Clark’s Mechanical Sympathy
Discussion
Evening Gentlemen.
7th of April upon us again. I did a bit of a Google today about Jimmy.
Granted it was sourced from wiki.
But a lot of quotes (maybe from Beaky) originally.
Mainly mentioning how Clark’s brake pads would last another race or or two. Gearbox stripped down by Lotus mechanics - they all knew it was Jimmy’s gearbox. There was so little degradation.
I was thinking about this on the way way home from work today.
I commute a fantastic Cumbrian mountain B road everyday. Braking later, gently everything trying to maintain speed.
Essentially, how do you carry that much speed ? Without mechanical degradation.
Or was Clark so much on another level?
All of Jimmy’s peers were racing flat out against him .
He was obviously extremely special.
7th of April upon us again. I did a bit of a Google today about Jimmy.
Granted it was sourced from wiki.
But a lot of quotes (maybe from Beaky) originally.
Mainly mentioning how Clark’s brake pads would last another race or or two. Gearbox stripped down by Lotus mechanics - they all knew it was Jimmy’s gearbox. There was so little degradation.
I was thinking about this on the way way home from work today.
I commute a fantastic Cumbrian mountain B road everyday. Braking later, gently everything trying to maintain speed.
Essentially, how do you carry that much speed ? Without mechanical degradation.
Or was Clark so much on another level?
All of Jimmy’s peers were racing flat out against him .
He was obviously extremely special.
The museum in Duns gives some great insight, had the pleasure to visit recently.
From memory he was brought up around machinery on the farm from a young age and understood that looking after it properly meant longevity. Even early on though he stood apart in terms of raw talent.
Also with Lotus, it possibly meant the difference between winning and not finishing at all as the cars were built down to the absolute minimum threshold in terms of weight saving etc, which meant they would break easily if abused in the wrong way.
He was a very smooth driver and fully understood how to wring the last drop out of every machine he raced. This coupled with extraordinary talent possibly meant that the cars received less abuse from Clark as they otherwise might.
Would be fascinating to pitch Clarke against all other F1 stars through the decades and see who won out.
He died much too young and had pretty much decided to return to his farm to see out his retirement at the time of his accident. There’s a good chance he would still be alive now if the courses were configured earlier for drivers to survive once they left the track like he did at the end.
He’s still rightly seen as a hero back in his own town and still badly missed.
From memory he was brought up around machinery on the farm from a young age and understood that looking after it properly meant longevity. Even early on though he stood apart in terms of raw talent.
Also with Lotus, it possibly meant the difference between winning and not finishing at all as the cars were built down to the absolute minimum threshold in terms of weight saving etc, which meant they would break easily if abused in the wrong way.
He was a very smooth driver and fully understood how to wring the last drop out of every machine he raced. This coupled with extraordinary talent possibly meant that the cars received less abuse from Clark as they otherwise might.
Would be fascinating to pitch Clarke against all other F1 stars through the decades and see who won out.
He died much too young and had pretty much decided to return to his farm to see out his retirement at the time of his accident. There’s a good chance he would still be alive now if the courses were configured earlier for drivers to survive once they left the track like he did at the end.
He’s still rightly seen as a hero back in his own town and still badly missed.
Yes, 7th April 1968 - a date that still has a painful resonance with so many old bu**ers including me.
The story that stands out for me (and which I relate to other petrolheads with monotonous regularity) was Rouen, 1964. Jimmy is there contesting the GP in a Lotus 25 but Patrick Lindsay is running "Remus" - a notable 1936 ERA in the historic race. Anyone who has seen an ERA in action (or seen the 30 minute start-up ritual involved in bringing one to life) will know that it is a potent but unorthodox animal with many quirks.
Clark decides it would be fun to give Remus a go. The outcome varies according to the source that you wish to believe - but the consensus is that Lindsay (who was a seriously competent and competitive historic driver) was putting in 2.51's at best before Clark jumped in and did a couple of laps posting a 2.47.8….
Remarkably, based on time scales, it would be the equivalent of Verstappen performing wonders in, let's say, a 1996 Williams FW18. Somehow not quite such a romantic notion...
The story that stands out for me (and which I relate to other petrolheads with monotonous regularity) was Rouen, 1964. Jimmy is there contesting the GP in a Lotus 25 but Patrick Lindsay is running "Remus" - a notable 1936 ERA in the historic race. Anyone who has seen an ERA in action (or seen the 30 minute start-up ritual involved in bringing one to life) will know that it is a potent but unorthodox animal with many quirks.
Clark decides it would be fun to give Remus a go. The outcome varies according to the source that you wish to believe - but the consensus is that Lindsay (who was a seriously competent and competitive historic driver) was putting in 2.51's at best before Clark jumped in and did a couple of laps posting a 2.47.8….
Remarkably, based on time scales, it would be the equivalent of Verstappen performing wonders in, let's say, a 1996 Williams FW18. Somehow not quite such a romantic notion...
Edited by moffspeed on Saturday 6th April 19:25
Bill,
Thank you so much for sharing the above. Myself, after decades of consuming literature on all things motorsport - I’d never come across that story.
One can only imagine what it must have been, hopping from a Lotus 25 to an ERA of that vintage - and plugging in stunning times. I think it also exemplifies another aspect of Jimmy’s absolute talent. His versatility.
Whatever he drove, he was fast in everything.
Thank you so much for sharing the above. Myself, after decades of consuming literature on all things motorsport - I’d never come across that story.
One can only imagine what it must have been, hopping from a Lotus 25 to an ERA of that vintage - and plugging in stunning times. I think it also exemplifies another aspect of Jimmy’s absolute talent. His versatility.
Whatever he drove, he was fast in everything.
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