He is a farmer, has been a Formula 1 champion and has a unique record

The Scot, appointed in 1963 and 1965, was compared by his former teammates to Juan Manuel Fangio thanks to his aggressive driving style.

Jim Clark, the Flying Scotsman, was born on March 4, 1936 in a town called Kilmany. The Clarks own a farm, and he, the only son of the family’s 5 children, seems to have all the numbers to run the business. However, fate was twisted, and even though he did not have the support of his parents, at the age of 18 he was already racing in the regional rally. His career highlights include Formula 1 titles in 1963 and 1965, in addition to the Indianapolis 500, also in ’65. Juan Manuel Fangioone of the best drivers in history, repeatedly praised him: “For me he has an invincible aura“.

Colin Chapman, the owner of Lotus, the brand that Clark raced, his No. Jim was a popular icon, as he had a very aggressive style that made him very attractive to those who followed the races. In any case, he is not interested in fame: “He competes because he loves it. Obviously, he makes a lot of money here, but for him it’s a sport, not a business. If it was up to him, at the end of one race he would disappear into obscurity until the next. He’s not really interested in glamor or anything.” Chapman said at once.

His rivalry with Graham Gill, also a two-time champion of the category (1962 and 1967), boosted the level at the track and the popularity of both. In 1962, they were the two outstanding drivers in the category, although Clark could not get ahead of the BRM rider. The following year, he reciprocated by achieving 7 wins which enabled him to become Formula 1 champion for the first time. His number one rival in those years spoke of him and said: “What Jim did was get a big lead early and then destroys your desire to win by making you realize there’s no point in trying“.

In 1965, with the new Lotus 33, he led the championship from start to finish. In the first seven dates, the Scot won 6, managed to win early, although he placed tenth in Italy and had to leave the races in the United States and Mexico. In the same year, he traveled to Indianapolis to become champion again, thus joining the elite group of champion drivers in the highest category and on the oval. That feat was achieved only by Mario Andretti (1969), the Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi (1989 and 1993) and the Canadian Jacques Villeneuve (1995)..

The flying Scotsman has a unique record in history, which even the best pilots have not broken: he is the leader of the Grand Chelem. This statistic measures the number of times a rider took pole position (best qualifying time), won the race, set the fastest lap, and led from the first to the last lap in a weekend. Clark has done it 8 times, followed by Lewis Hamilton with 6, Alberto Ascari and Michael Schumacher with 5 and Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Sebastián Vettel and Max Verstappen with 4. Unlike Hamilton and Verstappen, both champion on several occasions of Formula 1, Jim spent only eight years in the categorywhile the current runners are 16 and 10 years old respectively.

Clark’s tragic end came in 1968, when racing in European Formula 2, at the Hockehnheim race, he lost his life in an accident at the age of 32.. While traveling at 270km/h, his car lost control and crashed into a tree. Although official versions were never released by the authorities, it is speculated that a puncture in one of its four tires caused the loss of control. Chris Amon, Ferrari driver, said: “If this can happen to Clark, what hope do the rest of us have? We feel that we have lost our leader”