WHAT’S THE STORY?
TWO racing greats will join forces to mark the official opening of the Jim Clark Motorsport Museum in Duns in the Borders.
Three-time Le Mans champion Allan McNish will join triple Formula One drivers’ championship winner Sir Jackie Stewart for the event tomorrow. Although the museum opened on July 11, this will be the official opening ceremony.
The museum celebrates the life and career of Jim Clark, Scotland’s legendary double Formula One world champion and Indy 500 winner.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
THE day will get off to a fast start, with Stewart and McNish joined by family and friends of Clark and sporting contemporaries for a Q&A, before unveiling a plaque outside the museum.
Lotus Cars, the team with which Clark spent his entire professional racing career, will be displaying a range of supercars owned by Club Lotus members in the town throughout the afternoon.
Tomorrow also marks the closing date of the Jim Clark Lotus Evora charity competition, with funds raised going towards the Jim Clark Trust and the new museum. The competition offered participants the chance to win the Jim Clark Special Edition Lotus Evora GT410 Sport – which was the 100,000th Lotus vehicle built and was signed by all 20 current Formula One Drivers at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix. Those interested can still enter at www.jimclarklotus.com/ with entries closing at midnight tomorrow.
WHO WAS JIM CLARK?
FIFE-BORN Clark was a hugely respected figure in the motorsport world. After humble beginnings competing in various amateur races throughout southern Scotland and northern England, his career took off after he joined Lotus in 1960.
Jim Clark celebrates victory in the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in October 1966
He won the Formula One drivers’ championships in 1963 and 1965, also guiding Lotus to the constructor’s championships in both years. His 25 grand prix wins were also the most of any driver at the time. Clark won America’s prestigious Indianapolis 500 in 1965, the British Touring Car Championship in 1964 and the Australian Tasman Series Cup three times from 1965-68.
On April 7, 1968, when he was 32, Clark’s life was tragically cut short after his car veered off the track and crashed into a section of trees during a Formula Two race at the Hockenheimring circuit in Germany. Clark died from injuries sustained in the accident before reaching hospital.
The sudden loss of perhaps the sport’s biggest star was an eye-opening tragedy and added momentum to Stewart’s advocacy for increased driver safety measures.
WHAT IS HIS LEGACY?
AS well as his talent being revered to this day, the legacy of this great driver lives on through The Jim Clark Trust, founded by his parents in 1978.
His incredible achievements see the trust dedicated to inspiring others – with the museum a key part of this plan.
It contains a collection of Clark’s cars and trophies, shows footage of his races and even has a racing simulator allowing visitors to experience a few of the thrills for themselves.
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