cases covering the full width of the tread, very light scuff marks on the right front and slightly more pronounced ones on the left rear. I believe it would be reasonable to assume that this would indicate very heavy braking just prior to impact. These marks simply do not support the view that the right rear tyre was either flat or very under inflated at the time of the heavy braking, but they do support the very real possibility that the left rear suspension had failed and that the left rear was being supported by only the rear anti-roll bar. People suggested bolts in rims to stop tyres pulling off the bead but from memory the tyres at the time were still 4-ply construction and these bolts did not happen until construction went to 2 ply in the early seventies. In all the years that have passed since the accident, I have always had a problem believing that a failure of the right rear tyre was the cause. I was running identical tyres that day, lapping at a very similar speed, and I can say with almost 100% confidence that had I suffered a failure of the right rear tyre at the very same spot, I do not believe it would have resulted in an accident – there was just not sufficient cornering load on the car for an inside tyre failure to have been a major problem at that point. I don’t normally get involved in these sorts of matters however I feel strongly that it would be nice if the circumstances surrounding the demise of a person who was, is and always will be such a hugely important part of the sport and it’s history, had a reasonable chance of being factual.

There is some tape on the net with Graham Hill walking by with a rear wheel only no tyre on it,was the car cutting out on some parts of the track also,if so maybe that had something to do with him running off.

[M Needforspeed]

Why noone never put hypothese that it is again a faulty suspension construction.... because this wld point toward Colin Chapman fault ??

is it an unwritten rules that since Jim death, I have never seen in any book, thread, review on that sad accident involving Chapman ??

We learn more by Chris don' t say but suggest . He simply left to us our own appreciation, but that 's clear that what he analyze go to the right direction .
If we list the statistics of Lotus single seaters suspension failures, that wldn 't be surprising, but quite a normal event, with this time, so tragic consequences .

[SPman]

Why noone never put hypothese that it is again a faulty suspension construction.... because this wld point toward Colin Chapman fault .

Especially as suspension failure was implicated in several other Lotus crashes, including Rindt's.

[Wal Will]

To put things on a happier note here are a couple of shots of 'The Man' at the annual Amon cricket match. Fun times, great guy, good friend.

[Michael Clark]

Great shots Wal - is this an opening for your story about being stopped by the cop in Blackpool?

[Wal Will]

The day Michael is alluding to was the Monday after the British GP held at Aintree in 1962.
Jimmy had won the race for Lotus, and Bruce came in 3rd.
I was at the event owing to a misfortunate event for Coopers - but another blessing for me - when their transporter had tossed a rod out the side of the motor on the way up from London in the middle of the night, and the Tommy Aitkins Transporter and trailer were called in to assist.
On the Monday morning Bruce had suggested that I come with him and Patty (in the back of his Mini) and he/they would show me the sights of Blackpool on the way home. Jimmy overhearing this suggested that he should come along as well for a bit of fun, and we (in the mini) followed him (driving his Lotus Elite) out of Liverpool and on to Blackpool.
It did not take long to take in the ‘High Lights of Blackpool’ and its amusements and Jimmy led the way as we headed back to London. A few miles down the road we passed Jimmy who had been stopped by the Police and was getting a long ‘talking to’.
Bruce pulled over at the next Lay-by and we waited for Jimmy.
When he arrived he was still laughing.
The Constable had let him off with a warning for doing 35 in a 30 MPH area after a long dressing down. He had told Jimmy (having no idea who he was) that
“You young fellows of today have no idea of the danger of speed, and when you get into your fancy cars you all seem to think that you are Stirling Moss.”
He got the “Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss.” for a long time after that.

[Shano]

Your anecdotes are pure gold, Wally.

[Grant Sprague]

The day Michael is alluding to was the Monday after the British GP held at Aintree in 1962.
Jimmy had won the race for Lotus, and Bruce came in 3rd.
I was at the event owing to a misfortunate event for Coopers - but another blessing for me - when their transporter had tossed a rod out the side of the motor on the way up from London in the middle of the night, and the Tommy Aitkins Transporter and trailer were called in to assist.
On the Monday morning Bruce had suggested that I come with him and Patty (in the back of his Mini) and he/they would show me the sights of Blackpool on the way home. Jimmy overhearing this suggested that he should come along as well for a bit of fun, and we (in the mini) followed him (driving his Lotus Elite) out of Liverpool and on to Blackpool.
It did not take long to take in the ‘High Lights of Blackpool’ and its amusements and Jimmy led the way as we headed back to London. A few miles down the road we passed Jimmy who had been stopped by the Police and was getting a long ‘talking to’.
Bruce pulled over at the next Lay-by and we waited for Jimmy.
When he arrived he was still laughing.
The Constable had let him off with a warning for doing 35 in a 30 MPH area after a long dressing down. He had told Jimmy (having no idea who he was) that
“You young fellows of today have no idea of the danger of speed, and when you get into your fancy cars you all seem to think that you are Stirling Moss.”
He got the “Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss.” for a long time after that.

Wal, love this & love the photos , great story & I know you have a few to tell , I have not seen you for a few years last time was when you sailed into Tauranga harbour & had been working for some film company in Japan I think setting up props for stunts etc , I have read snippets of what you are up to in the deep south have you ever thought of coming to a warmer climate or even back to Timaru , would be great to catch up again or even a chin wag, Kindest Regards brother ... Grant