55 years after his tragic demise, the stats still prove Jim Clark was one of the greats. We look at the numbers, and muse over what might have been in his future... F1 RIP
On the 55th anniversary of Jimmy Clark’s death in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim, David Malsher-Lopez explains why, despite regular changes in championship formats and points systems, the two-time World Champion’s brilliance shines through in the numbers.
Clark's six wins from ten in ’65 is the ninth best season of all time. But of course, he only entered nine GPs that year: he and Colin Chapman’s Team Lotus skipped Monaco to take part in – and win! – the Indianapolis 500. The Lotus of Clark beat Graham Hill and Cooper's Bruce McLaren to pole at Rouen in ’62, but what should have at least been a podium instead produced suspension failure. Mechanical fragility ultimately cost Jimmy the title that year.In terms of fastest race laps, Clark is seventh all-time with 28, but he is again second only to Fangio in terms of percentage earned across his all-too-brief career.
Then you realize that Markus Winkelhock has a 100 percent strike rate in F1, having qualified for a single race and led it! But if we take the Spyker driver’s six-lap rain-induced miracle out of the equation, and again do the same for the Indy 500-only drivers, Fangio hit the front in more than 74% of his GPs , Ascari in 63% , while Clark and Hamilton are on 59%. That puts Jimmy comfortably ahead of Senna and Jackie Stewart.
A two-time F1 World Champion, only mechanical failures had robbed Clark of three more titles and although blessed with the fastest car for much of his career, he used it in exemplary fashion, as highlighted by comparative performances with his teammates. The most accomplished of these by far was Graham Hill who already had the ’62 championship and 10 GP wins to his name by the time he teamed up with the sublime Scot at Lotus in ’67.
On his way to an improbable victory at Zandvoort in ’67, with the brand new Lotus 49 powered by the DFV on its debut.A couple of reliability issues – new car/new engine teething problems – are all that separated Clark from the World Championship that year, as he scored three more wins. But then fate decreed that was his last chance at the title.
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