One of my favourite motor sporting images. Maurice Rowe's photo of the start at Le Mans 1960 (or was it '61..I'll check when I get home). Jim Clark door-handles the venerable Border Reivers DBR1/3 (yes the Goodwood toastie) up towards the Dunlop Bridge. In the distance the majority of the field is still grid-bound, seemingly in a different departement.
Back on the grid various gear sticks were no doubt stuck up trouser legs, ignition switches kicked to "off" in the starting scrum and gloved hands fiddled with graceful Ferrari GT door catches. My God, even in the simple acting of running to a car, jumping in, bringing it to life and driving off he made all the others look mediocre.
Clark had a definite sympa with Le Mans and it was an obvious show-case for his massive talent. The Lotus 23 scrutineering debacle of 1962 (the famous ACO wheel stud game) may have tempered his enthusiasm but why did he never return to La Sarthe?. He had 5 opportunities to do so before Hockenheim since the GP calendar avoided the Le Mans weekends.
So what was it ? Chapman's influence, a growing concern regarding the dangers or just the chance of a weekend off mid-season?
(To prevent pedantic comments OK he did return to Le Mans in 1967, but that was the Bugatti circuit and a Lotus 49...)
Jim Clark and Le Mans
Started by
bill moffat
, Jan 07 2005 18:51
4 replies to this topic
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#2
Roger Clark
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Posted 07 January 2005 - 19:35
I've long been fscinated by this, particularly in the days of the Ford Le Mans programme. See this ancient thread
http://forums.atlasf...=&threadid=1101
http://forums.atlasf...=&threadid=1101
#3
bill moffat
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Posted 08 January 2005 - 09:58
It seems amazing that Clark never drove a GT40 given his natural motoring curiosity. Is that really true ?
#4
Ray Bell
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Posted 08 January 2005 - 10:43
Ford + Lola... very much competition for Lotus...
At least he drove the Lotus 30.
At least he drove the Lotus 30.
#5
Roger Clark
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Posted 08 January 2005 - 11:13
Eric Broadley was only involved with the Ford programme in 1964, and throughout the years 65-67 Clark and Lotus had an ever-growing relationship with Ford. Leaving aside Indianapolis, the Cortinas and the DFV, the works Lotus 30 and 40 used Ford engines and were not in competition with the Ford GTs.
As far as I know Clark never drove a Ford GT, let alone raced one.
As far as I know Clark never drove a Ford GT, let alone raced one.
