My favourite thing about Jim is during a conversation with Jackie, Jackie complained about having his throttle stuck open and having to go flat out thru curva grande, and Jim said ‘Are u telling me Jackie, that you normally lift thru there?’
Another fun quote was from his friend Ian Scott-Watson after Clark's first time racing a car. After his first couple laps ever behind the wheel of a car on track, Clark came back to the pits, turned to Watson and asked "why is everyone else driving so slowly".
This sums up Jim Clark in a nutshell, a quote from his good friend, Ian Scott-Watson "He came into the pits at the end of a run and asked me, 'why is everyone driving so slowly?' I said, 'Jim, it's not them driving slowly, it's you going so bloody fast!'"
Why having more pole position than podiums is a good thing??.... Because it means that he was not able to maintain his position in the race!!.....please someone educate me..
@@cap0eira Bernie Ecclestone made a slightly morbid prophetic remark to Jochen Rindt in the 1960's, "If you want to potentially fight for a championship, join Lotus, but if you want to live, join anyone other than Lotus,"
I disagree. I think the best drivers of the last 20 years are the greatest drivers ever (bar senna). The reason why is because these drivers have been driving since 2 or 3 years old. They've gone through so many categories, facing the hardest and made it through every hurdle. The cars now are the fastest ever, much much quicker than before, and the amount of technology that allows drivers to advance and become better is better now than ever before. It's too hard to compare drivers of different eras, but I believe Schumacher Alonso Hamilton verstappen and the best of this generation are the goats of all time.
@@zameernizam3825 back then the driver meant more. Now a good engineer, strategist, etc. is as important as the driver. Clark had his butt to feel whats good or bad, now there is like 20 engineer and a lot of telemetry.
I remember as a young kid in the Schumacher era during the warm up lap the commentator used to make the list of the previous winners in that circuit. It was like "3 wins for Schumacher and Senna, 2 for Hakkinen and Prost, 1 for Barrichello, Coulthard..." and I knew those guys, where they were from, their face and so on; but at the and always popped up a name that I've never heard anywhere else, a name without a face, a name without a car or a flag. And I always wandered about that misterious character that in a not better classified past has won everything carrying the coolest name ever: Jim Clark.
dont know if you guys gives a damn but if you guys are bored like me atm then you can watch all of the new series on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend during the lockdown :)
I saw Jim Clark race in both East London and Kyalami in South Africa. I have since watched all the other great, Stewart, Senna, Graham Hill, Damon Hill, Jenson Button - the list goes on. However, Jim was for me, the greatest of them all. A boyhood memory of Jim was racing the kind of cars that todays drivers would NEVER climb into never mind drive. The best of the best.
Fast, smooth and a true gentleman to boot. I have always thought Jim Clark was the greatest F1 driver, my father saw him and said that nobody else was even on the same page talent wise.
You're absolutely correct. Jim Clark is my No. 1 racing driver - fast, smooth, versatile and, as you write, a true gentleman. It's such a pity he's not better known today.
I worked at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for USAC. I was 18-19 in 67-68. Basically, I was the gopher between USAC and the Lotus team. Jim Clark or Colin Chapman would ask me to go get an answer from the USAC office about a question they had. Never did I bring back an answer without a “Thank you.” I got to have a quick lunch with Jim Clark, which I vividly remember to this day. I’m 72 now. Then in 1968, after Clark was gone, I got to know Graham Hill pretty well and even exchanged Christmas cards with him and his family for several years. I also briefly knew Mike Spence, who took Clark’s place in one of the STP turbines. Sadly, Spence died in a simple looking crash in the south short stretch exactly one month after Clark died. Mr Chapman escorted Spencer’s body back to England, later calling Mr Granatelli to ask him if he would run the team in his stead. Clark and Chapman were the closest of best friends let alone driver and owner. You could tell Chapman was just devastated after Spence died.
Agreed. Jackie Stewart stated in a Jim Clark documentary, "When Jim was really on it, neither I, or Graham Hill could touch him." Stewart- 3 time world champion!
The most naturally gifted of all. Who knows what he would have achieved had he lived and had car reliability. Still have my 1965 MK1 lotus Cortina. Rog. Pacific sunset.
@@rogbrown1458 As it is in most sports judging across eras is pointless , but Jimmy had an aura about him that others didnt, and no one has had since. The only other driver with a presence was Senna. Again that is probably a personal thing as many will have Schumi as their focal point. Or Hamilton, but for me those two have the numbers, but not the aura.
Why having more pole position than podiums is a good thing??.... Because it means that he was not able to maintain his position in the race!!.....please someone educate me..
@@greatrespect1549 It was the 1960s. Reliability was an Issue back then. Those poles mean that he was the fastest man on track but because of Reliability issues that everyone experienced at the time, Most likely, he retires because of that issue.
@@greatrespect1549 better then a third of his races ended in a victory, that’s pretty damned good and puts him in rare air. As previously mentioned, cars weren’t known for their reliability and his ability to bring a failing car home, wring everything out of it is legendary, it’s even thought to have killed him - he died after a tire failure, a tire that many believe had a slow leak fir several laps. He clearly earned the respect and accolades
Terrific wins to starts ratio - and many of those wins were start to finish. Almost in the minor places - he won or his fast but fragile car broke. Rated the best ever by Jackie Stewart. Only Fangio comes close from that era - and maybe Senna from the 80s and 90s. Certainly not Schumacher (too much of a cheat). Wonderful driver - in any type of car.
Thank you so much for this. I saw Jim Clark race at the first Canadian GP at Mosport Park in 1967. He was on Pole and set fastest lap. As was the nature of F1 in those days, Jim stood very close to me in the paddock and I wanted to speak to him but lost my nerve. I have been a devoted fan ever since and was devastated when he died the next year. Gille Villeneuve was also a favourite but for different reasons. Now I am 74 and above me on my desk sits a large photo of Jim from that race.
I appreciate you bringing some focus on Clark. I feel like many of the pre-80s drivers start to get forgotten because few present day F1 fans were around to follow their careers and it's hard to find any footage of them driving. Would love more content like this about other past greats like Fangio, Ascari and Moss.
Why having more pole position than podiums is a good thing??.... Because it means that he was not able to maintain his position in the race!!.....please someone educate me..
@@greatrespect1549 Clark drove in the 60s when cars were notoriously unreliable. It wasn't uncommon for lead driver to retire or having to slow down because of a mechanical problem in his car and this happened to Clark multiple times. Pole positions are the purest measure there is for raw pace and Clark having more poles than podiums suggests he would have been able to win even more races and podiums if the cars back then would have been more reliable.
@@greatrespect1549 Have you considered that reliability was an issue? It's very rare now for cars to not finish, back then it was almost expected that a significant number would not.
He was my hero when I was just a boy & i still have tears when I watch & talk about The Greatest Driver of all Time.. never be forgotten.. Jim Clark RIP..
Jim died two years before I was even born, and as a 70's child, I watched F1. I was six when I watched James Hunt win his title championship at Japan. Over the years, I became increasingly aware of Jim Clark. There is no doubt in my mind that he was the GOAT, he could drive the wheels off anything in any motorsport event and wipe the floor with established experienced racers. He was ultra smooth, consistent and was very sympathetic to the machines he raced- never abused them and never hamfisted. Aside from his awesome driving talents, his ability to nurse a crippled car to victory was staggering- 1963 at Spa- a prime example. The gearbox broke and kept jumping out of gear, so Jim drove much of the race with just one hand on the steering wheel at speeds of up to 160 mph. The weather was very wet, the track one of the most challenging in the world, he was holding the car in a controlled drift at 150 mph with just one hand on the steering wheel at one particular place on the track- lap after lap after lap. He won the race by a margin of 4 mins 52 seconds, with Bruce McClaren coming in second place. I visited the excellent museum at Duns two years ago and it was quite a moment I must say. He was THE GREATEST driver of all, and also THE GREATEST CHAMPION of all. He was an absolute gentleman, universally respected by his peers, and he raced fairly and safely. He never rammed an opponent off the track to gain an advantage- both Senna and Schumacher are guilty of that behaviour. Once you cross the line like that, it sullies your reputation permanently. Rather like Mike Tyson is still remembered for biting a piece of ear off an opponent- it over shadows hie own greatness to some degree. Jim Clark stands head and shoulders above all the great F1 drivers.
I remember as a kid growing up in the 60s my dad always going on about Jim Clark. Thanks to youtube we can enjoy his career forever. Just watched a tribute from Richard Hammond in which he said in 1965 Jim Clark not only took part in F1, F2, Sports cars, Tasman, and won the Indy 500, but he was the champ in every one! How many modern F1 drivers could even do that? And this was at a time when, in one season alone, no fewer than 127 racing drivers lost their lives. Some simply amazing stats.
Fun fact: Jim ran a NASCAR Cup Series race in October of 1967 at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. He drove for the iconic Holman-Moody team, the same organization that I believe won that year's Daytona 500 w/Mario Andretti if I'm not mistaken. Despite zero experience running a full-length Cup Series race, he ran pretty damn well if I say so myself. He may have been two laps behind but the guy managed to climb up as high as 13th, which is pretty impressive considering stock-car racing & grand prix racing at the time were arguably more different than they are today. Unfortunately the engine blew, relegating Clark to a 30th-place finish. He did, however, state that he'd wanted to return sometime in the future. Those plans were cut short, though, due to his death. The stats tell the tale but for a guy like me that's a NASCAR fan primarily, this single occasion goes to show that Jim could drive anything and not suck. It shows that the talent he had was borderline generational. I wish he lived longer so he could do more across his racing career. An underrated legend, for sure.
Nahhh he's not underrated. Most f1 fans who know a bit a about the history of f1 know he's in contention to be the goat, and is most likely the goat of his era.
Jim Clark is the most complete and accomplished racing driver - EVER! And, most definitely up there with the greats of F1. However, all of this aside, what stands out for me is his modesty. A totally unassuming man who didn't care about fame and fortune, and yet, he was lauded by his contemporaries as the greatest. A great video tribute - thank you for posting.
Senna, Fangio and Clark will remain as the greatest drivers ever in my list no matter what. And every driver that competed against Jim recognized him as the best of his generation in probably the best era of F1.
Clark died 3 years before I was born. I’ve seen several videos about Jim Clark & one of the things that sticks with me about him was his versatility. It didn’t matter if it was an F1 car, F2, Indycar, Touring car or whatever Jim Clark could jump in that car & still win. Jim Clark’s record speaks for itself & for me he is the best racing driver ever.
I remember reading where, before a sports car race. His lotus 30 broke down. So he hopped into a lotus Cortina and was mixing it with the Ferraris that he was racing against. Apparently often up on two wheels.
As possibly, the world's most fervent Jim Clark fan, I was afraid to give this a watch, as in my opinion, most folks don't "get" the true Genius of Jim Clark. This video gets it. Hands down the greatest all around racing driver who has ever lived. Had he been born 10 years earlier he probably would have been an Ace Spitfire pilot, thankfully for us, his prowess got to bee seen where he really belonged, in the seat of a Lotus. There are two planes of great racing drivers. The naturally gifted Geniuses, where Jim Clark and Tazio Nuvolari and then the other greats are on the lower plane.
I've always thought that Jim would have been an ace WW2 Spitfire pilot too had he been born slightly earlier. His feel for machines, smoothness and consistency would no doubt have served him well.
@@liverpoolscottish6430 Yes, agreed! He was a pilot, I believe twin engine rated as well. But yeah those "inner gyroscopes" were especially well-tuned inside of Jim's head, he just had a way to be smooth and mechanically sympathetic in a wide variety of vehicles. The time when his rear suspension loosened at Monaco and he simply adjusted his style around it and kept consistent times comes to mind. Aa rare genius indeed.
During the mid 1960's I began watching Formula1 as a young boy of about six or seven years old. By the time I had turned ten years old, Jim Clark had passed away, and for the last fifty five years I have been an avid fan of the sport. During these past five and a half decades, there has yet to be a driver that can match Jim's driving skills, his character, the way that he carried himself, and the level of standards that he adhered to when away from the track. His own personal interpretation of Formula1, was that it was the Absolute Highest Level of motorsport racing and thus, the drivers should be of the highest quality, as well as to hold themselves to the highest of moral standards...After all, Formula1 was considered to be the True Gentleman's Sport. I must say that Jim Clark, Colin Chapman and the Lotus Team were, and always will be, the greatest motorsport racing combination of all time! Rest in Peace Jim, you will never be forgotten!!!
Another extremely underrated driver when it comes to "stepping into any series and immediately being fast" is the man, the myth, the legend *Walter Röhrl.*
@@Qsrjeiwjwj Drivers mention him alot more but the media hardly mentions him. Just always bugged me when Moss was made out to be this British legend when Clark could run rings round him. Would be good if we could take all the British legends and fire them in a modern day f1 car just to see who is best over all
A man with a god given talent,a feel and instinct at the wheel and total connection to what were mechanical and visceral machines, undoubtedly the greatest,
Ayrton Senna idolised him and went on a mission to go to Clark's graveside....Senna said he was his inspiration RIP Jim Clark you'll always be a legend
Jim Clark was one of my childhood heroes I remember in the '60s how important he was to the racing world and I built models of some of the cars he drove I was quite a model builder when I was young. But I wish an exceptional movie would be made about his life I think it would be a great to remember him in a quality movie as well thank you for your presentation it was great !
Jim Clark was my first favorite driver, when I was a little kid. He is my GOAT. My dad and I used to watch F1 races anytime they were on the TV in the US. I loved to watch Jim drive.
Me too. As a little boy, I had a plastic toy F1 car in Jim Clark's green and yellow colours. I've still got it. A few years ago, I bought myself a '58 Austin A35 and restored it as a racer. I painted it in Jim Clark's green and yellow Lotus colours as a tribute.
@@pianortd4800 There's footage on RUclips. One about his '67 season, another one that shows an inside the cockpit view of Jim driving at Oulton Park, and others.
IIRC, Clark was already considering retirement in early 1968. He was profoundly aware of the danger of racing in that time, starting with losing two drivers he knew during his second race. In my book, the missed championships happened in the season when he was competing. In both 1962 and 1964, Clark was poised to win the last race of the year and the world championship when oil leaks put his car out. Team Lotus race preparation was always a bit iffy and more thorough vetting of oil lines and washers might have won both races. And in 1967, the team was just unready for the power of the Cosworth V-8, which led to problems like a failed pinion gear in France and collapsed suspension at the Nurburgring.
This is the video I needed to see about Jim Clark!!! I've always heard him in the discussion, since forever, but in over 30 years of pretty much almost seeing every race, I never thought to investigate anything about him. I'm a Schumacher die hard to the death, but how is anyone else even considered to be on par with this guy?
Jim Clark was in a class of his own! way way ahead of everybody else! If he was in a position to drive today's F1 cars he would show the current drivers how to drive on the track without hitting the curbs and be far faster than all of them! All the cars he drove had virtually zero aerodynamic engineering to keep them on the road, it was all down to the driver's skill and feel for the car! plus the tyres were only one step away from road tyres!
Quite simply, Jim Clark was both a Gentleman and a true Champion in every sense of the word. He set the example, for me and throughout my life, of what being a Champion is all about: Modeling exquisite skills, humble leadership, conscious ambassadorship, and a lifestyle free of ostentatious excess and controversy. The day he died at Hockenheim, I vividly still remember where I was when I heard the news, and his loss on that day had me break down in spontaneous tears. The impact of losing him was that amplified in my young life at that time. A great Champion, sorely missed to this day. Great piece of work, this video. Thank you!
I've had a poster in my room, framed of Jim Clark since 1998. It's all faded...but been his fan since I started watching F1 back in the 90s even though I never seen him race. GOAT.
Thank you - Clark fans everywhere will be very glad you made this. Great distinction between F1 and motor racing in general at the end of your video too - he truly was very quick in anything he stepped into. He would have won the F1 titles in '62 and '64 had he not retired while leading the last race in each of those years, oil leaks both times ....
I only saw Jim drive once...on a tractor. I was only 3 at the time and he drove through our village (Allanton) I remember my dad telling me to wave to him as he was a very famous racing driver. It was a while before I realised that he didn't race on a tractor. And yes of course he did wave back
Man your story and the way It makes me feel reading It makes my heart tell in that wordless language that never lies that as human being you are made out the same wood Jim was. Congratulations you lucky b****d!!!. Of course he is the greatest ever, even having another favourites but real people can't deny the truth nevermind they like or not. Warm greeting and best wishes from your 50 years old spanish brother who has followed every single championship since '77 at the age of five. Enormous hug
A story I heard was one of his close friends had a road going sportscar and offer Jim a go at driving it. He got into the passenger seat and was immediately scared at the pace he went off at. Then he settled down as he realised Jim was in full control. Then over the brough of a hill he started slowing down. "Whats the matter Jimmy?" He asked. Jim said there's a tractor. It was around half a mile ahead and Jim somehow knew it was there and he needed to slow down. Something very special there.
You nailed it. 1 million percent agree! A real gent. There is a statue of Jim in a tiny village in Fife, Scotland called Killmany where Jim originally came from.
Thank you for this video. I was a teenager during the '63-'68 period and was already passionately addicted to F1 (and still am). In that era, Jim Clark was my hero and I just loved the rare occasions I got to see him drive via the very few televised events. Sadly, during the '60s and '70s, we lost too many great drivers often in horrifying and tragic circumstances and, so often, through mechanical failures rather than driving errors. Long live the memories of Jim Clark.
I think the only thing that rivaled his skill as a driver was his stellar character that defined him as such a fine human. That’s a big deal for me, It’s a rare combination for any superstar. It was said when he first started racing and driving around people, it never dawned on him that he was that much better. He assumed they all had the same feel as he did. That man defined humility, character and class.
As a race car driver there is nothing more icon than watching Jim Clark in a Lotus Cortina taking a bend with just the wheels on the ground. His feel for a car at its limit was legendary
Finally someone making a video on how good Jim Clark was. I was also thinking I want to see a stat of wins compared to a number of total career races minus races with a mechanical DNF. So basically wins/(races - mechanical DNFs). With the reliability of cars in the 60s compared to the 80s to now with Senna, Schmacher, and Hamilton, I think this could really put in perspective just how good Clark was
Here are the stats for the top 11 in all-time wins (so that Fangio is also included) Hamilton 103/273 37.7% (up to 2021) Schumacher 91/275 33.1% (91/225 40.4% if you don't count the Mercedes stint) Vettel 53/256 20.7% Prost 51/162 31.5% Senna 41/128 32.0% Alonso 32/287 11.2% Mansell 31/120 25.8% Stewart 27/67 40.3% Clark 25/48 52.1% Lauda 25/113 22.1% Fangio 24/38 63.2%
During Jim's F1 career he had 26 races that were "trouble free" from start to finish, no car problems, accidents etc . He won 25 of those and finished 2nd in the other one.
He was. An inspiring driver and person. A worthy hero. There are a few videos of Clark racing. He was uncannily smooth, able to consistently stay ahead, going faster than contemporary drivers could. And the cars then, no aero downforce, the cars slip sideways, get 'air', etc, and you can see the suspension moving around over bumps and stresses, plus opposite lock drift maneuvers to work the car thru corners. Clark famously drove his Lotus Cortina almost always heeled over from the forces, yet smoothly on!
I had the privilege of seeing him race on TV. He actually came close to winning consecutive Indy 500's. How tragically ironic that his death occurred in an F2 race.
Started following F1 racing in 1963, when I was just 13...... waiting for each racing magazine to tell me who won as many times it wasn't even in the papers. Jim Clark was my boyhood racing driver hero. I agree...he was in a class of one and his peers knew it well. They asked Dan Gurney if he could beat J. Clark and Dan said, if you don't drive 10/10s around every corner, Jimmy will beat you. Huge loss and a very sad day when Clark passed. It shook and stunned the racing world. I remember that Sunday, like it was yesterday, my dad telling me Jim Clark was killed. He actually won 54 % of all the races he ever entered in all kinds of cars. THE BEST !
The word legend gets overused these days. Jim Clark is one of the few who wholeheartedly deserves it. Not to mention he raced in an era where the spectre of death was ever present. Full respect.
He was my boyhood hero and I saw him in the lotus cortina at Brands Hatch and sports car at Mallory Park. All GP drivers drove in multiple classes back then, Stirling Moss being a renowned all rounder. Colin Chapman's genius and innovation was focused on Clarks driving ability. Number 2 drivers were just used as test drivers for new parts and components. Only Graham Hill was ever given equal status. He was also a gentleman farmer so was quite wealthy independent of his racing career. This enabled him to approach motor racing without the pressure to win that goes with keeping your seat in today's world. This, I believe enabled him to develop a smooth style which combined with the best equipment allowed him to drive well within himself without pushing the car beyond its limits.
He made me, the love for motorsport, mainly the love for car racing in all areas, touring, formulas and endurance, fifty years ago. What a human being, driver and champion, simply the best ever!
To add to the 1963 Belgium Grand Prix he won by 5 minutes while also lapping the entire field apart from Mclaren in pouring rain with a broken car ie the gearbox had started to let go and this was old Spa a track second only to the Nurburgring in terms of pure danger. Jim Clark is the greatest.
Fangio in 57‘ Clark in 65‘ Laudas Race-Pace in 84‘ Prost in 85‘ Senna in 93‘ Schumacher in 95‘ Alonso in 2012 Vettel in 2013 Hamilton in 2015‘ The greatest seasons indivudally. But nothing even comes close to Clark in 1965.
@@eggselent9814 and nothing like Jim Clark in 1965 ever happened again (and never will). His humility in the face of so many victories made him a remarkable human being. Nobody like that exists in motorsports today.
Racing God JIM CLARK - Unmatched Maestro. By far the Greatest Driver Ever - No doubt. He is and was "The Best of the Best" (Fangio, Senna, Prost, Stewart and countless others about Clark). No other driver in history until today was so superior as Clark - No other driver has so much "Grand Slam" - Pole/Win/Fastest Lap/Leading every lap of the race - like him. And all that from just 72 starts... ! This man is the Olymp of driving - the Michelangelo of racing - a dynamic art at the highest level. So smooth, so precise, so fast....simply out of this world. One, who won in Spa by 5 minutes (!) in monsoon rain with only one hand at the wheel (!) because of gearbox trouble...One, who takes back a complete lap (!) in Monza and back into the lead... One, who took pole on the original 22,8 km Nürburgring track by 9 (!) seconds and more....One who won Indy by 2 whole (!) laps... In 1965 he had the most succesful year of any driver in the history of the sport: He won the F1 World Championship, the Tasman Series with F1 cars, the Indy 500, the British and French F2 Championship, the British Touring car Championship, totally over 50 (!) victories in one season !!!! For eternity and by lightyears unmatched in the sport. That`s just some examples of his mesmeric unique genius...
I agree with most of what you said - and I saw him win a sportscar race, a F1, and a F2 and a saloon race in a Lotus cortina - also borrowed an ERA and in 7 laps went faster than the guy who owned and raced it. But my best of all racers is Mario Andretti
Jim was in that rare category of real racing driver who was chasing the red line high you can see it in his eyes that slight spark of madness you only get from it
Well his prime was his whole career. His record is amazing but when the great number of machine failures are taken into account it is flat unbelievable. It leaves absolutely no question about his being the greatest by a significant margin.
I have been a big fan of Jim Clark since he started, or I first heard of him. I was a spectator in 1965 for his win at the Indy 500. It has been one of my most precious memories. BTW, I was at the end of the back stretch, just before turn three. This is where they slow from the highest speed. He was spectacular!
I always say that Jim Clark taught me to drive. In 1963 I watched Jim race in the Oulton Park Gold Cup for F1 cars. I was positioned at Lodge corner where the cars arrived at speed and slowed for a slow corner before putting on the power up Deer Leap. He was well in the lead as usual on the first lap and I could hardly hear his engine and as he cornered his hands were so light on the steering. No wonder he could complete 4 Grands Prix on the same set of tyres! The great drivers behind him had their engines screaming and were sawing at the steering wheel just to stay in touch with Jim. There was a splash of paint on the entry to Lodge and I was amazed that Jim hit that paint splash with his front wheel on every lap. Staggering to watch! The other reason he was so smooth was that he knew his lightweight lotus was quite fragile so he took great care not to stress and break it. Thanks for the driving lesson Jim. RIP the greatest and nicest ever racing driver.
Jim Clark was the greatest among the great motor racing drivers. I had the privilege of seeing him race and win at the South African Grand Prix in the early to mid-60s. Jim was hugely popular in South Africa and what a shock to our motor racing public when he passed in 1968.
Excellent documentary and a fine tribute to arguably the greatest racing driver of all time. I would have loved to watch Jim race but I was only 2 when he was killed. Good angle with the stats from drivers of different eras.
Certain human accomplishments lead me to believe that the people who accomplish them aren't even human at all. Honestly this guy was clearly an ailen to be that much better than everyone.
Thanks for backing your contention with supporting stats. Most interestingly the stats reveal a dark horse hardly anybody mentions as a fantastic driver : Alberto Ascari
Even though I never saw him race, I still believe him to be the greatest and is my favourite driver of all time I think this quote from Graham Hill sums the man up “Today I was more than a match for anybody.........including Jim”
Before I watch Richard Hammond documentary about Jim Clarke, I thought Senna was the greatest of all time, but when learning how his car was pristine after races and the 8 Grandslam in such short career, no doubt Jim Clarke is the best. Just give him any car and he can unleash yhe car potential where nobody can. Salute!
I was always a huge Jim Clark fan and he is up there at the top of the list for F1 GOAT in any person's list who actually knows the sport. This breakdown also shows how incredible Hamilton is. Just like Golf stats you have to go far back in history to match Tiger Woods numbers and his peers are not even close, most on the list with him are dead or don't play and this is the same with Hamilton, you have to go back to Clark, Senna, Juan, Ascari to even get to Hamilton's numbers...... so we better enjoy this while we can because we are watching history. Imagine if people actually understood what Fangio or Clark or Senna actual meant to the sport that they would use the current technology to make a complete record of it. We, or our kids, will be talking about Hamilton for decades to come along with Clark, Fangio, Senna, Schumacher, et. al.
The 65 Indy 500 is the first one I remember, though the family hauled us kids to the track every year. I have always loved the memories. ( I was 7 that year)
Senna and Fangio both said Jim Clark was the greatest ever. That's good enough for me!
Bingo!!
Here Here !!
I think FIA should put the top driver to the lowest performing car once in a race to know how good is the racer
Ex - Lewis Hamilton in Haas
The best ever said he was the best ever. What a legend
Jackie also
My favourite thing about Jim is during a conversation with Jackie, Jackie complained about having his throttle stuck open and having to go flat out thru curva grande, and Jim said
‘Are u telling me Jackie, that you normally lift thru there?’
That’s actually really funny
Jackie was speechless upon realizing his best friend was flat footing it.
Jackie also one of the best
Another fun quote was from his friend Ian Scott-Watson after Clark's first time racing a car. After his first couple laps ever behind the wheel of a car on track, Clark came back to the pits, turned to Watson and asked "why is everyone else driving so slowly".
Brilliant!
You can debate him, Schumacher, Hamilton all day long but the fact is Jim Clark is the greatest motor racing driver of all time.
Very True!!!
I agree 100%. Not just greatest F1 driver, greatest motor racing driver.
Amen!
Absof**kinglutely
I think Fangio would come comfortably before both Michael and Lewis
This sums up Jim Clark in a nutshell, a quote from his good friend, Ian Scott-Watson
"He came into the pits at the end of a run and asked me, 'why is everyone driving so slowly?' I said, 'Jim, it's not them driving slowly, it's you going so bloody fast!'"
Why having more pole position than podiums is a good thing??.... Because it means that he was not able to maintain his position in the race!!.....please someone educate me..
@@greatrespect1549 chapman's cars being bloody quick but just exploding (not literally) if you even looked at it
@@cap0eira sometimes literally though, mostly their gearboxes
@@cap0eira Bernie Ecclestone made a slightly morbid prophetic remark to Jochen Rindt in the 1960's, "If you want to potentially fight for a championship, join Lotus, but if you want to live, join anyone other than Lotus,"
@@greatrespect1549 Chapman's car kept breaking down, lost him championships as well...
IMO Jim Clark is one of the greatest F1 drivers EVER
Not as good as heikki kovalainen or yano truil says aws
@@kieranstepney5161 lmaoo true
I disagree. I think the best drivers of the last 20 years are the greatest drivers ever (bar senna). The reason why is because these drivers have been driving since 2 or 3 years old. They've gone through so many categories, facing the hardest and made it through every hurdle. The cars now are the fastest ever, much much quicker than before, and the amount of technology that allows drivers to advance and become better is better now than ever before.
It's too hard to compare drivers of different eras, but I believe Schumacher Alonso Hamilton verstappen and the best of this generation are the goats of all time.
@@zameernizam3825 it’s really a different sport now
@@zameernizam3825 back then the driver meant more. Now a good engineer, strategist, etc. is as important as the driver. Clark had his butt to feel whats good or bad, now there is like 20 engineer and a lot of telemetry.
I remember as a young kid in the Schumacher era during the warm up lap the commentator used to make the list of the previous winners in that circuit. It was like "3 wins for Schumacher and Senna, 2 for Hakkinen and Prost, 1 for Barrichello, Coulthard..." and I knew those guys, where they were from, their face and so on; but at the and always popped up a name that I've never heard anywhere else, a name without a face, a name without a car or a flag. And I always wandered about that misterious character that in a not better classified past has won everything carrying the coolest name ever: Jim Clark.
Jimmy Clark was a hero for me when I was a kid and he's still my hero today. A true genius and a true gentleman. I still miss him today. MIKE
Extremely good, is de ansah
Thanks for bringing me onboard for the collab, bud 🙌
Best Collab!
@Micro Soft Yes, yes he does. Check it out.
dont know if you guys gives a damn but if you guys are bored like me atm then you can watch all of the new series on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend during the lockdown :)
@Cullen Austin Yup, been watching on instaflixxer for months myself :D
I saw Jim Clark race in both East London and Kyalami in South Africa. I have since watched all the other great, Stewart, Senna, Graham Hill, Damon Hill, Jenson Button - the list goes on. However, Jim was for me, the greatest of them all. A boyhood memory of Jim was racing the kind of cars that todays drivers would NEVER climb into never mind drive. The best of the best.
Agree
You can’t even put into words just how amazing Jim Clark was simply just unbelievable R.I.P a Legend
Fast, smooth and a true gentleman to boot. I have always thought Jim Clark was the greatest F1 driver, my father saw him and said that nobody else was even on the same page talent wise.
I saw him win 4 of his 5 British GP wins. No one else comes close.
You're absolutely correct. Jim Clark is my No. 1 racing driver - fast, smooth, versatile and, as you write, a true gentleman. It's such a pity he's not better known today.
I worked at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for USAC. I was 18-19 in 67-68. Basically, I was the gopher between USAC and the Lotus team. Jim Clark or Colin Chapman would ask me to go get an answer from the USAC office about a question they had. Never did I bring back an answer without a “Thank you.” I got to have a quick lunch with Jim Clark, which I vividly remember to this day. I’m 72 now. Then in 1968, after Clark was gone, I got to know Graham Hill pretty well and even exchanged Christmas cards with him and his family for several years. I also briefly knew Mike Spence, who took Clark’s place in one of the STP turbines. Sadly, Spence died in a simple looking crash in the south short stretch exactly one month after Clark died. Mr Chapman escorted Spencer’s body back to England, later calling Mr Granatelli to ask him if he would run the team in his stead. Clark and Chapman were the closest of best friends let alone driver and owner. You could tell Chapman was just devastated after Spence died.
Agreed. Jackie Stewart stated in a Jim Clark documentary, "When Jim was really on it, neither I, or Graham Hill could touch him." Stewart- 3 time world champion!
My Dad said the same.
Absolute hero. Went to school in the same town as his museum, and the local rally is held in his honour ❤️
the GOAT, end of conversation sorry Hamilton, Schumacher & Senna fans
back then when pop bottles were sealed by corks lol...
Fangio, 5 titles with 4 teams, best % of win and poles...
Of the drivers I've seen, he's the best. By a way.
The most naturally gifted of all. Who knows what he would have achieved had he lived and had car reliability. Still have my 1965 MK1 lotus Cortina. Rog. Pacific sunset.
@@rogbrown1458 As it is in most sports judging across eras is pointless , but Jimmy had an aura about him that others didnt, and no one has had since.
The only other driver with a presence was Senna.
Again that is probably a personal thing as many will have Schumi as their focal point. Or Hamilton, but for me those two have the numbers, but not the aura.
Jim was one of the best. Hands down , the quiet champion
Why having more pole position than podiums is a good thing??.... Because it means that he was not able to maintain his position in the race!!.....please someone educate me..
@@greatrespect1549 It was the 1960s. Reliability was an Issue back then. Those poles mean that he was the fastest man on track but because of Reliability issues that everyone experienced at the time, Most likely, he retires because of that issue.
@@greatrespect1549 better then a third of his races ended in a victory, that’s pretty damned good and puts him in rare air.
As previously mentioned, cars weren’t known for their reliability and his ability to bring a failing car home, wring everything out of it is legendary, it’s even thought to have killed him - he died after a tire failure, a tire that many believe had a slow leak fir several laps. He clearly earned the respect and accolades
None of the drivers then were as noisy as nearly all of them today.
Terrific wins to starts ratio - and many of those wins were start to finish. Almost in the minor places - he won or his fast but fragile car broke. Rated the best ever by Jackie Stewart. Only Fangio comes close from that era - and maybe Senna from the 80s and 90s. Certainly not Schumacher (too much of a cheat). Wonderful driver - in any type of car.
Thank you so much for this. I saw Jim Clark race at the first Canadian GP at Mosport Park in 1967. He was on Pole and set fastest lap. As was the nature of F1 in those days, Jim stood very close to me in the paddock and I wanted to speak to him but lost my nerve. I have been a devoted fan ever since and was devastated when he died the next year. Gille Villeneuve was also a favourite but for different reasons. Now I am 74 and above me on my desk sits a large photo of Jim from that race.
I appreciate you bringing some focus on Clark. I feel like many of the pre-80s drivers start to get forgotten because few present day F1 fans were around to follow their careers and it's hard to find any footage of them driving.
Would love more content like this about other past greats like Fangio, Ascari and Moss.
Stewart, hill, Brabham as well
Why having more pole position than podiums is a good thing??.... Because it means that he was not able to maintain his position in the race!!.....please someone educate me..
@@greatrespect1549 Clark drove in the 60s when cars were notoriously unreliable. It wasn't uncommon for lead driver to retire or having to slow down because of a mechanical problem in his car and this happened to Clark multiple times.
Pole positions are the purest measure there is for raw pace and Clark having more poles than podiums suggests he would have been able to win even more races and podiums if the cars back then would have been more reliable.
@@DarthJF Particularly Lotus cars, renown as the frailest of the frail.
@@greatrespect1549 Have you considered that reliability was an issue? It's very rare now for cars to not finish, back then it was almost expected that a significant number would not.
He was my hero when I was just a boy & i still have tears when I watch & talk about The Greatest Driver of all Time.. never be forgotten.. Jim Clark RIP..
Same here. One of my 2 major high school idols. Mickey Mantle being the other and he hit more home runs than Jim....😉
Jim Clark was the greatest and most versatile driver ever. Hockenheim will forever be a cursed racetrack.
Jim died two years before I was even born, and as a 70's child, I watched F1. I was six when I watched James Hunt win his title championship at Japan. Over the years, I became increasingly aware of Jim Clark. There is no doubt in my mind that he was the GOAT, he could drive the wheels off anything in any motorsport event and wipe the floor with established experienced racers. He was ultra smooth, consistent and was very sympathetic to the machines he raced- never abused them and never hamfisted. Aside from his awesome driving talents, his ability to nurse a crippled car to victory was staggering- 1963 at Spa- a prime example. The gearbox broke and kept jumping out of gear, so Jim drove much of the race with just one hand on the steering wheel at speeds of up to 160 mph. The weather was very wet, the track one of the most challenging in the world, he was holding the car in a controlled drift at 150 mph with just one hand on the steering wheel at one particular place on the track- lap after lap after lap. He won the race by a margin of 4 mins 52 seconds, with Bruce McClaren coming in second place. I visited the excellent museum at Duns two years ago and it was quite a moment I must say. He was THE GREATEST driver of all, and also THE GREATEST CHAMPION of all. He was an absolute gentleman, universally respected by his peers, and he raced fairly and safely. He never rammed an opponent off the track to gain an advantage- both Senna and Schumacher are guilty of that behaviour. Once you cross the line like that, it sullies your reputation permanently. Rather like Mike Tyson is still remembered for biting a piece of ear off an opponent- it over shadows hie own greatness to some degree. Jim Clark stands head and shoulders above all the great F1 drivers.
I remember as a kid growing up in the 60s my dad always going on about Jim Clark. Thanks to youtube we can enjoy his career forever. Just watched a tribute from Richard Hammond in which he said in 1965 Jim Clark not only took part in F1, F2, Sports cars, Tasman, and won the Indy 500, but he was the champ in every one! How many modern F1 drivers could even do that? And this was at a time when, in one season alone, no fewer than 127 racing drivers lost their lives. Some simply amazing stats.
Fun fact: Jim ran a NASCAR Cup Series race in October of 1967 at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. He drove for the iconic Holman-Moody team, the same organization that I believe won that year's Daytona 500 w/Mario Andretti if I'm not mistaken. Despite zero experience running a full-length Cup Series race, he ran pretty damn well if I say so myself. He may have been two laps behind but the guy managed to climb up as high as 13th, which is pretty impressive considering stock-car racing & grand prix racing at the time were arguably more different than they are today. Unfortunately the engine blew, relegating Clark to a 30th-place finish. He did, however, state that he'd wanted to return sometime in the future. Those plans were cut short, though, due to his death.
The stats tell the tale but for a guy like me that's a NASCAR fan primarily, this single occasion goes to show that Jim could drive anything and not suck. It shows that the talent he had was borderline generational. I wish he lived longer so he could do more across his racing career. An underrated legend, for sure.
THE most underrated driver in F1. Such a legend of the sport
Well i would put Alberto Ascari up in the most underrated but i can't take away the fact that jim is one of the greatest
Nahhh he's not underrated. Most f1 fans who know a bit a about the history of f1 know he's in contention to be the goat, and is most likely the goat of his era.
Underrated? By who????
Agreed
Underrated because F1 and auto racing in general didn’t have anywhere NEAR the TV coverage it gets today so he exists only in B&W films and statistics
A wonderful, wonderful, heartfelt tribute to Jim Clark. We are right to cherish his memory.
Best F1 driver in history good. Not just f1, he is one of the best drivers in motorsport history, being able to drive any vehicle at its maximum.
Jim Clark is the most complete and accomplished racing driver - EVER! And, most definitely up there with the greats of F1. However, all of this aside, what stands out for me is his modesty. A totally unassuming man who didn't care about fame and fortune, and yet, he was lauded by his contemporaries as the greatest. A great video tribute - thank you for posting.
Senna, Fangio and Clark will remain as the greatest drivers ever in my list no matter what. And every driver that competed against Jim recognized him as the best of his generation in probably the best era of F1.
You cannot mention Senna without Prost. Their rivalry is certainly what build him up to such a level of raw speed.
Clark died 3 years before I was born. I’ve seen several videos about Jim Clark & one of the things that sticks with me about him was his versatility. It didn’t matter if it was an F1 car, F2, Indycar, Touring car or whatever Jim Clark could jump in that car & still win. Jim Clark’s record speaks for itself & for me he is the best racing driver ever.
He crashed and died on the worst location German soil not long after WW2 HOW EMBARRASING hence why Lewis Hamilton is the GOAT 😂
I remember reading where, before a sports car race. His lotus 30 broke down. So he hopped into a lotus Cortina and was mixing it with the Ferraris that he was racing against. Apparently often up on two wheels.
As possibly, the world's most fervent Jim Clark fan, I was afraid to give this a watch, as in my opinion, most folks don't "get" the true Genius of Jim Clark. This video gets it.
Hands down the greatest all around racing driver who has ever lived.
Had he been born 10 years earlier he probably would have been an Ace Spitfire pilot, thankfully for us, his prowess got to bee seen where he really belonged, in the seat of a Lotus.
There are two planes of great racing drivers. The naturally gifted Geniuses, where Jim Clark and Tazio Nuvolari and then the other greats are on the lower plane.
I've always thought that Jim would have been an ace WW2 Spitfire pilot too had he been born slightly earlier. His feel for machines, smoothness and consistency would no doubt have served him well.
@@liverpoolscottish6430 Yes, agreed! He was a pilot, I believe twin engine rated as well. But yeah those "inner gyroscopes" were especially well-tuned inside of Jim's head, he just had a way to be smooth and mechanically sympathetic in a wide variety of vehicles.
The time when his rear suspension loosened at Monaco and he simply adjusted his style around it and kept consistent times comes to mind. Aa rare genius indeed.
During the mid 1960's I began watching Formula1 as a young boy of about six or seven years old. By the time I had turned ten years old, Jim Clark had passed away, and for the last fifty five years I have been an avid fan of the sport. During these past five and a half decades, there has yet to be a driver that can match Jim's driving skills, his character, the way that he carried himself, and the level of standards that he adhered to when away from the track. His own personal interpretation of Formula1, was that it was the Absolute Highest Level of motorsport racing and thus, the drivers should be of the highest quality, as well as to hold themselves to the highest of moral standards...After all, Formula1 was considered to be the True Gentleman's Sport. I must say that Jim Clark, Colin Chapman and the Lotus Team were, and always will be, the greatest motorsport racing combination of all time! Rest in Peace Jim, you will never be forgotten!!!
Another extremely underrated driver when it comes to "stepping into any series and immediately being fast" is the man, the myth, the legend *Walter Röhrl.*
I honestly don't get why Jim Clark never gets a mention but they never shut up about Stirling Moss?! He never even won a championship for god sake
@@MrScotty5877304 Uh, they mention Clark more often than Moss for sure
@@Qsrjeiwjwj Drivers mention him alot more but the media hardly mentions him. Just always bugged me when Moss was made out to be this British legend when Clark could run rings round him. Would be good if we could take all the British legends and fire them in a modern day f1 car just to see who is best over all
Loeb is also pretty fast on every car
A man with a god given talent,a feel and instinct at the wheel and total connection to what were mechanical and visceral machines, undoubtedly the greatest,
If you can win a race by almost 5 minutes, you must be pretty good
Not to mention his gearbox was broken and it was bucketing down rain.
If you lead 190 of 200 (95%) of the Indy 500 and won it by 2 minutes,as Dick Vitel would put it,"You're Awesome Baby!"
@@aprilkurtz1589 And also race against Mclaren himself
@@aprilkurtz1589 he was also driving one handed in spa
@@pianortd4800 Yes indeedy!
Ayrton Senna idolised him and went on a mission to go to Clark's graveside....Senna said he was his inspiration
RIP Jim Clark you'll always be a legend
Senna also bought all the Jim Clark pencils at the Jim Clark museum. I find that hilarious
Jim Clark was one of my childhood heroes I remember in the '60s how important he was to the racing world and I built models of some of the cars he drove I was quite a model builder when I was young. But I wish an exceptional movie would be made about his life I think it would be a great to remember him in a quality movie as well thank you for your presentation it was great !
Jim Clark was my first favorite driver, when I was a little kid. He is my GOAT. My dad and I used to watch F1 races anytime they were on the TV in the US. I loved to watch Jim drive.
Me too,
Me too. As a little boy, I had a plastic toy F1 car in Jim Clark's green and yellow colours. I've still got it.
A few years ago, I bought myself a '58 Austin A35 and restored it as a racer. I painted it in Jim Clark's green and yellow Lotus colours as a tribute.
You know how i can watch some of the 60s races? Because i can't find any footage anywhere
@@pianortd4800 There's footage on RUclips. One about his '67 season, another one that shows an inside the cockpit view of Jim driving at Oulton Park, and others.
@@aprilkurtz1589 i've already saw the onboard video, but i've never saw his 67 season, so i will go on and eatch it, thank you
IIRC, Clark was already considering retirement in early 1968. He was profoundly aware of the danger of racing in that time, starting with losing two drivers he knew during his second race.
In my book, the missed championships happened in the season when he was competing. In both 1962 and 1964, Clark was poised to win the last race of the year and the world championship when oil leaks put his car out. Team Lotus race preparation was always a bit iffy and more thorough vetting of oil lines and washers might have won both races. And in 1967, the team was just unready for the power of the Cosworth V-8, which led to problems like a failed pinion gear in France and collapsed suspension at the Nurburgring.
This is the video I needed to see about Jim Clark!!! I've always heard him in the discussion, since forever, but in over 30 years of pretty much almost seeing every race, I never thought to investigate anything about him. I'm a Schumacher die hard to the death, but how is anyone else even considered to be on par with this guy?
Jim Clark was in a class of his own! way way ahead of everybody else! If he was in a position to drive today's F1 cars he would show the current drivers how to drive on the track without hitting the curbs and be far faster than all of them! All the cars he drove had virtually zero aerodynamic engineering to keep them on the road, it was all down to the driver's skill and feel for the car! plus the tyres were only one step away from road tyres!
Quite simply, Jim Clark was both a Gentleman and a true Champion in every sense of the word. He set the example, for me and throughout my life, of what being a Champion is all about: Modeling exquisite skills, humble leadership, conscious ambassadorship, and a lifestyle free of ostentatious excess and controversy. The day he died at Hockenheim, I vividly still remember where I was when I heard the news, and his loss on that day had me break down in spontaneous tears. The impact of losing him was that amplified in my young life at that time. A great Champion, sorely missed to this day. Great piece of work, this video. Thank you!
❤❤❤
great video huge jim clark fan sad to see his achievements not recognized by younger f1 fans
I've had a poster in my room, framed of Jim Clark since 1998. It's all faded...but been his fan since I started watching F1 back in the 90s even though I never seen him race.
GOAT.
This is the best vid/film about Jim Clark that I have watched. He was my all time hero. The greatest ever.
To my mind, the most watertight candidate for the Greatest of All Time. Easily.
Yep
That, is one fantastic sentence!
I have had Clark number 1 forever. Senna, Schumacher and Fangio all tied for number 2. Senna regarded Clark as the best.
Thank you - Clark fans everywhere will be very glad you made this. Great distinction between F1 and motor racing in general at the end of your video too - he truly was very quick in anything he stepped into. He would have won the F1 titles in '62 and '64 had he not retired while leading the last race in each of those years, oil leaks both times ....
I only saw Jim drive once...on a tractor. I was only 3 at the time and he drove through our village (Allanton)
I remember my dad telling me to wave to him as he was a very famous racing driver. It was a while before I realised that he didn't race on a tractor. And yes of course he did wave back
Man your story and the way It makes me feel reading It makes my heart tell in that wordless language that never lies that as human being you are made out the same wood Jim was. Congratulations you lucky b****d!!!. Of course he is the greatest ever, even having another favourites but real people can't deny the truth nevermind they like or not. Warm greeting and best wishes from your 50 years old spanish brother who has followed every single championship since '77 at the age of five. Enormous hug
A story I heard was one of his close friends had a road going sportscar and offer Jim a go at driving it. He got into the passenger seat and was immediately scared at the pace he went off at. Then he settled down as he realised Jim was in full control. Then over the brough of a hill he started slowing down. "Whats the matter Jimmy?" He asked. Jim said there's a tractor. It was around half a mile ahead and Jim somehow knew it was there and he needed to slow down. Something very special there.
Jim probably drove that tractor there to impress his friend ;-)
You nailed it. 1 million percent agree! A real gent. There is a statue of Jim in a tiny village in Fife, Scotland called Killmany where Jim originally came from.
Thank you for this video. I was a teenager during the '63-'68 period and was already passionately addicted to F1 (and still am). In that era, Jim Clark was my hero and I just loved the rare occasions I got to see him drive via the very few televised events. Sadly, during the '60s and '70s, we lost too many great drivers often in horrifying and tragic circumstances and, so often, through mechanical failures rather than driving errors. Long live the memories of Jim Clark.
I saw him drive many times, he was incredible. In anything from a DKW to a F1 Lotus.
I think the only thing that rivaled his skill as a driver was his stellar character that defined him as such a fine human. That’s a big deal for me, It’s a rare combination for any superstar. It was said when he first started racing and driving around people, it never dawned on him that he was that much better. He assumed they all had the same feel as he did. That man defined humility, character and class.
Very well put... what a splendid man, first, and racer, second, he was.
Beautiful man.
As a race car driver there is nothing more icon than watching Jim Clark in a Lotus Cortina taking a bend with just the wheels on the ground. His feel for a car at its limit was legendary
Finally someone making a video on how good Jim Clark was. I was also thinking I want to see a stat of wins compared to a number of total career races minus races with a mechanical DNF. So basically wins/(races - mechanical DNFs). With the reliability of cars in the 60s compared to the 80s to now with Senna, Schmacher, and Hamilton, I think this could really put in perspective just how good Clark was
Here are the stats for the top 11 in all-time wins (so that Fangio is also included)
Hamilton 103/273 37.7% (up to 2021)
Schumacher 91/275 33.1% (91/225 40.4% if you don't count the Mercedes stint)
Vettel 53/256 20.7%
Prost 51/162 31.5%
Senna 41/128 32.0%
Alonso 32/287 11.2%
Mansell 31/120 25.8%
Stewart 27/67 40.3%
Clark 25/48 52.1%
Lauda 25/113 22.1%
Fangio 24/38 63.2%
@@clubpenguin13531 Does that exclude mechanical DNFs?
@@Bhakti-rider yes
During Jim's F1 career he had 26 races that were "trouble free" from start to finish, no car problems, accidents etc . He won 25 of those and finished 2nd in the other one.
I haven't seen Jim race but he seems like a true gentleman and a genuinely nice guy.
He was. An inspiring driver and person. A worthy hero. There are a few videos of Clark racing. He was uncannily smooth, able to consistently stay ahead, going faster than contemporary drivers could. And the cars then, no aero downforce, the cars slip sideways, get 'air', etc, and you can see the suspension moving around over bumps and stresses, plus opposite lock drift maneuvers to work the car thru corners. Clark famously drove his Lotus Cortina almost always heeled over from the forces, yet smoothly on!
I had the privilege of seeing him race on TV. He actually came close to winning consecutive Indy 500's.
How tragically ironic that his death occurred in an F2 race.
A legendary driver, and a real class act. No driver today exhibits properties such as he did.
Absolutely true. I saw him race, even carried tyres for him at the NZ Grand Prix from the paddock to the pits. Just a really nice man.
Started following F1 racing in 1963, when I was just 13...... waiting for each racing magazine to tell me who won as many times it wasn't even in the papers.
Jim Clark was my boyhood racing driver hero.
I agree...he was in a class of one and his peers knew it well.
They asked Dan Gurney if he could beat J. Clark and Dan said, if you don't drive 10/10s around every corner, Jimmy will beat you.
Huge loss and a very sad day when Clark passed. It shook and stunned the racing world.
I remember that Sunday, like it was yesterday, my dad telling me Jim Clark was killed.
He actually won 54 % of all the races he ever entered in all kinds of cars. THE BEST !
I have seen Jim Clark racing many times, and he always excelled in all classes of racing.
The word legend gets overused these days. Jim Clark is one of the few who wholeheartedly deserves it. Not to mention he raced in an era where the spectre of death was ever present. Full respect.
Simply the best of the best...and that comes from a Hamilton fan.
Man could drive anything and I mean anything he was the best , man and machine in perfect harmony .
He was my boyhood hero and I saw him in the lotus cortina at Brands Hatch and sports car at Mallory Park. All GP drivers drove in multiple classes back then, Stirling Moss being a renowned all rounder.
Colin Chapman's genius and innovation was focused on Clarks driving ability. Number 2 drivers were just used as test drivers for new parts and components. Only Graham Hill was ever given equal status. He was also a gentleman farmer so was quite wealthy independent of his racing career. This enabled him to approach motor racing without the pressure to win that goes with keeping your seat in today's world. This, I believe enabled him to develop a smooth style which combined with the best equipment allowed him to drive well within himself without pushing the car beyond its limits.
He absolutely incredible. He would hop from motorsport to motorsport and dominate most.
He made me, the love for motorsport, mainly the love for car racing in all areas, touring, formulas and endurance, fifty years ago. What a human being, driver and champion, simply the best ever!
What a great video. You showed true respect to a true champion. Clark had no peers.
To add to the 1963 Belgium Grand Prix he won by 5 minutes while also lapping the entire field apart from Mclaren in pouring rain with a broken car ie the gearbox had started to let go and this was old Spa a track second only to the Nurburgring in terms of pure danger. Jim Clark is the greatest.
What I think is incredible is that whenever you bring up statistics in %, you realize how insanely fast Fangio was
Fangio in 57‘
Clark in 65‘
Laudas Race-Pace in 84‘
Prost in 85‘
Senna in 93‘
Schumacher in 95‘
Alonso in 2012
Vettel in 2013
Hamilton in 2015‘
The greatest seasons indivudally. But nothing even comes close to Clark in 1965.
@@eggselent9814 and nothing like Jim Clark in 1965 ever happened again (and never will). His humility in the face of so many victories made him a remarkable human being. Nobody like that exists in motorsports today.
Racing God JIM CLARK - Unmatched Maestro. By far the Greatest Driver Ever - No doubt. He is and was "The Best of the Best" (Fangio, Senna, Prost, Stewart and countless others about Clark). No other driver in history until today was so superior as Clark - No other driver has so much "Grand Slam" - Pole/Win/Fastest Lap/Leading every lap of the race - like him. And all that from just 72 starts... !
This man is the Olymp of driving - the Michelangelo of racing - a dynamic art at the highest level. So smooth, so precise, so fast....simply out of this world. One, who won in Spa by 5 minutes (!) in monsoon rain with only one hand at the wheel (!) because of gearbox trouble...One, who takes back a complete lap (!) in Monza and back into the lead... One, who took pole on the original 22,8 km Nürburgring track by 9 (!) seconds and more....One who won Indy by 2 whole (!) laps...
In 1965 he had the most succesful year of any driver in the history of the sport: He won the F1 World Championship, the Tasman Series with F1 cars, the Indy 500, the British and French F2 Championship, the British Touring car Championship, totally over 50 (!) victories in one season !!!! For eternity and by lightyears unmatched in the sport. That`s just some examples of his mesmeric unique genius...
If you want to know more about Jim Clark, Richard Hammond did a great segment about him on The Grand Tour
My thoughts exactly
Do you know which episode?
@@Sam-jx8tv season 3 episode 5
@@Sam-jx8tv it was season 3 episode 5
@@thestiglette love your screen name! Absolutely awesome and wickedly creative.
I was a child at the time and only saw flashes on the newsreel Wednesday afternoon in the cinema, his name has a magic ring to it till today.
In my opinion he Was the greatest, guy could dominate in any class
I agree with most of what you said - and I saw him win a sportscar race, a F1, and a F2 and a saloon race in a Lotus cortina - also borrowed an ERA and in 7 laps went faster than the guy who owned and raced it. But my best of all racers is Mario Andretti
Jim was in that rare category of real racing driver who was chasing the red line high you can see it in his eyes that slight spark of madness you only get from it
It is good this man is remembered he died when i was quite young but ive known about him all my life.
Well his prime was his whole career. His record is amazing but when the great number of machine failures are taken into account it is flat unbelievable. It leaves absolutely no question about his being the greatest by a significant margin.
My father loved Moss seen him race at the Glen however he always said Clark was the best.
This was my favorite episode ever on this Chanel!!!
The legend, the myth, the man... Excellent video man, amazing footage
I agree 100%! Thank you for this. Well done.
He used to race at Charter Hall years ago with Border Reivers great driver.Could drive anything and win
I have been a big fan of Jim Clark since he started, or I first heard of him. I was a spectator in 1965 for his win at the Indy 500. It has been one of my most precious memories. BTW, I was at the end of the back stretch, just before turn three. This is where they slow from the highest speed. He was spectacular!
I always say that Jim Clark taught me to drive. In 1963 I watched Jim race in the Oulton Park Gold Cup for F1 cars. I was positioned at Lodge corner where the cars arrived at speed and slowed for a slow corner before putting on the power up Deer Leap. He was well in the lead as usual on the first lap and I could hardly hear his engine and as he cornered his hands were so light on the steering. No wonder he could complete 4 Grands Prix on the same set of tyres! The great drivers behind him had their engines screaming and were sawing at the steering wheel just to stay in touch with Jim. There was a splash of paint on the entry to Lodge and I was amazed that Jim hit that paint splash with his front wheel on every lap. Staggering to watch! The other reason he was so smooth was that he knew his lightweight lotus was quite fragile so he took great care not to stress and break it. Thanks for the driving lesson Jim. RIP the greatest and nicest ever racing driver.
Jim Clark was the greatest among the great motor racing drivers. I had the privilege of seeing him race and win at the South African Grand Prix in the early to mid-60s. Jim was hugely popular in South Africa and what a shock to our motor racing public when he passed in 1968.
Just makes me sad. What heart.
A class act on and off the track. Definitely my favorite!
Excellent documentary and a fine tribute to arguably the greatest racing driver of all time. I would have loved to watch Jim race but I was only 2 when he was killed. Good angle with the stats from drivers of different eras.
‘Wonderful documentary! Jim Clark was THE best racing driver ever, bar none; as well, he was a total gentleman.
Thanks for that excellent video, he was a different league compared to his rivals and scottish too🏴🏴🏴
Certain human accomplishments lead me to believe that the people who accomplish them aren't even human at all. Honestly this guy was clearly an ailen to be that much better than everyone.
forever GOATED. No doubt about it. as you put it, the best "racing driver" in the most pure way.
The most impressive thing to me is the 8 Grand Slams in less than 80 races. That's more than 1 GS in 10 races. It's an insane stat just by itself
With a 38% mechanical failure rate it’s even more mental
I'll say it again and forever you are looking at the GOAT۔۔۔۔۔what a gent۔۔
Jim was a man for all seasons. I watched him win the Indy 500. He could drive anything. Smooth as silk. I was devastated when he was killed.
Thanks for backing your contention with supporting stats. Most interestingly the stats reveal a dark horse hardly anybody mentions as a fantastic driver : Alberto Ascari
I remember listening to motor races from on our shortwave radio in the 60's. Clark was my hero and didn't want to miss a minute of a race.
Absolute king 👑 one of the best drivers ever
Even though I never saw him race, I still believe him to be the greatest and is my favourite driver of all time
I think this quote from Graham Hill sums the man up
“Today I was more than a match for anybody.........including Jim”
Clark was the greatest naturally gifted driver we will ever see.
That he was.
If Fangio says you're the best... you're probably the best
Before I watch Richard Hammond documentary about Jim Clarke, I thought Senna was the greatest of all time, but when learning how his car was pristine after races and the 8 Grandslam in such short career, no doubt Jim Clarke is the best. Just give him any car and he can unleash yhe car potential where nobody can. Salute!
I was always a huge Jim Clark fan and he is up there at the top of the list for F1 GOAT in any person's list who actually knows the sport.
This breakdown also shows how incredible Hamilton is.
Just like Golf stats you have to go far back in history to match Tiger Woods numbers and his peers are not even close, most on the list with him are dead or don't play and this is the same with Hamilton, you have to go back to Clark, Senna, Juan, Ascari to even get to Hamilton's numbers...... so we better enjoy this while we can because we are watching history.
Imagine if people actually understood what Fangio or Clark or Senna actual meant to the sport that they would use the current technology to make a complete record of it. We, or our kids, will be talking about Hamilton for decades to come along with Clark, Fangio, Senna, Schumacher, et. al.
The 65 Indy 500 is the first one I remember, though the family hauled us kids to the track every year. I have always loved the memories. ( I was 7 that year)